Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., is warning that the so called "Pelosi Act" will have the unintended consequence of creating more career politicians and labeled the efforts of his Senate colleagues "legislative demagoguery."
Speaking to Breitbart News Daily's Mike Slate on Wednesday, Johnson cautioned that while the Pelosi Act may be appealing upon first glance, it should really be called "the career politician protection act."
The Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act is a legislative proposal aimed at prohibiting members of Congress and their spouses from buying, selling, or holding individual stocks while serving in office. Lawmakers would be permitted to invest in diversified mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and U.S. Treasury bonds.
The act is named after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who has faced scrutiny over her husband's extensive stock trading success. The goal of the act is to prevent conflicts of interest and restore public trust in elected officials, many of whom have accumulated tens of millions in net worth while on a salary of under $200,000.
"What I did when I ran in 2010, I sold all my marketable securities. I've been sitting on cash, losing my you-know-what, for the last 15 years. So from a personal standpoint, I don't do it, but, you know, we passed something called the Stock Act, which requires pretty much total transparency," Johnson told the outlet.
"You know, you trade something more than $1,000, you have to report that on a quarterly basis, and particularly if you're Republican, the press is watching you like, you know, so they're holding you accountable."
"But the biggest problem with that bill, first of all, there have been so many unintended consequences, but it required divestiture of businesses," Johnson added, noting that he did not initially sell his business, although he did eventually.
"But as I said in the hearing, this is legislative demagoguery," he said, noting that one could actually call this legislation "the career politician protection act."
The bill was introduced by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and advanced in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee with all Republicans except Hawley voting against it. Johnson called the proposed bill, a "completely unnecessary piece of legislation," adding it will "dissuade the exact kind of people you want serving in government — people who know the private sector, understand how harmful government is to it."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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