Hawley Introduces ‘PELOSI Act’ To Stop Insider Trading In Congress

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced legislation Tuesday aimed at preventing insider trading by members of Congress by barring them from trading individual stocks.

The Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act would require lawmakers and their immediate family members to use qualified blind trusts – a method of investing in which an independent manager buys and sells assets without the knowledge or consent of the owner in order to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest.

Under Hawley’s act, members who refuse to do so would be required to forfeit their stock to the US Treasury.

“For too long, politicians in Washington have taken advantage of the economic system they write the rules for, turning profits for themselves at the expense of the American people,” Hawley said in a statement. “As members of Congress, both Senators and Representatives are tasked with providing oversight of the same companies they invest in, yet they continually buy and sell stocks, outperforming the market time and again.”

Last July, former Dallas fed president Richard Fisher slammed then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her husband Paul over allegations of insider trading.

“Clearly people have taken advantage of inside information forever,” Fisher told CNBC, responding to a report from Punchbowl News. “I’m sorry to see that Paul Pelosi and Nancy Pelosi and others appear to have taken advantage of inside information.”

The Pelosis have repeatedly come under fire for the trades which appeared to be based on nonpublic information.

Recall, the last we wrote about Pelosi’s suspiciously good timing with her stock trades, we noted she had punted on several names heading into 2023. Prior to her trades being carefully scrutinized, Pelosi had a knack for minting cash from her stock trades, which we detailed here.

In March of 2021, the Pelosis scored $1.95 million on Microsoft call options less than two weeks before the tech giant secured a $22 billion contract to supply US Army combat troops with augmented reality headsets, while in January of the same year, Paul Pelosi bought up to $1 million of Tesla calls before the Biden administration announced plans to push electric vehicles.

Pelosi notably opposed bans on stock trading in the 117th Congress.

Although some Democrats, including Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, supported a ban on trading in the 117th Congress, Democrats ultimately postponed voting on a package and did not pass legislation. Then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy promised the issue would be a priority for the GOP in the 118th Congress. -Daily Caller

The former Speaker has of course denied everything.