House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is working with the House Administration Committee on a plan to ban members of Congress from making stock trades. The move from Pelosi signals a change in her view on this issue.
“If that’s what the members want to do, then that’s what we will do,” Pelosi told reporters on Wednesday, Feb. 9.
“This is a free market and people – we are a free market economy,” Pelosi said in December when asked about limiting trades for Members. “They should be able to participate in that.”
Members of Congress have long been accused of insider trading. In 2012, President Obama signed the STOCK Act into law, hoping to address the issue. The STOCK Act says members must quickly and publicly announce all stock trades made by themselves, their spouse, or their dependent children.
Both chambers of Congress have bills introduced that would limit Members’ ability to trade stocks while in office.
“We don’t think that Members of Congress ought to be capitalizing on their positions of power as public servants when you’re making really important decisions,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) said in support of his bipartisan bill. “You shouldn’t be sitting there and making profits while you’re in public office.”
Pelosi announced the House Administration Committee is looking into all of the bills introduced on this topic to see how to proceed.
“I’d said that certain criteria that I wanted to see, whatever whatever design they have for that, that’s one, but the other iswe have to tighten the fines on those who violate the Stock Act,” Pelosi said. “It’s a bit, it’s simply not sufficient to deter behavior.”
“I do believe in the integrity of people in public service. I want the public to have that understanding,” Pelosi said. “We have to do this to determine something that we see as a problem, but it is a confidence issue.”