House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she ‘trust her members’ to do the right thing, on one condition
Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of Congress (D-California), was previously openly against banning stock trading in Congress. However, she changed her mind on Thursday. Her openness to the proposal of two Senate Democrats was contingent on her demanding the same from US Supreme Court justices.
“I have great confidence in the integrity of my members. These people are amazing. So when people talk about well, somebody might do this and somebody, I trust our members,”Pelosi (81), told Capitol Hill reporters.
“To give a blanket attitude of we can’t do this and we can’t do that because we can’t be trusted, I just don’t buy into that. But if members want to do that, I’m OK with that,”Elle added.
Her words were widely reported as an about-face on the contentious issue of stock trading by members of Congress, which has recently come under intense scrutiny in no small part due to Pelosi’s own financial success.
Pelosi’s financial disclosures reveal that she does not trade or own stock, while her husband Paul does. She is the top Democrat on the list presented last week by the watchdog Unusual Whales, showing that the stock portfolios of many US lawmakers enjoy returns on investment well above those of the Standard & Poor’s exchange-traded fund.
Named Twitter account “Nancy Pelosi’s Portfolio Tracker” put a spotlight onto the speaker’s investments last fall and attracted over 200,000 followers before it was banned without explanation in early December. Pelosi responded to a question about ethics in lawmakers trading stock stocks that their laws might affect a week later. “free-market economy”Members of Congress “should be able to participate”It.
Pelosi’s portfolio would be affected by the bill proposed by two Senate Democrats last week. Jon Osoff, Georgia, and Mark Kelly from Arizona would like to prohibit sitting members of Congress from stock trading. They will require members to sell their stock holdings or place them in blind trusts while they are in office.
Recent polls indicate that anywhere from 67% to 76% Americans support a ban on such things. StenyHoyer (D.Maryland), House Majority Leader said Wednesday, however, that lawmakers should be afforded the same financial rights as everybody else.
Pelosi’s apparent change of heart on the subject came with a caveat, as she told reporters the Supreme Court should be included in any new restrictions.
“If we’re saying everybody should be living by the same standard then let — so be it. It’s fine by me. But I don’t think that the court should be let off the hook,” She said. “So, I say when we go forward with anything, let’s take the Supreme Court with us to have disclosure.”
Act 2012 Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge, (STOCK), requires Congressmembers to reveal any financial transactions within 45 day. The Act also prohibits members of Congress from using personal information as part their work to make a profit. Business Insider reported that 54 lawmakers did not comply with disclosure requirements.
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