It was recently reported that Republican House Minority Leader and California Rep. Kevin McCarthy has some news that his fellow California Representative, and current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is not going to want to hear.
In an interview with Punchbowl News he said he would consider banning or limiting stock trades for members of Congress, The Daily Mail reported.
The push for a ban on trading and holding stocks has escalated in recent months after concerns came up regarding a slew of market activity from lawmakers following an early 2020 briefing on the threat of COVID-19 before the public was privy to that information.
The accusations prompted Justice Department investigations into the financial activity of Senators Dianne Feinstein, James Inhofe and Richard Burr, as well as former Senator Kelly Loeffler. All four probes have since been closed and none of the lawmakers who engaged in stock activity following that briefing have been charged with any wrongdoing.
The idea has also gained more traction after Pelosi came out against regulation on lawmakers’ market activity two days before her husband Paul, 81, last month bought millions in stocks.
Currently under the 2012 Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act) lawmakers and their aides are prohibited from using non-public information for private profit, including trade and holding stock. It also requires them to publicly disclose stock and bond transactions within 45 days. Otherwise, there are few guardrails in place on Congress’ private dollars.
ConservativeBrief went on to report that for background on why this is an issue, he is an example. Congressman A is on a committee who is crafting legislation that would help the auto industry. That same congressman then invests $10,000 in Acme Autos. When the law passes the stock in Acme Autos triples and the congressman triples his investment. Now imagine this congressman serves for decades in the House doing trade after trade and you can see why this would be a cause for concern.
It is such a concern that one of Pelosi’s fellow Democrats, Sen. Jon Ossoff, is crafting legislation to put a stop to it, The New York Post reported.
The Ossoff ethics bill, which the Democratic freshman Senator plans to introduce once he finds a Republican co-sponsor, would crack down on conflicts of interest by making it illegal for lawmakers and their families to trade stocks while in office, a Washington, D.C. source close to the situation said.
It would also likely require lawmakers put their assets in blind trusts — a step that the 34-year-old Ossoff completed himself months after being elected in January 2021.
