(RepublicanNews.org) – Congress often gives legislation special names to be able to give a bill a punchy acronym, but Republican Senator Josh Hawley’s “Pelosi Act” goes a step further.
Named for the former Democratic House Speaker, Hawley’s bill takes its name from allegations against Nancy Pelosi that she benefited from insider stock trading.
The Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act would bar members of Congress and their husbands or wives from holding stocks or trading them while in public office.
Hawley’s bill is picking up support from surprising quarters. Former Democratic House Member Nina Turner, the former spokeswoman for Independent Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, praised the bill even though she disagreed with Hawley “99 percent of the time”.
Political commentator Briahna Joy Gray, also formerly a spokeswoman for Bernie Sanders, said Hawley’s bill might “get some justice for the American people.”
Calling the bill “beautiful wordsmithing,” Gray said Nancy Pelosi was one of the richest members of Congress, and that wealth did not come from her Congressional salary.
Pelosi has been accused of improper trading or of benefiting from insider knowledge many times. This week it was revealed that she sold $3 million in Google stock a month before the Department of Justice announced an antitrust lawsuit against the company.
In July of 2022, Pelosi’s husband, Paul, sold $5 million worth of stock in a computer chip-making company ahead of a House vote on domestic chip manufacturing.
It remains to be seen whether Hawley’s bill will gain any real political traction. Pelosi herself voiced a concern that’s likely to occur to others regardless of partisan affiliation: Is it right to ban elected representatives from participating in the stock market as any other American would?
Observers might also wonder if the support from liberal politicians and commentators would be as robust if the conversation were focused on a politician other than Pelosi, whom supporters favored.
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