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IPFS News Link • Stock Market

Speaker Pelosi Rejects The Idea Of Congressional Stock Trading Ban...

• https://www.zerohedge.com, by Tyler Durden

House speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is worth $114 million and just 2 months ago was railing about how capitalism has "not served us well" and "needs improving" is all of a sudden a bold advocate for free market economics.

All it took was potentially taking away her (and her husband's) stock trading privileges. Funny how that works, isn't it?

"We are a free-market economy. They should be able to participate in that," Pelosi said of the idea of barring members of Congress from trading individual stocks while in office. 

"If people aren't reporting, they should be," Pelosi responded to Insider, who asked for comment after 49 members of Congress and 182 staffers had violated the STOCK Act that prevents insider trading. 

This stance puts Pelosi immediately at odds with both Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who have spoken out against members of Congress trading individual stocks. 

"It is absolutely ludicrous that members of Congress can hold and trade individual stock while in office," AOC said earlier this year, via Twitter. "The access and influence we have should be exercised for the public interest, not our profit. It shouldn't be legal for us to trade individual stock with the info we have."

Warren referred to the trading by members of Congress as "brazenness" when asked by Insider for comment. 

She continued: "We need both tougher laws and enforcement of those laws," the Massachusetts Democrat said. "The American people should never have to guess whether or not an elected official is advancing an issue or voting on a bill based on what's good for the country or what's good for their own personal financial interests." 


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