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Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Congresspeople owning corporate stock: "We're a free market economy"

This is so obviously a "hey look over your shoulder" cry while they continue to accept large sums of bribes under the disguise of campaign donations. I don't give a shit what you invest your income on, what I do care about is your campaign donations dictating policy rather than the people who voted for you.
 
 
Congressional Trading in 2021 - a very detailed report

Dan Crenshaw’s stock trading yielded the fifth highest return in Congress - Texas Signal
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Houston) did pretty well for himself in 2021, financially speaking. According to a new report from Unusual Whales, Crenshaw’s trading netted the fifth-highest rate of return among members of Congress, narrowly edging out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A total of 35 members of Congress got returns greater than the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (SPY), essentially meaning they beat the market.

Crenshaw has gotten in hot water over stock trading before. In March of 2020, he made half a dozen buys while the country went into lockdown and Congress debated and wrote the largest economic stimulus package in history. This included purchasing stock in Boeing, a company that successfully lobbied for billions of dollars from the CARES Act. Crenshaw was on the House committees for Budget and Homeland Security at the time. More significantly, Crenshaw failed to disclose these trades for months, which is a violation of the STOCK Act.
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That's an already-existing law that mandates that Congressmembers disclose all their stock trading.
Stock trading by members of Congress has come under increased scrutiny in the wake of the pandemic, when multiple senators sold millions in stock just before the COVID-19 crashed the market, some of whom were publicly downplaying the virus at the time. This brings up obvious concerns about insider trading and conflicts of interest in Congress. Indeed, 54 members failed to properly report their financial transactions as mandated by the STOCK Act last year, according to Business Insider. One of the more egregious cases was Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) buying stocks and options in Chinese e-commerce giant while publicly criticizing American investment in China.

Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) have introduced legislation banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks and other securities. Under the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act, members and their families would be required to put their stock portfolios in a blind trust.
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Crenshaw on Congress trading stocks: ‘You have no way to better yourself’ - Texas Signal
“I think it would be fine if you wanted to ban individual stock trading… as opposed to ETFs, indexes,” said Crenshaw. “I’m kinda neutral on it.”

“If you want only millionaires and billionaires to run for Congress, then keep making sure we can’t raise our pay,” he added. “Just keep in mind that no one will run for Congress because you have no way to better yourself.”
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Stock-Trading Ban for Congress Hits Pushback From Right and Left - Bloomberg
The fast-moving bipartisan drive to ban stock trading by members of Congress is hitting resistance with some lawmakers questioning its reach into their families’ business and whether it would discourage public service.

Progressive Democrats and conservative Republicans alike have been surfacing proposals with varying levels of restrictions from requiring securities be put in a blind trust to outright bans on ownership of individual stocks.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has endorsed the general idea. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, bowing to the growing momentum within her party, retreated last month from her previous opposition to a stock trading ban, but hasn’t yet fully embraced it.

Instead she’s asked the House Committee on Administration to draw up options, including tightening existing disclosure requirements, and suggested she wants any new restrictions extended to the federal judiciary.
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When It Comes to Investing, Some in Congress Have Oddly Good Timing - The New York Times - "Senators Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein sold stocks after a private briefing on Covid-19."
In an academic paper published a few years ago, an economist named Serkan Karadas highlighted a suspicious pattern: Members of Congress earned higher than average returns on their stock investments.

The findings suggested that at least some Congress members were profiting off their jobs. With inside knowledge about forthcoming policy changes or economic developments, the members could buy stocks shortly before they rose in price or sell them shortly before they fell.
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Seems like insider trading.
 
Efforts to ban Congress members' stock trades pick up steam : NPR
Top congressional Democrats are signaling Congress could vote soon on legislation to ban lawmakers from trading individual stocks. The move comes amid pressure from rank and file members from both parties arguing that voters overwhelmingly back the idea.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., doesn't personally trade individual stocks — her husband does. She said in December she didn't think a ban was necessary, but has reversed course as members in her caucus have pushed the issue.
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lpetrich said:
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Houston) did pretty well for himself in 2021, financially speaking. According to a new report from Unusual Whales, Crenshaw’s trading netted the fifth-highest rate of return among members of Congress, narrowly edging out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A total of 35 members of Congress got returns greater than the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (SPY), essentially meaning they beat the market.
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I don't know whether Pelosi benefits from insider knowledge or not, but there's a trivial reason why she outperformed the S&P-500, using an approach that anybody can use.

Instead of buying stocks, her disclosures show that she (or her husband?) likes to buy call options. This approach automatically produces a higher return than a stock index when the market is going up. (It's not a "free lunch": The approach will produce worse LOSSES than the index when the market is going down.)
 
Ryan Grim on Twitter: "I'll have a story on this up soon but basically Democratic leadership's support for the stock trade ban today may be the result of general pressure, but there was a specific internal House push that may have also made a difference /1" / Twitter

Ryan Grim on Twitter: "A rule in the House allows 218 members who sign a discharge petition to force a bill onto the floor for a vote. Last week @AOC got that process started by filing a bill with the Rules Committee filled with all sorts of lingo that would make the committee very unlikely to pass it (pic link)" / Twitter

H.Res.899 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Providing for the consideration of the bill (H.R. 1579) to prohibit Members of Congress from purchasing or selling certain investments, and for other purposes. | Congress.gov | Library of Congress - February 1, 2022
Providing for the consideration of the bill (H.R. 1579) to prohibit Members of Congress from purchasing or selling certain investments, and for other purposes.

Resolved, That immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the bill (H.R. 1579) to prohibit Members of Congress from purchasing or selling certain investments, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. No amendment to the bill shall be in order. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Financial Services or their respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.

Sec. 2. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the consideration of H.R. 1579.
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In effect, rushing the bill to a vote. That's ingenious parliamentary maneuvering on AOC's part.

The bill itself: H.R.1579 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Ban Conflicted Trading Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

Ryan Grim on Twitter: "Not passing it was the goal, though, because after 7 legislative days, a discharge petition can be requested and then filed, and today was the 7th legislative day. An aide to Ocasio-Cortez says the plan for a discharge petition was in the works (link)" / Twitter

Ryan Grim on Twitter: "The writing on this was on the wall, and in late January Pelosi started softening her opposition a bit. But a discharge petition could have picked up a ton of steam very fast, particularly if Republicans signed on, as McCarthy had already signaled his support" / Twitter

Ryan Grim on Twitter: "The petition would have forced a vote on this bill by @RajaForCongress, AOC and others. It may be a coincidence, but had Pelosi not gotten ahead of it today, her hand would have been forced (link)" / Twitter
 
On Stock Trading Ban, House Democratic Leaders Faced Internal Pressure - "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has finally endorsed a ban on stock trading by members of Congress."
Pelosi may simply be bowing to the inevitable and caving to broad public pressure, but there was a specific, internal push that may have made a difference: a discharge petition in the works from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

A House rule allows 218 members who sign such a petition to force a bill onto the floor for a vote. Last week, Ocasio-Cortez got that process started by filing a bill banning member stock trades with the Rules Committee filled with requirements that would make the committee very unlikely to pass it. The resolution would have required an immediate floor vote on the bill and barred amendments.

After seven legislative days without action, a discharge petition can be requested and filed, and today — Wednesday — was the seventh legislative day. Ocasio-Cortez’s move was aimed at putting pressure on Pelosi’s office not to simply ignore the issue and instead to push forward her own version of the legislation — a version that would be less onerous for members
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lpetrich said:
When It Comes to Investing, Some in Congress Have Oddly Good Timing - The New York Times - "Senators Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein sold stocks after a private briefing on Covid-19."
In an academic paper published a few years ago, an economist named Serkan Karadas highlighted a suspicious pattern: Members of Congress earned higher than average returns on their stock investments.

The findings suggested that at least some Congress members were profiting off their jobs. With inside knowledge about forthcoming policy changes or economic developments, the members could buy stocks shortly before they rose in price or sell them shortly before they fell.
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Seems like insider trading.
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Actually, on this one I won't blame them. The world could see what was happening and expect repercussions in the stock market. A briefing could have brought it more to their attention but it wasn't hidden information in the first place.
 
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