Josh Hawley introduces 'Pelosi Act' that would ban members of Congress from trading stocks

Republican Senator Josh Hawley introduced a bill that seeks to prohibit lawmakers from owning stock while in office. The bill will be named after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Through his own website, the Missouri representative assured that it is not right for politicians to invest in the companies they should be overseeing. Therefore, the law would give elected congressmen a period of six months to sell their shares or place them in a blind trust during their time in office.

Nancy Pelosi's business dealings

The rule would also apply to Congress members' spouses, prohibiting them from owning, acquiring or selling shares or equivalent economic interests. This particular section is the one that alludes to the former speaker of the House of Representatives.

Paul Pelosi is believed to boast multi-million dollar earnings from his financial holdings in technology companies. According to a report from Open Secrets, in 2018, the couple's net worth was more than $114 million, up from $41 million in 2004.

According to disclosure forms, which are publicly available, the Pelosis primarily benefited from shares in tech giants like Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft.