Behind the Poll:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opposes banning Congress members from owning individual stocks: ‘We’re a free market economy’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi scoffed on 15 December Wednesday at the idea of banning congressional lawmakers and their spouses from owning shares of individual companies, despite the possibilities for conflicts of interest between their legislative duties and personal finances.
“No,” Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters at a news conference where she was asked whether she would support such a prohibition.
“We’re a free market economy,” she said. “They should be able to participate in that.”
Pelosi’s dismissal of the idea of a stock purchase ban came in response to a question about a Business Insider investigative report this week on share ownership by lawmakers, and after controversies over stock purchases by a number of senators since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
–Dan Mangan
