Democrat attacks Pelosi for ‘failure of House leadership’ after STOCK Act fizzles, calls for ‘new leaders’

A House Democrat blasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday for a "failure of House leadership" by refusing to call up legislation to impose tougher stock trading restrictions on members of Congress.

Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., said she has been working with members since 2020 to call up a bill that would strengthen the provisions of the STOCK Act, a 2012 law that prohibits lawmakers from using inside information to profit from stock trading. Support for a complete ban on trading by lawmakers grew this year, but Spanberger accused Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Democratic leaders of shutting it down.

"[A]fter first signaling her opposition to these reforms, the Speaker purportedly reversed her position," Spanberger said. "However, our bipartisan reform coalition was then subjected to repeated delay tactics, hand-waving gestures and blatant instances of Lucy pulling the football."

HOUSE UNLIKELY TO VOTE ON CONGRESSIONAL STOCK TRADE BAN BEFORE MIDTERMS

"This moment marks a failure of House leadership — and it’s yet another example of why I believe that the Democratic Party needs new leaders in the halls of Capitol Hill," she said.

She added that instead of finding consensus, Pelosi and other leaders "chose to ignore these voices, push them aside, and look for new ways they could string the media and the public along."

Pelosi responded to that criticism later in they day by saying Spanberger's original proposals were in the bill lawmakers were considering.

"Her bill is contained in this bill," Pelosi said. "Other members had ideas, too, to improve upon the bill."

Pelosi added that it makes no sense to call up the bill until the votes are there, and said it is still a work in progress. "We'll see," she said.

In the last few weeks, House Administration Committee Chair Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., took charge of the matter and finally provided an outline of a possible bill to House lawmakers. According to that outline, the bill would ban lawmakers, their spouses and dependent children from trading stocks and owning a range of securities. The bill also included Supreme Court and federal judges, the president and vice president, and members of the Federal Reserve System’s Board of Governors who oversee monetary policy.... (Read more)

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