Senator Josh Hawley Reintroduces the Pelosi Act

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Everyone who watches American politics, and who hasn't been living under a flat rock for the last few decades, is aware of that mysterious process by which elected officials in the House of Representatives and the Senate grow monstrously rich on their modest salaries.

It is (and let's say this quietly) called "graft."

A lot of this comes from members of Congress being made aware of information that could affect various publicly traded corporations, information that is not available to the general public. They then act on that information and score.

This is called "insider trading," and it's against the law, unless you're a member of Congress. But Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) is aiming to fix that, and to that end he has reintroduced the delightfully-named Pelosi Act.

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Hawley's ban would prohibit lawmakers and their spouses from holding, purchasing or selling stocks for the duration of the lawmaker's time in office. Lawmakers would be allowed to invest in diversified mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, or U.S. Treasury bonds while in office.

If passed, current lawmakers would have 180 days to comply with the legislation. Likewise, newly elected lawmakers must achieve compliance within 180 days of entering office.

Lawmakers who continue to make wrongful transactions under the law would be required to hand over any profits they made to the U.S. Treasury Department. The House or Senate ethics committees could also impose a fine on such lawmakers amounting to 10% of each wrongful transaction.

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