Pelosi wants any stock trading ban to be 'government wide'

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Wednesday the House is making progress on legislation to curb stock tradings in Congress, but added that she's insisting any stock legislation apply to the Supreme Court too.

"It has to be government-wide," Pelosi said Wednesday of the criteria she wants to see in any stock legislation. 

The Supreme Court in Washington on Nov. 6, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite / AP Newsroom)

"The third branch of government, the judiciary, has no reporting," Pelosi added at a Capitol news conference. "The Supreme Court has no disclosure. It has no reporting of stock transactions. And it makes important decisions every day."

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Pelosi, who was once opposed to a ban on stock trades for members of Congress, has said in recent weeks she's open to restrictions if members want such legislation. She signaled last month she has concerns about the Supreme Court not having to disclose stocks as lawmakers must do now, but her comments Wednesday indicate her demands in shaping the legislation. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi conducts her weekly news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on Aug. 6, 2021. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)  (Getty Images)

Pelosi also said she wants an increase in fines for violations of the current STOCK Act to serve as a better deterrent. 

Under the STOCK Act, passed in 2012, it's illegal for members of Congress and their families to profit from inside information, and it requires lawmakers to report stock trades to Congress within 45 days. In some recent cases, lawmakers have failed to report their trades altogether.

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The discussion comes as members of the House and Senate are pushing a range of bipartisan proposals on how to stop members from trading individual stocks. The effort kicked off following reports that senators from both parties traded health care stocks in the early days of the pandemic after they received closed-door briefings about COVID-19.

It's unclear how far the House legislation will go, and whether it will affect spouses. Pelosi doesn't trade stocks herself, but her husband, Paul, does. He's the owner and operator of a San Francisco investment firm that has helped the Pelosis amass enormous wealth.

Night falls at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (AP Newsroom)

Pelosi is worth an estimated $114 million, according to her 2018 personal financial disclosure, making her the sixth-richest member of the House and the 10th richest member of Congress, according to data tracked by the Center for Responsive Politics.

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Pelosi said she's relying on the House Administration Committee to come up with the legislation. 

"It's complicated and members will figure it out, and then we'll go forward with what the consensus is," Pelosi said Wednesday, adding that she expects "they'll have it pretty soon."

Banning stock trades by members of Congress is popular with the public. A Fox News poll conducted in January found widespread support for that, as 72% of Democrats and 69% of Republicans favor the ban.

FOX Business' Megan Henney contributed this report. 

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