Nancy Pelosi’s office addressed the controversy over her husband’s trades in computer chip stocks before Congress votes on the industry.
Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker, was contacted to give her view on her husband’s stock trading. We wanted to find out more about Paul Pelosi’s purchase of one million dollars of stock in a semiconductor company. As Congress prepares for a vote on a $52billion subsidy for the sector, as part of a bill that will increase U.S. computer chip production to be less dependent upon China, this is a crucial moment.
“The Speaker does not own stocks. These transactions have the “SP” designation for a spouse. Drew Hammill (Nancy Pelosi’s spokesperson) stated that the Speaker did not know of any transaction and she wasn’t involved in it.
Hammill stated there are at most three legislations that would ban members from trading. The Speaker requested that the Committee on House Administration examine them.
“The Speaker believes that sunlight is the best disinfectant. Hammill said that she asked Zoe Lofgren (Chair of the Committee on House Administration) to investigate the unacceptable non-compliance by members with reporting requirements under Section 105 of the STOCK Act. She suggested that stiffening penalties will be considered.
He said, “To be precise: insider trading is a serious federal criminal and civil violation and the Speaker strongly supports strong enforcers of the relevant statutes at both the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission. The Speaker passed the bipartisan Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act. The bill would establish similar disclosure requirements for federal judges to the STOCK Act. President Biden signed it into law in May.
Pelosi’s disclosure filing states that this purchase was made after Paul Pelosi bought between $1 million and $5 million shares of Nvidia. Nvidia, a semiconductor company, was purchased by Paul Pelosi. He also exercised 200 options for 20,000 shares.
Reuters reported Tuesday that the Senate could vote on a bill providing billions of dollars in subsidies for the semiconductor industry.
The bill could provide tax credits of up to $52 million and subsidies for chip purchases to China, increasing its competitiveness.
Congress is aiming to pass the bill and send it to President Joe Biden’s desk before leaving for their August recess.
On Monday, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., slammed Paul Pelosi following his multi-million-dollar purchase of computer chip stocks prior to a congressional subsidy vote
Comer called Nancy Pelosi “the ultimate insider,” noting how her husband has made other controversial stock purchases before, namely ahead of the Big Tech hearings on Capitol Hill.
“Nancy Pelosi is the ultimate insider. Not only is her husband buying stock options on a much higher level than the average member of Congress,” Comer said. “The average member of Congress may buy $5,000 or $6,000 of stock. He’s buying $500,000 worth of stock. He’s buying stock options that expire. To be able to trade stock options profitably, you have to know exactly which direction that stock’s going to move, and you can make a huge profit. This is wrong. This is another example of the media turning a blind eye to Nancy Pelosi’s bad behavior and unethical behavior.”
