Senator Rick Scott has responded to criticism from the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board regarding his position on banning stock trading by members of Congress. In a statement, Scott said he supports such a ban but wants it implemented correctly.
“Far from the claims in the Editorial Board’s inaccurate piece, I fully support banning members of Congress from trading stocks. I have supported legislation while I have been in the U.S. Senate to make that happen,” Scott stated.
Scott referenced recent legislation put forward by Senator Josh Hawley and Democrats, saying it was introduced with little notice and lacked clarity for committee members. “Republican Sen. Josh Hawley put forward a bill that was hastily drafted with Democrats and dropped at the last minute — literally while we were sitting in committee preparing to vote,” he said. “It was clear that every member on the committee had issues understanding what the new draft covered.”
He emphasized the importance of lawmakers reading bills before voting on them: “I believe that we ought to read bills before we vote on them, not just approve every policy that could be in a bill but that we aren’t sure about — even if it sounds good to Editorial Board members who have never held elected office, and in most cases have never run a business or had to make decisions that impact the personal finances of other people.”
Scott added, “Voters expect me to read bills before I vote on them.”
The senator reaffirmed his commitment to pursuing restrictions on congressional stock trading: “I know that Floridians want us to ban stock trading by members of Congress and I wholeheartedly agree. I’ve been supportive of this idea for years. That’s why I would like to advance the PELOSI Act, and I will have an announcement to make on my work to ban stock trading by members of Congress soon.”
Scott also called for an investigation into Representative Nancy Pelosi’s stock trades: “I also believe there should be an investigation of Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s stock trading history. I wanted that to be part of this bill, but Democrats and Hawley opposed that. It is important information that the public needs to know.”
Addressing broader criticisms about his career and record as governor and senator, Scott noted ongoing opposition from the editorial board over various issues related to his policies and personal financial practices.
Rick Scott has served as Florida’s senior U.S. senator since 2018 after previously serving as governor from 2011 until 2019.
