Sherrod Brown
Photographer: Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg
Photographer: Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg
The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on the “current state of the stock market,” Senate President Senator Sherrod Brown said Thursday, as more and more lawmakers criticized measures to limit transactions fueled by Reddit in companies like GameStop Corp.
“People on Wall Street only care about the rules when they are hurt. American workers have known for years that the Wall Street system is defective – they have paid the price, “Brown said in a statement. “It’s time for the SEC and Congress to make the economy work for everyone, not just Wall Street.”
While Brown did not announce a date for the hearing, a rare bipartisan collection of lawmakers joined in criticizing platforms such as Robinhood Markets Inc. to limit trading in some stocks, saying it unfairly disadvantages ordinary people who should be allowed to trade as freely as hedge funds.
Progress, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Elizabeth Warren, as well as Senate Banking Republican Pat Toomey, said the measures deserve closer regulatory scrutiny. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the jobs “interesting” and said relevant agencies should look into the matter.
Toomey, who is poised to become the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, said he is bothered by Robinhood and other platforms that block transactions.
“I find it very disturbing that a platform would suddenly freeze investors,” Toomey said. “People should be free to make the investment decisions they choose.”