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,” incoming chairman Senator Sherrod Brown said Thursday, when a growing number of lawmakers criticized measures to curb Reddit-driven transactions in companies such as. GameStop Corp.
“People on Wall Street only care about the rules when they’re the ones who get hurt. American workers have known for years that the Wall Street system is broken – they 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. for restricting trading in some stocks and says it harms dishonest people who should be able to trade as freely as hedge funds.
Progressives including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Elizabeth Warren, as well as Senate Banking Republican Pat Toomey said the steps deserve tighter regulatory scrutiny. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called transactions “interesting” and said the relevant authorities should investigate the matter.
Toomey, who is on the cusp of becoming the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, said he is troubled by Robinhood and other platforms blocking transactions.
“I find it very disturbing that a platform would suddenly freeze investors,” said Toomey. “People should be free to make the investment decisions they choose.”