A total of 97 congressmen and women were found to have trades in companies influenced by their committees, according to a new report.
Of 435 House members, 183 reported stock trades by themselves or immediate family members from 2019 to 2021, with over half being members of committees that could have influenced these trades, an investigation from the New York Times found. The partisanship of the members is split about evenly between Republicans and Democrats, with 49 Republicans and 48 Democrats accused of the practice.
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The fact that nearly one-fifth of Congress may be trading in industries that entail massive conflicts of interest has pushed many, including Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) to propose legislation that would prevent Congress from trading stocks at all. Craig discovered her son was day-trading stocks without her knowledge and only found out thanks to congressional family stock disclosure laws, she said.
“As a mom, I would be grateful if my college student son was not allowed to own or trade stocks. And as a member of Congress, I’m working to pass a law to force him to listen to his mother,” Craig said in a statement.
“Can confirm. And he lost money on both trades,” she added on Twitter.
Can confirm. And he lost money on both trades. https://t.co/egpbAGv5Uw
— Angie Craig (@AngieCraigMN) September 13, 2022
Craig’s son traded Lyft and Ford stocks while she was a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, apparently unbeknownst to her.
The congresswoman, who sold all of her stocks before entering office, wants to enact a law that would require the same of everyone in Congress, banning not only stock trading, but also ownership as well for members of Congress and their immediate family members.
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Since 2012, members of Congress are bound by the STOCK Act to disclose any trades by themselves or close family members of stocks valued at $1,000 or higher within 45 days, and they must refrain from any stock purchases going off of insider information. However, the latter clause is difficult to prove, and members are free to trade as they please otherwise.
