ECU // LAV released memo that found members of Congress traded nearly $500 million in stocks in 2021
End Citizens United // Let America Vote Action Fund sent a letter to House members this week in support of legislation to ban members of Congress from trading stocks while in office The letter lays out how as hard-working American families struggle to pay the bills because of the ongoing pandemic and corporate price gouging, members of Congress have access to inside information and can trade stocks in areas that they regulate. Banning members of Congress from trading stocks would at a minimum prevent the appearance of clear conflicts of interest. At a maximum it would stop members from abusing the public’s trust for personal financial gain.
Click here to read the letter.
As more reports come out about members of Congress profiting off their stock trading, it has become clear that Congress needs to strengthen the STOCK ACT and bar members of Congress from trading stocks while in office.
A new memo from ECU // LAV Action Fund found that in 2021, members of Congress traded nearly half a billion dollars, investing in companies they oversee, like Big Tech and Wall Street, while buying and selling over 5,100 stocks.
Click here to read the full memo
Congress Traded Up To $489 Million In Stock In 2021
| Year | Chamber | Low Amount | High Amount | # Trades |
| 2021 | Congress | $141,436,143 | $489,845,000 | 5151 |
| 2021 | Senate | $9,204,460 | $28,085,000 | 460 |
| 2021 | House | $132,231,683 | $461,760,000 | 4691 |
| 2020 | Congress | $151,460,679 | $567,935,000 | 7679 |
| 2020 | House | $59,159,315 | $229,570,000 | 1315 |
| 2020 | Senate | $92,301,364 | $338,365,000 | 6364 |
[CongressStockWatcher.com, accessed 3/08/22]
Members of Congress receive inside information that can benefit their stock market endeavors, giving them an unfair advantage over hard-working Americans. The Stock Act 2.0 would help end the corruption that plagues Washington surrounding the stock market and holding this Committee on House Administration hearing is an important first step, and we applaud Chairperson Lofgren for her leadership on this issue
Banning members of Congress from trading stocks has broad bipartisan support, with pollsters from across the political spectrum finding that nearly three-quarters of Americans support this measure.
- Rep. Mike Kelly’s congressional office learned that a steel works would receive federal help to stay open on April 28, 2020. The next day the Congressman’s wife bought thousands of shares in the steel works’ parent company, and would later sell the stock at more than triple its initial price. Rep. Kelly’s case is being investigated by the Ethics Committee.
- Sen. Richard Burr attended a confidential briefing on the threat posed by the Coronavirus, and personally made the decision to sell $1.6 million in stocks a week before the pandemic put the market into a crash. Worse, Burr called his brother-in-law Gerald Fauth, and the very next minute Fauth called his broker. Fauth sold up to $280,000 in stocks, insulating himself from the impending market crash. Burr and Fauth are still being investigated by the SEC for insider trading. Burr voted against the original STOCK Act.
- Sen. Rand Paul sits on the Senate HELP Committee and was briefed on COVID, and in the early days of the pandemic his wife bought shares in Gilead, which now works to treat COVID. This was Paul and his wife’s only purchase of stock in a decade, and Sen. Paul violated the STOCK Act by refusing to disclose the purchase for sixteen months. An ethics complaint was filed against Sen. Paul over the matter.
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