Quantum Windbag
Gold Member
- May 9, 2010
- 58,308
- 5,100
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Remember the STOCK Act, the new law that would prevent Congress critters from insider trading? Remember how it was going to stop all that Democrats and bad stuff? Remember how I scoffed? It seems that 68 Democrats and 62 Republican conresscritters are still getting rich off of investments in stocks they are voting on.
Don't worry though, not only is it legal, every single one of them assures us that the timing is just a big coincidence.
Congress and Insider Trading
Don't worry though, not only is it legal, every single one of them assures us that the timing is just a big coincidence.
Congressmen are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in stock in companies over which they have oversight. And its perfectly legal.
WaPo (Members of Congress trade in companies while making laws that affect those same firms):
One-hundred-thirty members of Congress or their families have traded stocks collectively worth hundreds of millions of dollars in companies lobbying on bills that came before their committees, a practice that is permitted under current ethics rules, a Washington Post analysis has found.
The lawmakers bought and sold a total of between $85 million and $218 million in 323 companies registered to lobby on legislation that appeared before them, according to an examination of all 45,000 individual congressional stock transactions contained in computerized financial disclosure data from 2007 to 2010.
Almost one in every eight trades 5,531 intersected with legislation. The 130 lawmakers traded stocks or bonds in companies as bills passed through their committees or while Congress was still considering the legislation. The party affiliation of the lawmakers was almost evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, 68 to 62.
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) reported buying $25,000 in bonds in a genetic-technology company around the time that he released a hold on legislation the firm supported. Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) sold between $50,000 and $100,000 in General Electric stock shortly before a Republican filibuster killed legislation sought by the company. The family of Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.) bought between $286,000 and $690,000 in a high-tech company interested in a bill under his committees jurisdiction.
Congress and Insider Trading