Congress is driven by capitalism – members purchasing stocks prove
Parlapiano et al 22 [Alicia Parlapiano; graphics editor and reporter at The New York Times, covering politics and policy from Washington; 9-13-2022; These 97 Members of Congress Reported Trades in Companies Influenced by Their Committees; New York Times; https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/13/us/politics/congress-members-stock-trading-list.html; 7-21-2023; AA]
At least 97 current members of Congress bought or sold stock, bonds or other financial assets that intersected with their congressional work or reported similar transactions by their spouse or a dependent child, an analysis by The New York Times has found.
U.S. lawmakers are not banned from investing in any company, including those that could be affected by their decisions. But the trading patterns uncovered by the Times analysis underscore longstanding concerns about the potential for conflicts of interest or use of inside information by members of Congress, government ethics experts say.
Times reporters analyzed transactions between 2019 and 2021 using a database of members’ financial filings called Capitol Trades created by 2iQ Research. They matched the trades against relevant committee assignments and the dates of hearings and congressional investigations.