How savvy investments help members of Congress
U.S. Rep. Chris Collins of New York was arrested and charged this week with allegedly passing on information he learned as a board member of a Australian pharmaceutical company to family members who quickly sold their stock to avoid big losses.
Collins, like about of half of his colleagues in Congress, owns stock in publicly traded companies.
There are few rules around lawmakers’ investing. Insider trading is illegal, but representatives can sit on congressional committees overseeing companies and industries included in their own investment portfolios.
Members of Congress earn $174,000 annually, and that’s been the same for more than five years. Yet, research shows that the net worth of many who serve in Congress grows while they’re in office.
You can find your local representative’s disclosures here.
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