Members of Congress changed portfolios

Do you think members of Congress have an unfair advantage when it comes to financial investments? Should the rules that apply to them be changed? Or do you trust them to do the right thing? Post a comment in this story, comment on WTOP’s Facebook Page or use #WTOPTalkback or #WTOP on Twitter.

WASHINGTON – An investigation by The Washington Post has found that 34 members of Congress changed their investment portfolios during the financial crisis after phone calls or meetings with high-ranking financial officials, including the treasury secretary and head of the Federal Reserve.

The newspaper reports lawmakers changed parts of their portfolios 166 times within two business days of talking to administration officials.

Members of both parties made the changes — 19 Democrats and 15 Republicans.

The Post report on Monday follows another story by the newspaper on Sunday that found 130 lawmakers conducted more than $200 million in stock trades between 2007 and 2010, involving companies with business before Congress.

Sunday’s report didn’t suggest lawmakers were guilty of insider trading, but did suggest trades could be considered conflicts of interest.

The paper’s investigation came after a 60 Minutes November report revealed members of Congress were not restricted from trading stocks based on non-public information

Follow WTOP on Twitter.

(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up