The stock trades made by the members of the United States Congress have come under increased scrutiny in recent years.
The central issue is one of ethics — with members of Congress often amassing large sums of wealth and routinely outperforming indices like the S&P 500. Moreover, this is often achieved by trading stocks in industries that they regulate through their work on congressional committees, where they have access to sensitive, non-public information — a clear conflict of interest.
While some headway has been made in addressing the issue — most notably via the STOCK Act and the yet-to-be-passed ETHICS Act, results have been sparse overall, and the Act has been violated at least twelve times this year, most recently by Rep. John James of Michigan.
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Wasserman-Schultz’s investment in silver
Whereas most members of Congress generally focus on well-publicized, blue-chip stocks — with big tech and pharma being areas of recent interest, one trade in particular stands out in the month of September.
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, the Democratic representative of Florida’s 25th congressional district and former DNC chair recently filed a report disclosing the purchase of a little-known mining stock.
After months of trading inactivity, the politician invested between $1,001 and $15,000 in Hecla Mining Company (NYSE: HL). Soon after the August 9 transaction became public knowledge, the stock rallied by 29%, reaching a price of $6.51.
Congressional purchases are often strong catalysts for stocks, and Wasserman Schultz’s membership on the Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Minerals fueled further suspicions of insider information
At press time, HL, which is the largest silver producer in the United States, is trading at $7.13. The silver stock is up 5.50% on the weekly chart, 19.43% on a monthly basis, 45.21% over the past six months, and 52.03% year-to-date (YTD).
Wasserman Schultz’s purchase was dated August 9, when the stock was trading at $5.04. Since then, the stock has gone up 41.46%. Since the public is not privy to exact transaction amounts, the congresswoman could currently be up anywhere from $415 to $6,219 on this single trade.
