An Arizona congresswoman took aim at the Republican chair of the House Natural Resources Committee for trading shares of companies in industries regulated by the committee he leads.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Arizona, argued May 6 that because of his recent stock purchases, Arkansas Republican Bruce Westerman would be “benefiting” from a GOP budget item that would increase the country’s sale of oil, gas and coal leases.
Westerman bought shares of roughly 100 companies in early March, his disclosure showed. Among them were the oil and gas companies ConocoPhillips, Shell, Suncor, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP and Canadian Natural Resources Company, plus the mining giants Rio Tinto and Freeport-McMoran.
It’s the first time Westerman has filed such a disclosure since he was elected to Congress in 2014, records show.
Ansari contended his behavior amounts to “corruption.”
“Not only will these billionaires and the CEO’s of these companies be profiting, but the chairman of the committee responsible for overseeing this jurisdiction will also be profiting from these giveaways,” she said.
Westerman told Politico that a financial adviser made the purchases without his knowledge, and that he was in the process of divesting the stocks.
“There was nothing wrong with what happened,” he told Politico.
Ansari is one of four Arizona representatives who has signed onto a bill that would prohibit members of Congress from trading or holding individual stocks.
Republican Reps. Juan Ciscomani and Eli Crane, and Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton, back that proposal too.
The bill would require members of Congress to place certain investments into a qualified blind trust, a type of fund designed to prevent conflicts of interest.
Federal law prohibits members of Congress from using “nonpublic” knowledge from their job for financial gain, and it requires them to disclose most securities transactions within 45 days.
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