Vox / Center for Public Integrity: How Republicans made millions on the tax cuts they pushed through Congress

Vox / Center for Public Integrity: How Republicans made millions on the tax cuts they pushed through Congress

Ironically, it was Congress that passed laws that restrict other federal government officials from owning stocks or assets that would benefit from the officials’ decisions — or require them to recuse themselves from such decisions. Yet Congress has not passed legislation that bans itself from the same practice. “Congress should have the same rules put on them that the executive branch has,” said Rotman of Common Cause. “The executive branch conflict of interest rules are stronger.”

When the price of Apple stock hit a then-record high in October 2018, among the shareholders counting their gains were 43 Republicans in Congress, who collectively owned as much as $1.5 million worth of the tech giant’s shares.

Apple’s stock jumped 37 percent in its runup to that record. Several variables were behind the climb, including higher-than-expected earnings. But congressional Republicans themselves had a hand in the spike, stock analysts say. Legislation they championed — the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — doled out nearly $150 billion in corporate tax savings in 2018 alone. One effect: a big boost in stock prices.

Cutting tax rates for companies like Apple and hundreds of other stocks they own was one of many ways Republican lawmakers enriched themselves after they passed the tax law, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of the 186-page law and members’ financial disclosure forms. Democrats also stood to gain from the tax bill, though not one voted for it; all but 12 Republicans voted for the tax bill. …

Warren’s plan faces an uphill climb, even among Democrats. “It’s very difficult to get congresspeople to pass rules that make life exceedingly difficult for themselves,” said Beth Rotman, the money in politics and ethics director at Common Cause, a government watchdog in Washington, DC. …

Ironically, it was Congress that passed laws that restrict other federal government officials from owning stocks or assets that would benefit from the officials’ decisions — or require them to recuse themselves from such decisions. Yet Congress has not passed legislation that bans itself from the same practice. “Congress should have the same rules put on them that the executive branch has,” said Rotman of Common Cause. “The executive branch conflict of interest rules are stronger.”