Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, October 23, 2019. (Image: CSPAN/Twitter)
Oct 23, 2019
As the House Financial Services Committee questioning of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg got underway Wednesday morning, a number of observers pointed to a new report that shows four of the committee's Democratic members own stock in the social media giant.
"Just one of those crazy things about the U.S. Congress, that we all know and love," tweetedSludge reporter David Moore, "members can hold stock in companies they oversee on their committees!"
Moore's colleague Alex Kotch reported the story on Tuesday evening. Detailing how Democratic Reps. Joyce Beatty (Ohio), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Ed Perlmutter (Colo.), and Dean Phillips (Minn.) and/or their immediate families have "a total of between $126,000 and $365,000 invested in Facebook," Kotch questioned how the lawmakers can remain neutral in the hearing.
"While there's no evidence of corruption," Kotch wrote, "this stock ownership is a clear-cut example of a potential conflict of interest, given the representatives' role in writing legislation that directly impacts a company in which they are personally invested."
The quartet are part of a group of at least 30 members of Congress who own shares in the company, according to Roll Call:
Twenty-eight members listed stock in the social media giant, according to Roll Call's Wealth of Congressproject. Among them, Democratic Reps.Kurt Schraderof Oregon andJoseph P. Kennedy III of Massachusetts sit on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, while Democratic Sen.Sheldon Whitehouseof Rhode Island sits on Senate Judiciary.
Kotch pointed to one of the more powerful member of the House with interests in the company: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
\u201c@Sludge @RepDeanPhillips And as far as I know, the owner of the most Facebook stock in the House isn't on this committee. It's Nancy Pelosi, whose venture capitalist husband owns as much as $1.1 million in Facebook stock. https://t.co/PgVZXyb0y5\u201d— Alex Kotch (@Alex Kotch) 1571780160
Watch the hearing:
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
As the House Financial Services Committee questioning of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg got underway Wednesday morning, a number of observers pointed to a new report that shows four of the committee's Democratic members own stock in the social media giant.
"Just one of those crazy things about the U.S. Congress, that we all know and love," tweetedSludge reporter David Moore, "members can hold stock in companies they oversee on their committees!"
Moore's colleague Alex Kotch reported the story on Tuesday evening. Detailing how Democratic Reps. Joyce Beatty (Ohio), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Ed Perlmutter (Colo.), and Dean Phillips (Minn.) and/or their immediate families have "a total of between $126,000 and $365,000 invested in Facebook," Kotch questioned how the lawmakers can remain neutral in the hearing.
"While there's no evidence of corruption," Kotch wrote, "this stock ownership is a clear-cut example of a potential conflict of interest, given the representatives' role in writing legislation that directly impacts a company in which they are personally invested."
The quartet are part of a group of at least 30 members of Congress who own shares in the company, according to Roll Call:
Twenty-eight members listed stock in the social media giant, according to Roll Call's Wealth of Congressproject. Among them, Democratic Reps.Kurt Schraderof Oregon andJoseph P. Kennedy III of Massachusetts sit on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, while Democratic Sen.Sheldon Whitehouseof Rhode Island sits on Senate Judiciary.
Kotch pointed to one of the more powerful member of the House with interests in the company: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
\u201c@Sludge @RepDeanPhillips And as far as I know, the owner of the most Facebook stock in the House isn't on this committee. It's Nancy Pelosi, whose venture capitalist husband owns as much as $1.1 million in Facebook stock. https://t.co/PgVZXyb0y5\u201d— Alex Kotch (@Alex Kotch) 1571780160
Watch the hearing:
As the House Financial Services Committee questioning of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg got underway Wednesday morning, a number of observers pointed to a new report that shows four of the committee's Democratic members own stock in the social media giant.
"Just one of those crazy things about the U.S. Congress, that we all know and love," tweetedSludge reporter David Moore, "members can hold stock in companies they oversee on their committees!"
Moore's colleague Alex Kotch reported the story on Tuesday evening. Detailing how Democratic Reps. Joyce Beatty (Ohio), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Ed Perlmutter (Colo.), and Dean Phillips (Minn.) and/or their immediate families have "a total of between $126,000 and $365,000 invested in Facebook," Kotch questioned how the lawmakers can remain neutral in the hearing.
"While there's no evidence of corruption," Kotch wrote, "this stock ownership is a clear-cut example of a potential conflict of interest, given the representatives' role in writing legislation that directly impacts a company in which they are personally invested."
The quartet are part of a group of at least 30 members of Congress who own shares in the company, according to Roll Call:
Twenty-eight members listed stock in the social media giant, according to Roll Call's Wealth of Congressproject. Among them, Democratic Reps.Kurt Schraderof Oregon andJoseph P. Kennedy III of Massachusetts sit on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, while Democratic Sen.Sheldon Whitehouseof Rhode Island sits on Senate Judiciary.
Kotch pointed to one of the more powerful member of the House with interests in the company: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
\u201c@Sludge @RepDeanPhillips And as far as I know, the owner of the most Facebook stock in the House isn't on this committee. It's Nancy Pelosi, whose venture capitalist husband owns as much as $1.1 million in Facebook stock. https://t.co/PgVZXyb0y5\u201d— Alex Kotch (@Alex Kotch) 1571780160
Watch the hearing:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.