Republican Rep. Tom MacArthur and Rep. Fred Upton, who’s amendments helped Trumpcare pass the House, held significant investments in health care stocks.
40 Republicans have made loads of money on health care stocks. And according to this piece, could be worth as much as $39 million and grossed $6 million in profits.
www.thedailybeast.com/...
Forty Republican representatives who voted for the American Health Care Act held shares in health care companies valued at $23 million and earned more than $2 million off those investments, a Daily Beast review of the most-recent financial records found.
The investments may be worth as much as $39 million and grossed as much as $6 million in profits, according to the disclosure reports that require members of Congress to report investments and income within a price range.
Who would benefit under Trumpcare?
Pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers.
They would save billions in taxes and fees.
America and it’s citizens would get the shaft.
Republicans owned between $1.3 million and $4.9 million worth of stock in Abbott Labs, Johnson and Johnson, and 3M, three of the country’s largest medical-device manufacturers. They also owned between $2.7 million and $5.5 million in pharmaceutical giants Merck, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, and Shire.
The AHCA would benefit these companies by eliminating billions of dollars in taxes and fees on pharmaceutical and medical-device manufacturers—a provision of the bill that doesn’t reflect a violation of ethics rules because it will have a broad effect across health care industries, according to ethics experts.
Richard Painter, the former ethics lawyer to George W. Bush, says it isn't illegal what they’re doing, but it raises concerns and conflicts of interest.
The tens of millions in investments are far from illegal, said Richard Painter, the lead ethics lawyer in George W. Bush’s White House, but raise conflict of interest concerns.
Look who’s on the list with MacArthur and Upton. It’s Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, who betrayed his constituents and voted for an even worse version of Trumpcare.
Besides MacArthur, Collins, and Upton, the other lawmakers with at least $500,000 in health care stock are: Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas (at least $6 million); Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey (at least $2.2 million); Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin (at least $2.1 million); Rep. Keith Rothfus of Pennsylvania (at least $1.2 million); Rep. Kenny Marchant of Texas (at least $922,000); Rep. James Renacci of Pennsylvania (at least $663,000); and Rep. Rod Blum of Iowa (at least $531,000).
Richard Painter goes on to say that these Republicans shouldn't be in Congress representing the best interests of their constituents, they should be picking stocks.
“The bottom line is that these folks are supposed to be in Congress to represent their constituents, not maximize their wealth. It’s fine if you want to be a stock picker, but go be a stock picker, not a member of Congress.”