Rep. Donna Shalala, D-F.L. — the only Democratic Party lawmaker on the watchdog task force that is overseeing the distribution of the $500 billion from the coronavirus relief package — has been accused of failing to publicly disclose stock market actions as required by law.
Some of the stock transactions she reportedly failed to disclose involve companies seeking bailouts from the massive relief package she’s overseeing.
According to a report by The Miami Herald, Shalala “violated federal law when she failed to disclose stock sales while serving in Congress” in 2019.
Shalala admitted she “sold a variety of stocks” since being elected, but said failing to disclose the transactions was a simple mistake.
According to the report, “the transactions were not publicly reported as required by the STOCK Act, a 2012 law that prohibits members of Congress and their employees from using private information gleaned from their official positions for personal benefit and requires them to report stock sales and purchases within 45 days.”
Before being elected to Congress, Shalala served in former President Bill Clinton’s administration from 1993 to 2001.
She was later appointed as the president of The Clinton Foundation by Bill and Hillary. She remains close to the Clinton family, and Hillary was heavily involved in Shalala’s 2018 election campaign.
“Shalala acknowledged the transactions after she was selected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to represent House Democrats on a bipartisan panel that will monitor $500 billion in payouts to large businesses affected by the coronavirus,” The Herald reported. “On her 2018 financial disclosure, the most recent that is publicly available, Shalala said she owned a number of stocks in companies that could be eligible to seek federal bailouts, a potential conflict of interest.”
Shalala’s actions have been criticized by ethics experts, who say she violated the public trust.
“The reporting requirement is exceedingly important. It’s perhaps the most important element of the entire STOCK Act,” Craig Holman, an ethics expert, told The Herald. “The reporting requirement gives the public and press a real-time view of stock trading activity by members of Congress. That type of disclosure would allow us to uncover what would appear to be insider trading for [North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr] and [Georgia Sen. Kelly] Loeffler,” both Republicans.
Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn. and Rep. French Hill, R-Ark. are serving with Shalala on the Congressional Oversight Commission, along with Bharat Ramamurti, a former Democratic Senate aide.
Shalala was appointed to the committee by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“We must ensure that taxpayer dollars given to industry go to workers’ paychecks and benefits, not be used for CEO bonuses, stock buybacks or dividends,” Pelosi said in a statement regarding the oversight commission.
The Horn editorial team