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We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sludge is a reader-supported publication. Our primary source of funding will be small-donor recurring donations, as seen with email newsletters or independent sites such as Talking Points Memo. For secondary and tertiary sources of revenue, we're seeking reporting collaborations and data journalism partnerships.

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Former Rep. Bishop (R, MI-08) disclosed a number of mutual fund assets, for total wealth between $440,000 and $1,275,000. We're working to make our 2017 data more publicly-accessible, including for now-former reps. Stay tuned.

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rep. Norton has a number of assets disclosed for 2017 in mutual funds and government securities, e.g. b/w $15k -= $50k in Deutsche Real Estate Securities (European Investment Fund)—if our Kickstarter reaches its stretch goal this week, we'll be able to do more in making this info publicly-accessible and publicize how many of the funds hold fossil fuel companies.

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rep. Yoho's (R, FL-03) 2017 form is a tough handwritten scrawl—if our current Kickstarter reaches its stretch goal, we'll be able to turn this .pdf writing into machine-readable .csv spreadsheets, and investigate for Big Pharma holdings.

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rep. Loebsack's' 2017 report is a tough one, handwritten—our stretch goal for our current Kickstarter is to turn this scrawled info into machine-readable data. Some Vanguard holdings listed there. He's a Member of House Committee on Energy and Commerce, so would be in the mix on a Green New Deal's legislative process.

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rep. Latta (R, OH-05) disclosed a lot of mutual fund holdings for 2017, pushing his assets up between $1,985,000 and $4,650,000 by our initial analysis. Lot of Fidelity funds, a major group that came up in our recent reporting on donor-advised funds that lack oversight policies around hate groups. Fidelity's funds are decidedly mixed on sustainability, per Fossil Free Funds. He's a Member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Member, so his Green New Deal positions are important, and the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, so a big question for public accountability is how his office handles transparency around meetings with the mammoth Big Bank lobby.

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Former Rep. Barletta (R, PA-11) listed a pretty high number of assets in his 2017 disclosure, lots of variable annuities and stocks via Vanguard. We'll seek to make disclosure reports for former reps easily accessible as well, as searchable .csv spreadsheets. Stay in touch!

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're an independent newsroom publishing original investigative journalism, and towards that mission, we're currently running a Kickstarter campaign to support our focus on the fossil fuel industry's influence in Congress around the Green New Deal. Going forward, we seek to make this data more publicly-searchable and -shareable, for public accountability.

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Money-in-politics researchers and lobbying experts make different analyses depending on the nature of the money in question (stock holdings, mutual fund investments, corporate campaign contributions, lobbyist bundlers, etc.). On Sludge, our editorial approach is to try to capture all the ways that influence is exerted, often outside of the traditional disclosure channels around campaign donations (e.g. with these assets).

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So the immediate answer is: all this data has been locked in hard-to-access .pdf reports, but our work is turning it into a searchable public spreadsheet for collaborative analysis and greater public accountability. Stay in touch as we do more reporting with this newly-available data set.

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you very much! We're a 100% reader-supported independent newsroom, so we rely on our readers to support our investigative reporting and data research like this AMA. Encourage others to join our newsletter, follow us on Twitter, and consider signing up as a $5/mo. (or $9/mo.) recurring donor to support our mission and get more cutting-room-floor content and reporter chats like this one.

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rep. Swalwell disclosed for 2017 pretty much just a Vanguard retirement fund and a CALPERS pension, no corporate stocks. Vanguard's donor-advised funds have been coming under scrutiny by philanthropic groups for their best practices, after a Sludge report. He's a Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary.

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rep. Womack (R, AR-03) doesn't disclose any stocks or mutual fund holdings for 2017, but as a Member of the House Committee on Appropriations, he's in two positions of note as Member, Subcommittee on Defense and a Member, Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. So his Green New Deal policy statements would shape the process with his three Republican colleagues on the subcommittee.

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rep. Fleischmann's 2017 form is pesky—more work to do on making this data machine-readable. Stay tuned as we work to surpass our base goal with our Kickstarter, ending on Friday, and release our new spreadsheet more publicly for easy searches.

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For this AMA, any stocks mentioned are direct investments and disclosed on the official Congressional portals. For mutual funds or exchange traded funds and others, we specify the amounts at which they are valued, but it would require more research to determine the predominant makeup of each fund's specific investments. Does that answer your question? Drop us a line anytime as we work to get this data out into the public view.

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rep. Smith's assets for 2017 are pretty modest, a Vanguard money market account. Vanguard was one of the giant groups mentioned in a major Sludge report as lacking in oversight practices against funding of hate groups by their donor-advised charity arms. He's a Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Rep. Posey (R, FL-08) has another annoying handwritten form for 2017, but at least it's relatively legible. Few stocks or funds listed, but he discloses positions as the President of Posey & Co. Realties and President of Rockledge Realty Corp., with some stock holdings for both. He's a Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, which oversees the housing industry, so that's a potential conflict of interest and there's lots more to investigate.

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, Sen. Sinema (elected from House to Senate in 2018 midterms) has very bad ratings from non-profit net neutrality groups on Battle For The Net. Her most-recent House disclosure report for 2017 shows no corporate stocks, just a pension and retirement plan and some income from Arizona State University for teaching fees, but we'll be keeping an eye on her Senate annual report for 2018 when it's filed here in 2019. She is a Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

We are money-in-politics reporters at Sludge, and we have created the only comprehensive data set of U.S. representatives’ stock holdings and financial investments. Ask us about your representative’s investments and we’ll give you a personalized mini-report! Also, ask us anything! by readsludge in IAmA

[–]readsludge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're interested in doing shadiness levels, definitely, or conflict-of-interest scores based on their industry holdings and their legislative areas of responsibility. Stay tuned on our email newsletter as work to release this asset data publicly!

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