National

Note: Trades do not include non-public stocks or exchanges. Excludes senators no longer in Congress Data: Senate Stock Watcher; Table: Thomas Oide/Axios 

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) disclosed 417 stock purchases and sales since January 2020 — more than any other current senator, according to an Axios analysis of data from the Senate Stock Watcher.

Why it matters: Rare bipartisan support is building around efforts to ban lawmakers from owning and trading individual stocks — as well as their spouses or immediate family members, in some cases.

By the numbers: Two out of three trades disclosed by the top 10 senators involved assets marked as owned by only the senator’s spouse or children.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) had the most trades of $500,000 or more — 35.

All of those transactions were in more broad-based securities or bonds, as opposed to individual stocks. Thirty-four of the 35 trades belonged to his spouse, Ann.

The majority of the trades associated with Carper and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) over the two years were smaller, in the $1,000-$15,000 bucket.

Only one of Carper's trades exceeded $50,000, while Tuberville had 26 such transactions.

Between the lines: When including senators no longer in office, former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) would have been the leader, with 438 transactions disclosed in 2020.

Perdue was criticized for his stock trades and had reportedly been under investigation by the Justice Department.

He lost his re-election race to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), which was key in Democrats gaining 50-50 control of the Senate. Ossoff is now among those who are leading individual stock-ban efforts, as Axios has reported.

Details: The Senate Stock Watcher compiles reports filed by senators and presents them in a manner more readable than the original PDFs.

The data accounts for stock information reported by members of Congress as mandated by the 2012 STOCK Act. The law was intended to prevent insider trading and conflicts of interest.

The figures include bonds and mutual fund investments, although the vast majority of transactions among the top 10 senators or their close relatives was in individual stocks.

What they're saying: Axios reached out to the offices of each senator in the accompanying graphic.

“Sen. Tuberville has long had financial advisers who actively manage his portfolio without his day-to-day involvement," a spokesperson told Axios.

The Senate’s top stock traders

Rare bipartisan support is building around efforts to ban lawmakers from owning and trading individual stock

Congress

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) disclosed 417 stock purchases and sales since January 2020 — more than any other current senator, according to an Axios analysis of data from <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the Senate Stock Watcher" data-vars-click-url="https://senatestockwatcher.com/summary_by_senator" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://senatestockwatcher.com/summary_by_senator" target="_blank">the Senate Stock Watcher</a>.Why it matters: Rare bipartisan support is building around efforts to ban lawmakers from owning and trading individual stocks — as well as their spouses or immediate family members, in some cases.

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

Note: Excludes representatives no longer in Congress. Data: House Stock Watcher; Table: Thomas Oide/Axios 

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) has reported more stock purchases and sales during the past two years than any other member of the U.S. House of Representatives, according to an Axios analysis of data from the House Stock Watcher.

Why it matters: Bipartisan momentum is building around legislation that would ban lawmakers from owning and trading individual stocks. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is now backing some of the efforts after long fighting stock bans, as was reported on Wednesday.

There are several potential bans being proposed, and some measures would be stricter than others — including banning spouses and other immediate relatives of lawmakers from trading stock, as well.

Pelosi's husband, Paul, has made millions from stock trades.

By the numbers: The House Stock Watcher compiles reports filed by members and presents them in a manner more readable than the original PDFs.

Of the top 10 House members who've made the most trades in the past two years, seven are Democrats.

Gottheimer mostly traded stock in the tech sector — $75 million out of $81 million in sales and purchases — and the vast majority of his transactions were in the lowest $1,000-$15,000 range.

“Prior to taking office, Josh turned over management of his portfolio to a third party and only receives statements of prior transactions," a spokesperson told Axios.

While Nancy Pelosi didn't make the top 10 for the number of individual transactions she has had to disclose, 33 of the 57 transactions — made by her husband — were over $500,000. That included 11 over $1 million.

Between the lines: The data accounts for stock information reported by members of Congress as mandated by the 2012 STOCK Act. The law was intended to prevent insider trading and conflicts of interest.

The data does include bonds and mutual fund investments, although the vast majority of transactions among the top 10 members or their spouses was in individual stocks.

A Business Insider investigation, however, found at least 55 members of Congress who failed to properly report stock trades in 2021.

Reps. Susie Lee (D-Nev.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.) and Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) all violated the STOCK Act last year in some way, and are also in the top 10 members for stock trades.

What they're saying: Axios reached out to the offices of each member in the accompanying graphic. Spokespersons for Hern and Rep. Donald Beyer (D-Va.) told Axios the members do not personally manage or control stock purchases or sales.

 The stocks for Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) stocks are owned by his wife.

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) is also one of only 10 members of Congress with a blind trust.

What to watch: We will examine the stock trading by senators in Thursday's Sneak Peek newsletter.

Editor’s note: This piece was corrected to show Gottheimer had disclosed $81 million of sales and purchases over two years, not $81 million of investments. 

The House’s top stock traders

Momentum is building around legislation that would ban lawmakers from owning and trading stock.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) has reported more stock purchases and sales during the past two years than any other member of the U.S. House of Representatives, according to an Axios analysis of data from <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the House Stock Watcher" data-vars-click-url="https://housestockwatcher.com/summary_by_rep" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://housestockwatcher.com/summary_by_rep" target="_blank">the House Stock Watcher</a>.Why it matters: Bipartisan momentum is building around legislation that would ban lawmakers from owning and trading individual stocks. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is now backing some of the efforts after long fighting stock bans, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="as was reported on Wednesday" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pelosi-stock-trading-ban-congress-069dc627-71fd-490f-a005-510bbd18cce2.html" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pelosi-stock-trading-ban-congress-069dc627-71fd-490f-a005-510bbd18cce2.html" target="_self">as was reported on Wednesday</a>.

Axios Finish Line

Data: Pew Research Center; Chart: Jacque Schrag/Axios

Asian Americans hail from dozens of countries — and their experiences in America are starkly different depending on their origins.

Why it matters: This vast, diverse group is often lumped together under the "model minority myth" — the stereotype that all Asian Americans are well-educated, wealthy and successful. 

If you look at averages, Asian Americans appear to be richer and better educated than the average American.

If you disaggregate the data, the model minority myth crumbles. We see high levels of poverty and below-average levels of educational attainment.

But because that data is seldom disaggregated, "Asian Americans have had to make the case over and over again that they suffer from racism and hostility and violence," says Ellen Wu, a history professor at Indiana University. 

The big picture: The U.S. Asian American population doubled from 2000 to 2019, hitting 22 million. Asians are the fastest-growing group in America — outpacing white, Black and Hispanic Americans and projected to pass 46 million by 2060, according to the Pew Research Center.

"They all have very different starting points," says Neil Ruiz, associate director of race and ethnicity research at the Pew Research Center.

Consider, for example, an Indian immigrant who comes to the U.S. via H-1B visa for a high-paying gig at a tech company. That person will have a far easier time building generational wealth than a Burmese refugee coming to America to escape conflict, Ruiz says.

By the numbers: The median income of Asian households in the U.S is $85,800, and 54% have college degrees, per Pew.

But only three groups — Indians, Filipinos and Sri Lankans — fall above that household income. And college attainment for many groups is well below the average.

Data: Pew Research Center; Table: Thomas Oide/Axios

The stakes: "So many groups have been neglected and ignored," says Quyên Dinh, executive director of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center.

"People are not always convinced that Asian Americans are a legitimate minority group that deserve to be included in affirmative action and diversity initiatives," says Wu.

For example, 30% of Southeast Asians — a region encompassing nations like Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos — don't have high school degrees.

"Because of the model minority myth, these students' silence in classrooms is misinterpreted as understanding instead of a cry for help," Dinh says.

What to watch: Activists and experts see a silver lining in the recent spikes in anti-Asian violence. "There is a new spotlight on the Asian American community," says Dinh.

"Awful things have always happened," Wu says. "But now Asians are collecting the data and recording what's happening, and Asian journalists are amplifying these stories."

Redefining Asian America

Their experiences in America are starkly different depending on their origins.

Asian Americans

Axios Markets

Data: Matt Phillips; Infographic: Thomas Oide and Allie Carl/Axios

Behind the car chip breakdown

The step-by-step delays in the chip supply chain.

Deep Dive - Supply Chain

Data: Poore and Nemecek (2018), FDA, UN's IPCC. Note: Dairy cattle is beef from dairy cattle. Chart: Shoshana Gordon and Thomas Oide/Axios

Climate change is ratcheting up pressure to alter how we grow and consume food,

Threat level: Our food chain generates a large chunk of greenhouse gas emissions annually, mainly from animal products, climate scientists point out.

Details: The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says 21%–37% of global GHG emissions may come from food, while a study by Joseph Poore of the University of Oxford points out that food from beef cattle has the largest carbon footprint per typical serving.

America alone — with more than 330 million people — may consume over 100 kilograms of meat products per capita in 2021, the OECD estimates.

Plus, there's growing concern that emissions calculations such as these may be vastly underestimated.

Between the lines: While what we eat may affect global warming, climate change itself has an impact on food systems. 

It can cause droughts or floods and alter the nutrition of particular crops, making for a more unstable food supply that's vulnerable to price spikes and shortages.

Your burger is heating Earth

The food supply chain generates 21%–37% of greenhouse gas emissions annually, a report says.

Visuals Deep Dive 2021

Climate change

Climate change is ratcheting up pressure to alter how we grow and consume food,Threat level: Our food chain generates a large chunk of greenhouse gas emissions annually, mainly from animal products, climate scientists point out.

Ominous forecasts about the impact of climate change serve as the backdrop for the world — led by U.S. lawmakers and companies — to debate big action on the problem, which could upend energy systems and our way of life.

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Redefining Asian America

Behind the car chip breakdown

The Senate’s top stock traders

The House’s top stock traders

Your burger is heating Earth