The top Republican on a subcommittee that oversees missile defense has up to $100,000 in stock from a leading defense contractor.
A financial disclosure made public on Thursday shows that Republican Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska has between $50,001 and $100,000 in stock in the company.
The top Republican on the Senate armed services subcommittee on strategic forces has responsibilities that include overseeing arms control, nuclear program, and missile defense policy. The Missile Defense Agency and the Nebraska-based US Strategic Command are under the oversight of the subcommittee.
The two-term senator joins at least 12 other members of Congress who have either traded or currently own stock in the company as Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Since the start of Russia's war on Ukraine, the US and NATO have sent missiles to the country. The Javelin missile is manufactured by both companies. It is said to be the world's premier shoulder-fired anti-armor system that can destroy battle tanks. Missile and missile defense systems are made by Lockheed Martin.
Lawmakers who own stock in the company stand to make a lot of money from the war. The legislation already passed the House and will be signed by President Joe Biden, who requested $33 billion.
On December 27th, the day after she took over her stock, the stock closed at $350.28 per share. It closed at $435.17 per share on Friday.
The office of Fischer did not respond to questions about whether she would keep the shares or if she would have a conflict of interest. Most of her personal finances appear to be tied to the company she owns with her husband, Bruce, that she doesn't trade individual stocks.
Her biography on her official congressional page states that she believes the first duty of Congress is to defend the nation.
The STOCK Act allows members of Congress to buy, sell, and inherit individual stocks if they publicly disclose their trades and holdings.
Congress is debating whether to make the rules more strict or to ban congressional stock trading altogether.
Kedric Payne is an ethics expert and vice president at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. Legislation to ban stock ownership can be passed by Congress.
Up to $15,000 in Coca-Cola shares and less than $1,000 in Cisco Systems were included in the inheritance. Members of Congress have to report their trades in broad ranges, which makes it hard to know how much they invested.
Insider previously reported that at least 15 lawmaker invest in the stock of defense contractors while holding powerful positions on a pair of House and Senate committees that control US military policy.
Defense contractors spend millions of dollars lobbying the federal government to win lucrative government contracts.
According to federal records, the company spent more than $14.4 million on federal lobbying. During the first three months of the year, it spent more than three million dollars on federal-level lobbying.
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