Lawmakers' committee assignments and industry investments overlap

By Robert O'Harrow Jr. and Dan Keating
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 14, 2010

Rep. Ron Paul, on a panel that deals with monetary policy, has invested in gold-mining firms.

But his focus on gold goes beyond the theoretical.

In recent years, Paul (R-Tex.) has poured hundreds of thousands of his own dollars into stocks of some of the world's largest gold-mining operations, according to a review of his financial disclosure forms by The Washington Post. In 2008, while advocating for the United States to reinstate a gold standard, he reported owning up to $1.5 million in shares of at least nine gold-production companies. In addition, he disclosed up to $200,000 in silver stocks. In all, those holdings represented close to half of his assets.

The intersection of Paul's investments, policy convictions and congressional duties is acceptable under the ethics rules that govern lawmaker investing, a code of behavior that stands in stark contrast to the stricter regulations that government and private executives typically must follow.

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