WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- Financial disclosure reports show many U.S. senators or spouses owned stock in firms in the energy and health sectors, two areas of legislative debate.
The financial disclosure reports for 2002, were released Friday, as the Senate continues to hammer out a major energy bill. Next week, senators will discuss a prescription drug benefit for Medicare.
The 1978 Ethics in Government Act requires financial disclosure but does not put restrictions on lawmakers' private investments.
However, Bill Allison, spokesman for the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan watchdog group, told the Washington Post, "When people have a financial interest in an industry, it's hard for them to objectively make policy.
It doesn't mean they're going to vote their pocket books, but it certainly raises that question."
To avoid raised eyebrows, a number of senators put their assets, sometimes worth millions, in blind trusts.
