Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL): Repeated STOCK Act Violations Include Oil Company Stock Held While Serving on House Appropriations Committee

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida has violated the federal STOCK Act at least four documented times, according to reporting by OpenSecrets and Raw Story. The law requires members of Congress to report personal stock trades within 45 days. Her most recent documented violation involved a Canadian gold mining company purchased in February 2024 that she did not disclose for approximately 16 months, by which point the stock had appreciated 313 percent. A prior violation involved the sale of shares in a Houston-based crude oil company at a time when she serves on the House Appropriations Committee.

What the STOCK Act Requires

The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, passed in 2012, requires members of Congress to disclose purchases and sales of stocks, bonds, commodity futures, and cryptocurrency within 45 days of the transaction. The law was designed to give the public timely information about personal financial interests that might overlap with a lawmaker’s legislative duties. Members who file late are subject to fines. For a first violation, the penalty is $200.

Two Documented Violations in Detail

In October 2022, a dependent family member of Wasserman Schultz sold shares in Adams Resources and Energy. That transaction was not reported to Congress until July 11, 2023, approximately seven months past the required 45-day window, according to a Raw Story investigation. The trade was valued between $1,001 and $15,000. Adams Resources and Energy is a Houston, Texas-based company whose GulfMark Energy subsidiary purchases and markets approximately 95,000 barrels of crude oil per day at the wellhead, operating terminals across Texas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Michigan, and Louisiana.

In February 2024, Wasserman Schultz purchased shares of New Gold Inc., a Canadian mining company with operations in British Columbia and Ontario. That purchase was not disclosed until July 1, 2025, approximately 16 months after the 45-day window had closed, according to Finbold and OpenSecrets. The position was valued between $1,001 and $15,000 at the time of purchase. Between her purchase date and the disclosure date, New Gold’s stock rose approximately 313 percent, compared to a broader market gain of roughly 22 percent over the same period. According to Quiver Quantitative, which tracks congressional trading activity, she is the only member of Congress on record as having purchased shares in New Gold.

Raw Story and OpenSecrets have documented at least two additional STOCK Act violations in 2021 and 2024. The 2021 violation involved late disclosure of stock purchases in a telecommunications company. The 2024 violation involved a dependent family member’s stock sale disclosed approximately six months late.

Committee Role and the Energy Stock

Wasserman Schultz currently serves on the House Appropriations Committee, including the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. The full Appropriations Committee has broad jurisdiction over federal discretionary spending, including areas that may overlap with industries represented by a member’s personal investment holdings.

Adams Resources and Energy, whose shares were disclosed seven months late, is a crude oil marketing and transportation company with operations across major U.S. energy basins including the Gulf Coast, Eagle Ford Shale, Permian Basin, and Bakken Shale.

The STOCK Act’s disclosure requirements exist in part so the public can identify situations where a legislator’s personal financial holdings overlap with the industries they oversee.

Minimal Penalties, No Public Enforcement Record

The fine for a first STOCK Act violation is $200. For subsequent violations, the amount can increase, but the House Ethics Committee is responsible for enforcement and does not publicly disclose whether it assesses or waives penalties in individual cases. No formal action against Wasserman Schultz has been announced publicly for any of the four documented violations.

Between December 2023 and December 2024, her investment portfolio gained more than 140 percent, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of approximately 24.9 percent during the same period, according to an analysis cited by the NYC Times.

Wasserman Schultz is a co-chair of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, one of the party’s senior leadership bodies in the chamber.

What This Means for Florida Constituents

The STOCK Act’s disclosure window was set at 45 days to allow constituents and watchdog organizations to monitor whether a member’s trades correlate with pending legislation or information accessible through their official duties. A disclosure arriving 14 months late does not fulfill that accountability function in real time. Financial disclosures filed years after the legal deadline tell voters what happened, not what is happening.

Wasserman Schultz currently represents Florida’s 25th Congressional District and is campaigning for re-election in the redrawn 20th Congressional District in the August 2026 primary.

What You Can Do

Rep. Wasserman Schultz’s office can be contacted to ask whether any fines were assessed or waived for the four STOCK Act violations and whether she supports stricter enforcement mechanisms, including a ban on individual stock ownership by members of Congress.

Readers can track their own representative’s financial disclosures through OpenSecrets.org and Quiver Quantitative’s congressional trading tracker.

Visit /take-action to find contact information for your representative, check your voter registration, and learn what disclosure reform bills are currently before Congress.