Two members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which is responsible for crafting health legislation and overseeing public health agencies, among other functions, disclosed they or their families traded in tobacco company stock while the senators served on the committee, according to STAT News.
Here are five things to know about the situation.
1. In a June 22, 2017, Senate financial disclosure form, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., disclosed her husband sold between $1,001 and $15,000 of Reynolds American stock June 15.
2. An aide for Ms. Murray told STAT News "the disclosure form shows the liquidation of an account managed by a broker without guidance." The aide added Ms. Murray and her husband did not know about the purchase and did not approve it, the report states.
3. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, reported Oct. 23, 2012, he was the joint owner of an account that acquired between $15,001 and $50,000 of Philip Morris stock. The following year, he reported he owned less than $1,001 of the stock and had collected dividends between $201 and $1,000. Philip Morris manufactures and distributes Marlboro cigarettes.
4. News of the senators' actions follow the departure of former CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald, MD, who resigned last week after media reports revealed she bought and sold tobacco company stock while serving as head of the agency.
5. Ms. Murray previously criticized Dr. Fitzgerald's various financial interests and their role in preventing her from working on certain agency projects. She reportedly sent the former CDC director a letter in January encouraging Dr. Fitzgerald to resolve her conflicts of interest, according to STAT News.
To read the full STAT News report, click here.