Facing South is your weekly source for in-depth coverage and fresh perspectives on the South, published by the Institute for Southern Studies.
INSTITUTE INDEX - Congress's stock market advantage

Basis points per month by which a portfolio imitating the common stock purchases of U.S. Representatives outperforms the market: 55

Percentage return per year this represents: over 6

Annual percentage by which Republican lawmakers beat the market: 2

By which Democratic lawmakers beat the market: 9

Number of stock transactions the study examined: 16,000

Approximate number of House members who made those transactions: 300

Time period the study considered: 1985-2001

Basis points per month by which a portfolio that mimics the investment of U.S. Senators outperforms the market, according to similar 2004 research: 85

Percent return per year this represents: approximately 10

Number of stock trades that an aide to former Republican House leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) made from his Capitol Hill computer in 1999 and 2000, profiting handsomely: nearly 500

Year in which the Securities and Exchange Commission looked into whether the office of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) shared inside information with investors after stock prices of companies with asbestos liabilities rose right before Frist proposed a public trust fund for asbestos claims: 2005

Number of House rules that require members to divest themselves of common stocks, prevent them from trading freely while in office, or require recusals from votes that could affect their investments: 0

Year in which the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act was first introduced to prohibit members of Congress and their staff from using knowledge gained on the job to trade stocks: 2006

Date when the STOCK Act was most recently introduced: 3/2011

Number of sponsors and co-sponsors the legislation has: 5

Number of those sponsors and co-sponsors who are from Southern states: 0

(Click on figure to go to source.)