Florida Rep. Lois Frankel (D) currently finds herself embroiled in controversy after it was reported that she purchased between $4,004 and $60,000 worth of stock between two of the United States’ top greenhouse gas emitters according to House financial disclosures.
The Florida Democrat is a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, which is in charge of federal funding.
Half of the purchases made into Duke Energy and Dominion are alleged to have been made last month at a time when there was a global energy concern. Though the Florida Democrat has not directly addressed any wrongdoing, critics still wonder if the greenhouse gas stock purchases could spell out ethical violations.
As a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, Rep. Frankel serves on three subcommittees, and one of those subcommittees is the Energy and Water Development committee. The committee oversees funding of the Department of Energy.
In speaking to Newsweek, the Florida lawmaker did not directly address the issue. Instead, the Florida lawmaker commented that she doesn’t manage her account, “and my environmental record speaks for itself,” adding that she has “high ratings from multiple national environmental groups.”
Frankel has supported a number of environmental initiatives while the office including the controversial Green New Deal, and she also lent her name to the 100% Clean Economy Act of 2019, which aimed to set requirements that would reduce greenhouse pollution.
Most recently, Frankel has supported President Biden’s Build Back Better plan, noting on Twitter that it “would establish the first nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations & kickstart a greener economy.”
The Democratic lawmaker has not further commented on the issue. Instead, she has used social media to rally support for President Biden’s Build Back Better plan, which is currently facing opposition from both Republicans and Democrats.
Frankel decidedly won reelection in 2020 against controversial Republican candidate Laura Loomer.
