{
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "generatedAt": "2026-05-07T06:44:55.090Z",
  "findingType": "finding",
  "findingId": 13,
  "contentHash": "096f1c66613da45e37a9d80326318c387a04ae967bb1f9fcb44ee041df05c78a",
  "title": "Energy & Commerce Member's Household Actively Traded Pharma Equities While Blocking Drug Price Controls",
  "summary": "Rep. Scott Peters (CA-50) cast one of three Democratic votes on September 15, 2021 that created a 29-29 tie in the House Energy & Commerce Committee, killing the aggressive Medicare drug price negotiation provision from the Build Back Better Act. Peters had voted FOR the identical provision (H.R. 3) in December 2019 and publicly praised it. Between 2019 and 2021, his position reversed while his wife Lynn Gorguze — CEO of Cameron Holdings — was actively purchasing equity in pharmaceutical companies directly subject to Medicare negotiation, and pharma industry campaign contributions to Peters spiked. Peters' household net worth is estimated at $60-112 million, making him one of the wealthiest members of Congress.",
  "methodology": "This finding was identified through systematic investigation of 5 entities. Evidence was classified as \"significant\" severity based on source verification tier (investigative_journalism, campaign_finance_analysis, investigative_journalism, financial_disclosure, news_reporting, news_reporting). The finding was reviewed under editorial status \"published\".",
  "sources": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.statnews.com/2015/12/01/congress-pharmaceutical-investment/",
      "label": "STAT News: Investments give lawmakers personal stake in biotech, health care",
      "type": "primary"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/09/pharmaceutical-industry-backs-democratic-holdouts-on-drug-pricing-plan/",
      "label": "OpenSecrets: Pharmaceutical industry backs Democratic holdouts on drug pricing plan",
      "type": "primary"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.statnews.com/2021/07/20/pharma-peters-cash-after-torpedo-pelosi-bill/",
      "label": "STAT News: Scott Peters collected pharma cash after opposing Pelosi drug pricing bill",
      "type": "primary"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.capitoltrades.com/articles/scott-peters-reduces-exposure-to-multi-pack-solutions-llc-2023-02-14",
      "label": "Capitol Trades: Scott Peters Reduces Exposure to Multi-pack Solutions LLC",
      "type": "primary"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://rollcall.com/2021/06/28/onetime-backer-of-drug-pricing-bill-turns-foe/",
      "label": "Roll Call: Onetime backer of drug pricing bill turns foe",
      "type": "primary"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/15/politics/democrats-drug-price-house-committee/index.html",
      "label": "CNN: Drug pricing plan faces resistance from Democrats",
      "type": "primary"
    }
  ],
  "queries": [
    {
      "description": "Finding record lookup",
      "table": "findings",
      "parameters": {
        "id": 13
      }
    },
    {
      "description": "Involved entity resolution",
      "table": "entities",
      "parameters": {
        "names": [
          "Scott Peters",
          "Lynn Gorguze",
          "Cameron Holdings",
          "Multi-Pack Solutions",
          "House Energy and Commerce Committee"
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "dataSnapshot": {
    "id": "13",
    "title": "Energy & Commerce Member's Household Actively Traded Pharma Equities While Blocking Drug Price Controls",
    "findingType": "conflict_of_interest",
    "description": "Rep. Scott Peters (CA-50) cast one of three Democratic votes on September 15, 2021 that created a 29-29 tie in the House Energy & Commerce Committee, killing the aggressive Medicare drug price negotiation provision from the Build Back Better Act. Peters had voted FOR the identical provision (H.R. 3) in December 2019 and publicly praised it. Between 2019 and 2021, his position reversed while his wife Lynn Gorguze — CEO of Cameron Holdings — was actively purchasing equity in pharmaceutical companies directly subject to Medicare negotiation, and pharma industry campaign contributions to Peters spiked. Peters' household net worth is estimated at $60-112 million, making him one of the wealthiest members of Congress.",
    "severity": "significant",
    "evidenceSummary": "Peters voted YEA on H.R. 3 in December 2019 (House floor), then voted NAY on the same provision in E&C Committee on September 15, 2021, producing a 29-29 tie that killed the measure. STAT News documented in 2015 that Gorguze purchased $610,000-$1.5 million in individual pharma stocks including Allergan, J&J, Thermo Fisher, and Merck. OpenSecrets confirmed $67,400 in pharma industry contributions within weeks of Peters' May 2021 letter opposing Pelosi's bill, plus $1,000 each from PhRMA's COO and a lobbyist on the day of the September 2021 vote, followed by $5,000 each from Pfizer and Eli Lilly PACs. Capitol Trades confirmed Peters purchased $1,000,000 in Multi-Pack Solutions (Cameron Holdings pharma packaging subsidiary) on April 19, 2022, and partially sold in January 2023. Peters' recent trading activity (2023-2026) shows no individual pharma stock trades — predominantly treasuries, municipal bonds, and private equity funds.",
    "publicInterest": "A member of the committee with direct jurisdiction over drug pricing voted to block price controls while his household held direct equity positions in pharmaceutical companies that would have been affected by those controls. The vote reversal from 2019 to 2021 coincided with documented increases in both pharma equity purchases and pharma industry campaign contributions.",
    "sourceTypes": [
      "investigative_journalism",
      "campaign_finance_analysis",
      "investigative_journalism",
      "financial_disclosure",
      "news_reporting",
      "news_reporting"
    ],
    "sourceUrls": [
      {
        "url": "https://www.statnews.com/2015/12/01/congress-pharmaceutical-investment/",
        "label": "STAT News: Investments give lawmakers personal stake in biotech, health care"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/09/pharmaceutical-industry-backs-democratic-holdouts-on-drug-pricing-plan/",
        "label": "OpenSecrets: Pharmaceutical industry backs Democratic holdouts on drug pricing plan"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.statnews.com/2021/07/20/pharma-peters-cash-after-torpedo-pelosi-bill/",
        "label": "STAT News: Scott Peters collected pharma cash after opposing Pelosi drug pricing bill"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.capitoltrades.com/articles/scott-peters-reduces-exposure-to-multi-pack-solutions-llc-2023-02-14",
        "label": "Capitol Trades: Scott Peters Reduces Exposure to Multi-pack Solutions LLC"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://rollcall.com/2021/06/28/onetime-backer-of-drug-pricing-bill-turns-foe/",
        "label": "Roll Call: Onetime backer of drug pricing bill turns foe"
      },
      {
        "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/15/politics/democrats-drug-price-house-committee/index.html",
        "label": "CNN: Drug pricing plan faces resistance from Democrats"
      }
    ],
    "reviewStatus": "published",
    "goblin": {
      "name": "Goat",
      "slug": "goat"
    },
    "createdAt": null
  },
  "entities": [
    {
      "id": "32293",
      "name": "Scott Peters",
      "slug": "scott-peters",
      "type": "person"
    },
    {
      "id": "32294",
      "name": "Lynn Gorguze",
      "slug": "lynn-gorguze",
      "type": "person"
    },
    {
      "id": "32295",
      "name": "Cameron Holdings",
      "slug": "cameron-holdings",
      "type": "organization"
    },
    {
      "id": "32296",
      "name": "Multi-Pack Solutions",
      "slug": "multi-pack-solutions",
      "type": "organization"
    },
    {
      "id": "32297",
      "name": "House Energy and Commerce Committee",
      "slug": "house-energy-commerce",
      "type": "institution"
    }
  ],
  "verificationSteps": [
    "Retrieve finding #13 from the findings table and confirm title, description, and severity match this bundle.",
    "Visit source: https://www.statnews.com/2015/12/01/congress-pharmaceutical-investment/ — confirm the claim described in the evidence summary.",
    "Visit source: https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/09/pharmaceutical-industry-backs-democratic-holdouts-on-drug-pricing-plan/ — confirm the claim described in the evidence summary.",
    "Visit source: https://www.statnews.com/2021/07/20/pharma-peters-cash-after-torpedo-pelosi-bill/ — confirm the claim described in the evidence summary.",
    "Visit source: https://www.capitoltrades.com/articles/scott-peters-reduces-exposure-to-multi-pack-solutions-llc-2023-02-14 — confirm the claim described in the evidence summary.",
    "Visit source: https://rollcall.com/2021/06/28/onetime-backer-of-drug-pricing-bill-turns-foe/ — confirm the claim described in the evidence summary.",
    "Visit source: https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/15/politics/democrats-drug-price-house-committee/index.html — confirm the claim described in the evidence summary.",
    "Cross-reference involved entities (Scott Peters, Lynn Gorguze, Cameron Holdings, Multi-Pack Solutions, House Energy and Commerce Committee) in the entities table.",
    "Verify the SHA-256 content hash by re-generating the JSON bundle and hashing it."
  ]
}