Members of the U.S. Congress have many rules and regulations to observe in order to avoid conflicts of interest.

This is done to ensure that they do not take advantage of their insider information that comes with the job, and, in the process, gain wealth or advantages for themselves, their family members and close friends.

There have been any number of examples where these representatives have been called on the carpet to account for their actions. Many of them use the lame excuse that it was an “oversight” or that it was a “human error.”

In March 2020, four senators were accused of using insider information about the COVID-19 pandemic to profit in securities trading.

Several months later, investigations into Sens. Kelly Loeffler, R-Georgia; James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma; and Diane Feinstein, D-California, were closed without any action taken against them. Sen. Richard Burr, R-North Carolina, resigned as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee because of the allegations.

Until the 2008 financial crisis, legislators had few restrictions involving their securities trading activities, but in 2012, the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act was passed to attempt to clean up the mess.

I am less than sympathetic to attempts to dismiss these violations, because all 535 members of the Congress should know what the rules of engagement are and should have the mechanisms in place to make sure that no violations will occur.

Of course, many of these violations occur not because of intent to take advantage of their position; they occur because of sloppiness, inattention to detail and failure to have an effective system of accountability in place.

The latest of these “human error” episodes involves Rep. Dan Meuser, a Republican whose district includes Carbon and Schuylkill counties.

According to a report published in Legistorm, which is described as a nonpartisan, for profit company that tracks information about members of Congress and their staffs, Meuser failed to report by the prescribed deadline that his wife and children bought a significant amount of stocks during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic last year and at a time when the stock market had gone into a tailspin.

In a stunning reversal, the stock market recovered quickly and took off to record heights during the next 16 months. Those who bought stocks during that pronounced dip that then turned into record highs stood to make a handsome profit.

Now, let me make clear that unless these transactions come with insider knowledge on specific stocks there is nothing illegal in doing this. Actually, this is smart investing if things work out in a stock-buyer’s/seller’s favor.

In Meuser’s case, it was the fact that he did not report these purchases until a year after the congressionally established deadline.

According to Legistorm, between March 26 and March 31, 2020, Meuser’s children (he has two daughters and a son) bought between $107,023 and $555,000 worth of shares of Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Microsoft, Walt Disney Co. and Visa. In addition, during this same general time period Meuser’s wife, Shelley, purchased between $3,003 and $45,000 worth of Alphabet, Microsoft and Visa shares, the Legistorm report said.

The share values of the four stocks have soared significantly since March 2020.

Meuser said that he has paid a late filing fee of $200, which satisfies the legal requirements of his transgression. In a statement, Meuser said, “I have been made aware that my broker failed to report this reallocation in a timely manner. This was simply human error. The House Ethics Committee has been made aware, and I have received no word from the committee that a rule has been broken besides late reporting. This is all news to me, and I am very unhappy about it. The rules are very clear, and, unfortunately, this is a case of human error. It was an administrative error on the part of the manager in failing to report the trades to the appropriate regulatory body within the designated time frame.”

Meuser said in the statement that when he was sworn in, he complied with all personal financial requirements established by congressional rules “I had my brokers involved in my personal financial business instructed and educated on the House Ethics Committee’s requirements for Members of Congress. Since entering Congress, I have had no dialogue related to personal investments other than what is allowed related to mutual funds. The reallocation of assets occurred without my knowledge, and my broker who handled the transaction did so legally, and at his own discretion.”

Under the management arrangement, the manager is empowered to act through a limited power of attorney to buy and sell securities on behalf of the Meuser accounts. The manager is not required to get approval or input from Meuser before making the transactions.

Meuser, 57, who resides in Luzerne County, is in his second two-year term. He has been mentioned as a possible GOP candidate for governor next year, but he has not made any public comments about his intentions.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.