POTE/WATCHLIST_GUIDE.md

POTE Watchlist & Trading Reports

🎯 Get Trading Reports 1 Hour Before Market Close

Quick Setup

# 1. Create watchlist of officials to monitor
python scripts/fetch_congress_members.py --create

# 2. Setup cron job for 3 PM ET (1 hour before close)
crontab -e

# Add this line:
0 15 * * 1-5 /home/poteapp/pote/scripts/pre_market_close_update.sh

# Save and exit

What happens at 3 PM daily:

1. Fetches latest trade disclosures
2. Enriches new securities
3. Generates report showing what was bought/sold
4. Saves to reports/trading_report_YYYYMMDD.txt

---

📋 Watchlist System

Who's on the Default Watchlist?

29 known active traders based on 2023-2024 public reporting:

Top Senate Traders:

• Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) - Very active trader
• Rand Paul (R-KY) - Consistent activity
• Mark Warner (D-VA) - Tech sector focus
• Rick Scott (R-FL) - High volume

Top House Traders:

• Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) - Tech stocks, options
• Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) - Energy, defense
• Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) - Various sectors
• Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) - Financial services
• Brian Higgins (D-NY) - High frequency

[See full list: python scripts/fetch_congress_members.py]

---

🔧 Managing Your Watchlist

View Current Watchlist

python scripts/fetch_congress_members.py --list

Create/Reset Watchlist

python scripts/fetch_congress_members.py --create

Creates config/watchlist.json with default 29 active traders.

Customize Watchlist

Edit config/watchlist.json:

[
  {
    "name": "Nancy Pelosi",
    "chamber": "House",
    "party": "Democrat",
    "state": "CA"
  },
  {
    "name": "Tommy Tuberville",
    "chamber": "Senate",
    "party": "Republican",
    "state": "AL"
  }
]

Add anyone you want to track!

Get ALL Members (Not Just Active Traders)

# 1. Get free API key from ProPublica:
#    https://www.propublica.org/datastore/api/propublica-congress-api

# 2. Edit scripts/fetch_congress_members.py
#    Add your API key

# 3. Run:
python scripts/fetch_congress_members.py --propublica

This fetches all 535 members of Congress (100 Senate + 435 House).

---

📊 Generating Reports

Manual Report Generation

# Report from last 7 days (watchlist only)
python scripts/generate_trading_report.py --days 7 --watchlist-only

# Report from last 30 days (all officials)
python scripts/generate_trading_report.py --days 30

# Save to file
python scripts/generate_trading_report.py --output report.txt

# HTML format (for email)
python scripts/generate_trading_report.py --format html --output report.html

# JSON format (for programmatic use)
python scripts/generate_trading_report.py --format json --output report.json

Example Report Output

================================================================================
  CONGRESSIONAL TRADING REPORT
  5 New Trades
  Generated: 2024-12-15
================================================================================

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
👤 Nancy Pelosi (D-CA, House)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Side      Ticker  Company                     Sector        Value              Trade Date  Filed
--------  ------  --------------------------  ----------  -------------------  ----------  ----------
🟢 BUY     NVDA    NVIDIA Corporation          Technology  $15,001 - $50,000   2024-11-15  2024-12-01
🔴 SELL    MSFT    Microsoft Corporation       Technology  $50,001 - $100,000  2024-11-20  2024-12-01

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
👤 Tommy Tuberville (R-AL, Senate)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Side      Ticker  Company                     Sector        Value              Trade Date  Filed
--------  ------  --------------------------  ----------  -------------------  ----------  ----------
🟢 BUY     SPY     SPDR S&P 500 ETF            Financial   $100,001 - $250,000 2024-11-18  2024-12-02
🟢 BUY     AAPL    Apple Inc.                  Technology  $50,001 - $100,000  2024-11-22  2024-12-02
🔴 SELL    TSLA    Tesla, Inc.                 Automotive  $15,001 - $50,000   2024-11-25  2024-12-02

================================================================================
📊 SUMMARY
================================================================================

Total Trades:    5
  Buys:          3
  Sells:         2
Unique Officials: 2
Unique Tickers:   5

Top Tickers:
  NVDA   - 1 trades
  MSFT   - 1 trades
  SPY    - 1 trades
  AAPL   - 1 trades
  TSLA   - 1 trades

================================================================================

---

⏰ Automated Schedule Options

Option 1: Pre-Market Close (3 PM ET) - Recommended

crontab -e
# Add: 0 15 * * 1-5 /home/poteapp/pote/scripts/pre_market_close_update.sh

Why 3 PM?

• 1 hour before market close (4 PM ET)
• Time to review report and make decisions
• Disclosures often appear during business hours
• Weekdays only (no weekends)

Option 2: Pre-Market Open (8 AM ET)

crontab -e
# Add: 0 8 * * 1-5 /home/poteapp/pote/scripts/pre_market_close_update.sh

Why 8 AM?

• 30 minutes before market opens (9:30 AM ET)
• Catch overnight filings
• Review before trading day

Option 3: After Market Close (5 PM ET)

crontab -e
# Add: 0 17 * * 1-5 /home/poteapp/pote/scripts/pre_market_close_update.sh

Why 5 PM?

• After market closes
• No trading pressure
• Full day of potential filings captured

Option 4: Multiple Times Per Day

crontab -e
# Add: 0 8,15 * * 1-5 /home/poteapp/pote/scripts/pre_market_close_update.sh

Runs at 8 AM and 3 PM daily (weekdays).

---

📧 Email Reports (Optional)

Setup Email Notifications

Edit scripts/pre_market_close_update.sh, add at the end:

# Send email with report
if [ -f "$REPORT_FILE" ]; then
    mail -s "POTE Trading Report $(date +%Y-%m-%d)" \
         your-email@example.com < "$REPORT_FILE"
fi

Requires:

sudo apt install mailutils
# Configure SMTP settings in /etc/postfix/main.cf

HTML Email Reports

python scripts/generate_trading_report.py \
    --format html \
    --output /tmp/report.html

# Send HTML email
python scripts/send_email.py /tmp/report.html your-email@example.com

---

🎯 Typical Workflow

Daily Routine (3 PM ET)

1. Automated run at 3 PM

   • Script fetches latest disclosures
   • Generates report

2. You receive report showing:

   • What was bought/sold
   • By whom
   • When (transaction date)
   • Value ranges

3. You review and decide:

   • Research the stocks mentioned
   • Consider your own investment strategy
   • Remember: 30-45 day lag (old trades)

4. Important:

   • This is for research/transparency
   • Not investment advice
   • Trades are 30-45 days old by law

---

🔍 Finding More Officials

Public Resources

High-Volume Traders:

• https://housestockwatcher.com/
• https://senatestockwatcher.com/
• https://www.capitoltrades.com/

Official Sources:

• House Clerk: https://disclosures.house.gov/
• Senate: https://efdsearch.senate.gov/

News Coverage:

• "Unusual Whales" on Twitter/X
• Financial news sites
• ProPublica investigations

Research Specific Committees

Members of certain committees tend to trade more:

Senate:

• Banking Committee (financial regulations)
• Armed Services (defense contracts)
• Energy Committee (energy stocks)

House:

• Financial Services
• Energy and Commerce
• Armed Services

Add committee members to your watchlist.

---

📈 Example Cron Setup

# Edit crontab
crontab -e

# Add these lines:

# Pre-market report (8 AM ET weekdays)
0 8 * * 1-5 /home/poteapp/pote/scripts/pre_market_close_update.sh

# Weekly full update (Sunday night)
0 0 * * 0 /home/poteapp/pote/scripts/daily_fetch.sh

# Save and exit

This gives you:

• Daily reports at 8 AM (weekdays)
• Weekly full system update (prices, analytics)

---

🚀 Quick Start Summary

# 1. Create watchlist
python scripts/fetch_congress_members.py --create

# 2. Test report generation
python scripts/generate_trading_report.py --days 7 --watchlist-only

# 3. Setup automation (3 PM daily)
crontab -e
# Add: 0 15 * * 1-5 /home/poteapp/pote/scripts/pre_market_close_update.sh

# 4. Check logs
tail -f logs/pre_market_*.log

# 5. View reports
cat reports/trading_report_$(date +%Y%m%d).txt

---

❓ FAQ

Q: Why are all the trades old (30-45 days)?
A: Federal law (STOCK Act) gives Congress 30-45 days to file. This is normal.

Q: Can I track specific senators/representatives?
A: Yes! Edit config/watchlist.json and add anyone.

Q: Where's the full list of Congress members?
A: Use --propublica option with a free API key to get all 535 members.

Q: Can I get alerts for specific stocks?
A: Yes! Modify generate_trading_report.py to filter by ticker.

Q: What if House Stock Watcher is down?
A: Reports will show existing data. Use CSV import for new data manually.

Q: Can I track past trades?
A: Yes! Adjust --days parameter: --days 365 for full year.

---

Ready to start tracking?

python scripts/fetch_congress_members.py --create
python scripts/generate_trading_report.py --watchlist-only