Report analyzes lawmakers’ net worth

Publication: Kansas City Star

David Goldstein
May 13, 2008

WASHINGTON | It almost looks like life on a game show: Some congressional members make millions, while others leave with little more than the experience.

For instance, Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Claire McCaskill of Missouri have increased their net worth by millions since landing in the nation's capitol.

Meanwhile, Democratic Reps. Emanuel Cleaver and Ike Skelton of Missouri saw sharp drops in their net worth, according to a study by a government watchdog group. Perhaps most surprising was that Kenny Hulshof, Missouri congressman and gubernatorial candidate, was worth a mere $11,000 in 1995. His net worth rocketed to a tidy $3.3 million in 2006.

The numbers come from a study by the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation, which estimated wealth based on required but nonspecific financial forms the lawmakers fill out.

The group analyzed the assets of all 535 members of Congress, using 1995 as a baseline because that year Congress approved the current rules of reporting worth.

"Even though popular stereotypes tell us that lawmakers are all millionaires and get more wealthy the longer they serve in Congress, we found that every lawmaker profile is different," said Ellen Miller, co-founder and executive director of the Sunlight Foundation.

The group's analysis was based on personal financial disclosure forms that lawmakers are required to file but which are never precise. Congressional rules allow them to value their assets and liabilities in ranges - $15,001 to $50,000, for instance - instead of establishing a specific number.

The report noted that congressional rules don't require members to list certain significant items, such as their homes, which can be valued in the millions.

The wealthiest lawmaker from the region is Democrat McCaskill, the 26th-richest member of Congress. Her average net worth rose by more than $3 million to nearly $24 million since 2006, when she was elected.

Brownback, a Republican, saw his net worth more than double between 1995 and 2006, from $5.3 million to $13.3 million.

Brownback spokesman Brian Hart said his assets increased sharply because of the sale in 1994 of a communications company owned by his wife's family.

A Hulshof spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Republican Sens. Pat Roberts of Kansas and Kit Bond of Missouri about doubled their net worth, according to the study. Roberts went from $613,000 in 1995 to $1.7 million, while Bond's worth increased from $1 million in 1995 to $2 million in 2006.

And there were declines.

Cleaver's average net worth tumbled, from $3 million in 2004, the year he was elected, to $628,000 in 2006. Skelton and Nancy Boyda of Kansas, as well as Republican Rep. Todd Tiahrt of Kansas, also declined.

Skelton's net worth dropped from $813,000 in 1995 to $138,000, because of the cashing in of certificates of deposits and other financial changes. Boyda fell from $2.7 million to $2.2 million in one year. Tiahrt went from more than $122,000 to $121,000.