RIGHT TO KNOW: Here comes the sun on the personal wealth in Congress

Publication: Glenn Post Falls

Mark Mahoney
May 15, 2008

The Sunlight Foundation, a non-partisan group dedicated to exposing the influence of big money and politics in Congress, has set up a new Web site to help citizens find out the personal wealth of their representatives in Congress.

The creation of the site, dubbed "Fortune 535? (after the number of members in Congress), coincides with today's deadline for Senate and House members to file their personal financial disclosure forms. Those forms will be made available in 30 days.

What the Sunlight Foundation has done in the meantime is gather up information on lawmakers' net worth from personal financial disclosure filings to show the growth (or loss) for each member of Congress from 1995 to 2006, according to the group's Web site.

"These filings reveal lawmakers' personal finances-assets, liabilities, outside income-and the gifts and travel provided for them by outside organizations," the group states. The organization admits it's difficult to put a firm number on personal wealth, given somewhat lax disclosure regulations. But they've come up with a range and an average estimate.

You can quickly check up on your favorite member of Congress by visiting the site,  http://fortune535.sunlightprojects.org/ and either plugging in a state or a specific representative. The names are listed on the site in alphabetical order.

In case you're curious, the Sunlight Foundation has determined that our local congressperson, U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, saw her average personal wealth drop from about $621,000  in 2005 to about $545,500 in 2006. A handy bar chart compares each congressional representative's average personal wealth to the average American family's personal wealth.

It's a real eye-opener.