We reveal the 25 richest House leaders, according to a comparison conducted by the Center For Responsive Politics (CRP). House Leaders Make Millions As Rest Of America StrugglesBy Cliff Montgomery – June 24th, 2008 yesterday printed an article revealing the average net worth of the 25 wealthiest Senate leaders. We feel it’s important to report such information, since “career politicians of all stripes [are] on the campaign trail claiming that the current poor economy has hurt them too,” the Spark printed yesterday.Americans should see which Senate leaders–Democrat, Republican or other–are lying to them the most. But we soon realized our article had inadvertently let House leaders off the hook.Today’s article corrects that oversight. Below we chronicle the 25 richest House leaders, according to a comparison of 2006 disclosure reports conducted by the Center For Responsive Politics (CRP).Current disclosure reports don’t demand exact numbers, but allow lawmakers to only reveal the value range of each asset they own. This can lead to a ridiculously wide range for total assets.For example, the total assets held by Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) in 2006 were valued at anywhere from over $222 million to nearly $567 million, according to that year’s disclosure filings.How then to determine real worth? CRP invented a novel solution: It added together each congressperson’s range of assets, subtracted his or her range of liabilities, then calculated the midpoint of those findings.”Using this method provides a ranking that more closely reflects reality than using either the minimum or maximum values,” states the center.Below we offer a CRP chart exposing the average net worth of the 25 wealthiest representatives, according to a center study of 2006 filings:Rank Name Average Net Worth1 Jane Harman (D-Calif) $409,426,8872 Darrell Issa (R-Calif) $337,440,0283 Vernon Buchanan (R-Fla) $191,695,6344 Robin Hayes (R-NC) $82,552,0815 Charles H. Taylor (R-NC) $66,698,5096 Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) $49,515,5957 Michael McCaul (R-Texas) $46,648,5688 Nita M. Lowey (D-NY) $39,753,1969 Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) $38,539,55410 Tom Petri (R-Wis) $35,918,01811 Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) $34,069,54412 John Campbell (R-Calif) $32,846,04113 Bob Beauprez (R-Colo) $32,392,00214 Denny Rehberg (R-Mont) $31,046,50515 Gary Miller (R-Calif) $28,244,52016 James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI) $26,093,66117 Chris Chocola (R-Ind) $24,252,52918 John Linder (R-Ga) $23,746,00719 E. Clay Shaw Jr. (R-Fla) $22,566,01320 Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill) $21,113,01121 Steve Pearce (R-NM) $20,390,50622 David Dreier (R-Calif) $18,496,03223 Heath Shuler (D-NC) $18,255,94224 Paul E. Gillmor (R-Ohio) $16,710,01925 Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn) $16,485,512Like what you’re reading so far? Then why not order a full year (52 issues) of thee-newsletter for only $15? A major article covering an story not being told in the Corporate Press will be delivered to your email every Monday morning for a full year, for less than 30 cents an issue. Order Now!
How Necessary Laws Are Killed These Days
Lawmakers generally only fight to protect the things they care about – and all too often, that just doesn’t include the lives of most of their constituents.
