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Political Blog Ranks Lawmakers’ Wealth Through Disclosures

A political blog post on Roll Call listed Congressman Buck McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, as the fourth poorest U.S. congressional representative, according to a report by Steven Dennis for Hannah Hess’ Hill Blotter.

The blog post lists Darrell Issa, R-San Diego, whose worth is estimated at around $357 million, as No. 1 out of our nation’s 535 members of Congress, according to Roll Call.

“Quirks” in the nation’s disclosure laws make it impossible to accurately assess net financial worth off the forms alone, the post states.

Perhaps most significantly, federal legislators must list a mortgage as a liability, but they don’t have to list home values, which, for most, is their largest asset, the blog points out.

Using the example of Congress’ “poorest” member, Representative David Valadao, R-Hanford, the list points out “how imprecise congressional financial disclosure requirements are.”

A dairy farm listed by Valadao has a value range of $1 million to $5 million, so for the purposes of the story, the blogger used the lowest end estimate of $1,000,001. Another property listed between $500,001 to $1 million, which the list valued at $500,001.

The congressional leaders’ “minimum net worth” was calculated by taking the total minimum values of their assets and subtracting the total minimum value of liabilities, which is evaluated on the same type of range.

They also aren’t required to disclose personal residences or federal savings accounts, according to the post.

The post cited McKeon‘s net worth as -$943,000, due to a pair of mortgages valued at more than $500,000, in addition to a personal loan for more than $10,000.

Issa made a fortune as CEO of Directed Electronics, a car alarm company from San Diego.

The list of the poorest included “one majority whip, one party chairman, one formerly impeached judge and one senator,” the post stated.

Political Blog Ranks Lawmakers’ Wealth Through Disclosures

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About Perry Smith

Perry Smith is a print and broadcast journalist who has won several awards for his focused, hyperlocal community coverage in several different regions of the country. In addition to five years of experience covering the Santa Clarita Valley, Smith, a San Fernando Valley native, has worked in newspapers and news websites in Los Angeles, the Northwest, the Central Valley and the South, before coming to KHTS in 2012. To contact Smith, email him at Perry@hometownstation.com.