Congressmen disclose finances: Harkin among richest, Hare on low end

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By Ed Tibbetts | Sunday, May 18, 2008 9:48 PM CDT | () comments

The Quad-City congressional delegation boasts some of that body’s wealthiest members — and one of its poorest, according to financial disclosure forms that were due last week.

The new disclosures, required by law each year, show that U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and his wife, Ruth, have the highest net worth of the four disclosures reviewed by the Quad-City Times.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has asked for an extension to file his form, a spokesman said. A request for the disclosure for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama,

D-Ill., had not been responded to by Friday.

The disclosures are kept in Washington, D.C., and the government does not post them online.

Harkin reported assets valued at between $8.5 million and $19.9 million. Most of the couple’s investments are held by his wife, according to the disclosure. Harkin and his wife had more than 100 different assets listed. Their form reported no debts.

Liabilities of more than $10,000 are reportable, excluding mortgages and car loans. Personal assets such as homes and cars also are not required to be reported.

Some of the Harkins’ most significant holdings include stock in Conoco Phillips Corp., where his wife is on the board of directors, and two mutual funds in ING’s American Funds family. Each are worth between $500,000 and

$1 million.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley’s assets were valued at between $2.6 million and $6.2 million, according to his disclosure. Some of the assets also were listed in his wife’s name. The Grassleys listed 66 assets, with farmland in Butler County accounting for between $1.4 million and $3 million of their value.

The Grassleys listed as a liability a farm contract taken out in 2007 valued at between $100,001 and $250,000. It is between the Grassleys and a Butler County, Iowa, couple. It had a three-year term and a 6.5 percent interest rate.

The largest publicly traded asset listed was an ING Fidelity mutual fund worth between $100,001 and $250,000, the report said.

Grassley, R-Iowa, also listed a $2,000 contribution by the American Council for Capital Formation made to charity in lieu of payment for a speech he gave to it last September.

Rankings for the 535 members of Congress aren’t out yet for this year, but the Center for Responsive Politics put Harkin at 19th in the Senate in terms of net worth last year, with Grassley at 33rd.

On the other end of the spectrum, U.S. Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill., had no reportable assets, but he did list between $65,002 and $150,000 in liabilities.

Hare has an outstanding student loan worth between $15,001 and $50,000 and a loan of between $50,001 and $100,000 that he made to himself from his retirement savings.

Tim Schlittner, a spokesman, said the congressman loaned himself the money from his retirement savings after he left his job to seek U.S. Rep. Lane Evans’ seat after Evans retired. Hare was Evans’ district director.

The loan was taken out in 2006, Schlittner said, but wasn’t reported on last year’s disclosure form because of an oversight.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, reported assets that were valued at between $282,015 and $805,000, most of it in mutual funds. He did not list any reportable debts.

Hare was ranked near the bottom of House members in terms of net worth last year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Braley was ranked 255th of 435 last year.

Braley’s opponent in the November election, State Sen. David Hartsuch, R-Bettendorf, didn’t file a report last week because he is not yet required to do so.

Ed Tibbetts can be contacted at (563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com. Comment on this article at qctimes.com.