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Thursday, June 16, 2011
How much are our Washington lawmakers worth?
By Jessica Wehrman Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - House Speaker John Boehner and Sen. Rob Portman are among the wealthiest Ohioans serving in Congress, according to financial disclosure reports released by Congress this week.
Portman claimed assets worth between $6.3 million and $17.2 million. His largest asset: between $1 million and $5 million in Lebanon House Inc., a company that holds commercial properties in southern Ohio and Kentucky.
The Ohio Republican listed one liability - a line of credit worth between $1 million and $5 million. He told reporters Thursday that the line of credit was a construction loan that served as a bridge loan while the family worked to sell their house.
Boehner reported 121 transactions in which he bought or sold investments. He lists assets including in energy and pharmaceutical companies as well as Proctor & Gamble, Kroger and Walmart. He claimed assets worth at least $2 million, according to disclosure reports.
The West Chester Republican was one of a handful of lawmakers who sold BP stock after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. He sold between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of BP stock in May 2010, according to his disclosure.
Disclosures were due May 16, but released by the House Wednesday. Four Ohioans - including Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland - successfully sought 30-day extensions. Among the highlights of other Ohio lawmakers’ filings:
• Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana: Assets between $119,008 and $362,000. No liabilities. Assets included the Ohio Public Employees Deferred Compensation Fund and the Ohio State Teachers Retirement fund, as well as life insurance. No transactions.
• Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville: Assets between $219,071 and $1.3 million, much of it stock owned by his wife. No liabilities. Purchased stock in Sysco and Corning, sold stock in Apple, Devry, Norfolk Southern and Monsanto.
• Rep. Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek: Assets between $107,008 and $355,000. No liabilities. No transactions. Largest asset is Ohio Public Employee Retirement System account valued at between $100,001 and $250,000.
• Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio: Assets between $435,010 and $1 million. No liabilities. Sold 15 stocks on behalf of his mother’s estate. His largest asset is a stake in his family farm valued at between $250,001 and $500,000.
• Freshman Rep. Jim Renacci, Renacci, an Akron-area Republican, is one of a handful of multimillionaire freshmen in the House. He has tens of millions of dollars in assets, according to a review of his disclosure form. Renacci listed between $2 million and $10 million in liabilities, including two lines of credit worth between $1 million and $5 million.
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TweetSenate OKs ballot proposal on federal health care overhaul
The Ohio Senate on Wednesday voted 24-9 to put a constitutional amendment on the Nov. 8 ballot exempting Ohio from the federal health care overhaul backed by Democratic President Barack Obama.
To make the ballot through the legislative process, Senate Joint Resolution 1 also would have to be approved by a three-fifths majority - 60 votes - in the 99-member House.
The proposed amendment would exempt Ohio from the requirement that all Americans be part of a health care plan. It would prevent the state, as well as the federal government, from imposing such a requirement.
Because there are just 59 Republicans in the House, support from at least one Democrat would be required. In the Senate, Democrat Jason Wilson of Columbiana joined 23 Republicans in voting “yes.”
Passage of the resolution came as the Ohio Republican Party and Tea Party groups continue to gather signatures to put a similar amendment on the ballot. They have gathered about 365,000 signatures from registered voters and 385,245 are required by July 6. Amendments can be proposed either by the legislature or through the signature-gathering process.
“By passing SJR 1, the Ohio Senate gives its support to the effort to defeat the unconstitutional federal mandate,” Sen. Tim Grendell, R-Chesterland, the sponsor, said in a press release.
Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern used a press release to blast the action as “crass political ploy.
“It is clear that some legislators would rather put the interests of those who wield power ahead of those who desperately need health coverage,” Redfern said.
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