Three of the wealthiest members of Congress, each with a net worth of more than $16 million, serve on the House and Senate Agriculture committees, while the lawmaker with the lowest net worth is on the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the USDA and the FDA, according to Roll Call’s calculations. For its “Wealth of Congress Index,” Roll Call looked at the financial disclosure reports filed by members, which list assets and liabilities in broad categories, then subtracted the maximum possible figure for liabilities from the smallest possible figure for assets to arrive at a member’s net worth.
Rep. Suzan DelBene, Democrat from Washington State, has the highest net worth of anyone on the agricultural panels and ranks 14th in Congress at $31 million, based on Roll Call’s math. She was the third-wealthiest woman in Congress; House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi ranks 15th overall.
Sen. John Hoeven, a North Dakota Republican who is a former governor and former president of a bank holding company, has a net worth of $17.5 million and “keeps at least $1 million parked in a personal account,” according to Roll Call. Hoeven ranks 24th in Congress while David Perdue, a Georgia Republican and fellow member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, ranks 26th with a net worth of $16.8 million. Perdue is the former chief executive of Dollar General, a chain of discount stores.
Dairy farmer David Valadao, a Republican member of the House Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture, “tops the list of ‘poorest’ lawmakers but that doesn’t mean he’s on a breadline,” said Roll Call, which listed Valadao at a negative $8.5 million. “His liabilities are primarily farm-related lines of credit to the tune of millions of dollars.” Roll Call says Valadao’s financial standing “is probably far higher than we can calculate,” given the scope of the financial disclosure reports, “which don’t require the inclusion of such assets as houses.”