Friday, June 18, 1999
Area congressmen disclose their assets
Portman, Boehner still the wealthiest
BY PAUL BARTON
Enquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Rep. Ken Lucas took a big pay cut when he came to Congress this year, while Rep. Baron Hill got a significant increase over what he was making in the private sector, disclosure forms released Wednesday showed.
Reps. Rob Portman, R-Terrace Park, and John Boehner, R-West Chester, continued to have the priciest individual assets of any area House members.
The disclosure forms require lawmakers to list their investment holdings in broad dollar ranges only.
Incumbent members also do not have to list their House salary, which last year was $136,700.
That was less than half the $288,688 that Mr. Lucas, D-Richwood, made last year as a financial planner and consultant.
In addition, Mr. Lucas listed several high-value assets on his form, including shares of Fifth Third Bank stock worth between $1 million and $5 million. His wife had shares worth between $100,000 and $250,000.
Mr. Lucas also listed two individual retirement accounts valued between $500,000 and $1 million and four real estate investments valued between $100,000 and $250,000.
In contrast, Mr. Hill, D-Seymour, Ind., the other newcomer in the Cincinnati-area delegation, reported a salary of $45,000 last year as financial analyst with Merrill Lynch.
Mr. Hill's largest investment asset was $15,000 to $50,000 in bonds in a public employees retirement fund.
Mr. Boehner's form listed $1 million to $5 million in stock in Nucite Inc., the plastics packaging firm that he operated before he came to Congress in 1991.
His stock in Nucite alone pro duces annual income of between $100,000 and $1 million. Mr. Boehner also listed Nucite pension and profit-sharing accounts, each worth between $500,000 and $1 million.
Mr. Portman listed $1 million to $5 million in stock in a family business, Portman Equipment Co., as his largest asset.
He also had at least three other assets valued at between $250,000 and $500,000 — an investment in Lebanon House Inc., an inn established by his grandfather; the Peavler Partnership, a family real estate partnership in Erlanger, Ky., and a separate irrevocable trust.
Of his dozens of holdings, Mr. Portman listed 10 other investment accounts valued at between $50,000 and $100,000 apiece.
Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati, listed no major assets but dozens of smaller ones, including 26 accounts valued at between $1,000 and $15,000. Many represent stock in popular restaurants such as Applebee's, Wendy's and Cracker Barrel.
Mr. Chabot had three holdings valued between $50,000 and $100,000, including a Gradison money market account.
The simplest form of any Cincinnati-area member belonged to Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Lucasville, who listed only one investment account, an IRA valued between $15,000 and $50,000.
Lucas lists assets of $2M
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