N.H. Senator’s Assets Take Hit in Financial Crisis
PERSONAL FINANCES
New Hampshire Union Leader
Jenny Paul
Boston University Washington News Service
10/22/08
WASHINGTON– As everyday Americans see their retirement funds and savings shrink in line with the stock market’s decline, the assets of New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) have also taken a beating.
Gregg, a multimillionaire who ranked as the 21st wealthiest member of the Senate in 2007, may have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars when the markets plummeted this year, according to an analysis of his 2007 financial disclosure statement, a document that lists all of his assets and investments for the year. A copy of the statement, which senators are required to file each year, is available on OpenSecrets.org, the Center for Responsive Politics’ non-partisan, independent Web site that tracks money in politics.
Gregg’s net worth is listed as $3 million to $10 million, according to the Web site. The majority of his wealth stems from private investments, real estate and stock held in publicly traded companies, a Union Leader analysis of the disclosure statement shows.
In 2007, Gregg owned hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock in corporations whose share prices have plummeted since the end of last year, including well-known companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Exxon Mobil and General Electric Co. Gregg’s office said he had not sold any of his assets since the report was compiled.
Federal law requires members of Congress to file annual financial disclosure reports that detail the sources and amounts of income they earn. The form asks members to list the values of their assets within predetermined dollar ranges but does not require them to report specific values of their assets.
According to the disclosure statement, Gregg owned assets worth $250,001 to $500,000 in Bristol-Myers Squibb, a pharmaceutical corporation, in 2007. One share of the company was valued at $25.08 on Dec. 31, 2007, but that value dropped to $17.33 by Oct. 15 of this year, a decline of nearly 31 percent. And that was before the latest round of major declines in the stock indexes.
With his assets in the company valued at a minimum of $250,000, Gregg owned at least 9,968 shares of the company in 2007, although he could hold significantly more. In the last year, the value of 9,968 shares in Bristol-Myers Squibb dropped from about $250,000 to $173,000 – a loss of $77,000.
Gregg likely fared worse with his General Electric investments, which were worth $15,001 to $50,000 in 2007, according to the report. General Electric’s stock price posted a 46 percent drop between the end of last year and this month. At a minimum, the value of Gregg’s assets could have dropped by about $7,000 – from $15,000 to about $8,000.
Other stocks in his portfolio have posted similar declines.
“As required by federal law, Sen. Gregg has always fully disclosed all of his investments,” press secretary Laena Fallon said in the statement. “At this time, he does not plan to change his investments going forward.”
The other members of New Hampshire’s congressional delegation also said they did not plan to make changes to their holdings or investment strategies.
Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) has money invested in several mutual funds, which he holds in an IRA and the Federal Thrift Savings Plan, a federal retirement savings plan available to U.S. government employees, according to his office. Sununu’s net worth is listed as $297,000 to $855,000, according to OpenSecrets.org.
“These are long-term investments, made years ago, which he will continue to hold for the long term,” Barbara Riley, Sununu’s communications director, said in a statement.
Like the others, Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.) has not made any changes in his investment strategy, although his stockbroker is allowed to handle transactions without the congressman’s consent, said Mark Bergman, Hodes’ communications director. Hodes’ net worth was listed as $818,000 to $1.7 million in 2007, according to OpenSecrets.org.
Rep. Carol Shea Porter (D-N.H.) said she and her husband, who works for the federal government, have money invested in a government 401(k) savings plan. OpenSecrets.org lists her net worth as $2,000 to $30,000.
“Like other New Hampshire residents, we are concerned about the impact the downturn in the economy is having on our retirement savings,” she said in a statement.
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