Posted on 03/14/2005 5:24:03 PM PST by wagglebee
More than 40 members of the House reported carrying at least $10,000 in credit-card or charge-card debt in 2003 and parts of 2004, according to a survey of financial disclosure reports conducted by The Hill.
The findings come as the House is poised to take up a bankruptcy-reform measure that would give banks and credit card companies expanded powers to seek repayment from debtors who file bankruptcy.
Opponents of the bill drew hope from the data, suggesting that lawmakers who nurse high-interest debt might be more likely to sympathize with indebted consumers. High credit-card debt is often a factor in the decision to file for bankruptcy, although the root cause is usually related to a life-altering event such as a divorce, illness or the loss of a job, experts said.
"Members aren't that much different than regular Americans. Some run up high credit-card bills when they shouldn't. One would hope that it would make them more sensitive to regular Americans earning far less money that are threatened by this bill," said Travis Plunkett, legislative director at the Consumer Federation of America, which has opposed the bill on the grounds that it favors credit-card companies at the expense of average consumers.
Yet the 43 members identified in the survey were as likely to have voted for the bankruptcy bill when it came to the House floor in 2003 as were members without credit-card or similar revolving accounts.
In general, members of Congress were much less likely to have credit-card debt than the average American. About 51 million households carry credit-card debt at an average balance of nearly $12,000, according to cardweb.com. Only 10 percent of House members had similar debt.
The lawmaker reporting the highest credit-card debt was Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), who noted that in 2003 he had between $80,000 and $175,000 spread across seven credit cards. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, listed five accounts with a total of $75,000 to $250,000 in debt. New York Democrat Gary Ackerman was third in the survey, listing "various credit cards" with a total balance of $50,000 to $100,000.
Only one member of the Senate reported credit-card or charge-card debt. Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) and his wife had a joint American Express card with a balance between $10,000 and $15,000.
Fifty-three senators and 216 members of the House reported having no financial liabilities.
Data for incumbent members come from financial disclosure reports pertaining to the 2003 calendar year, the most recent reports available. Freshman lawmakers are required to file a disclosure report within 30 days of filing their candidacy. Their reports covered varied time periods in 2003 and early 2004.
Members are not required to disclose accounts with balances of less than $10,000.
Disclosure guidelines require that lawmakers list their assets and liabilities by checking boxes indicating a range of values for each account - for example, $15,000 to $50,000. For members with multiple accounts, The Hill used the total of the lower number on each account to determine the member's rank in the survey.
It is important to note that members are required to record the highest debt incurred on any account at any time during the filing period. Thus it is highly likely that some members with multiple accounts did not carry high debt on all their accounts at the same time.
Ackerman, for example, said that he routinely transferred a high balance from one account to another, which would be reported in the same way if he had carried a high balance on all the cards at the same time.
"If you do it carefully, you wind up paying nothing in interest," he argued. "If someone is going to give you free money, I want to be in that line." Asked if he planned to pay off the balance for good, he said, "If they keep offering zero percent interest for three months, I'll do it forever. … Do you wanna loan me a couple of bucks at no interest?"
Credit-card companies typically offer low "teaser" rates that apply only for the first few months after the account is opened.
Rep. Randy Kuhl (R-N.Y.), one of eight freshmen on the list, said he also shifted balances from one account to another. "A credit card can be advantageous if you use it the right way," he said, noting that he had financed his son's college tuition with credit cards with low introductory rates. "For me, at some point last year, I utilized what was a better deal than going into the bank," he said. Kuhl estimated that currently he has "less than $5,000" in credit-card debt.
However, experts noted that numerous balance transfers are often a worse bet for consumers because they can lower the cardholder's credit rating and may contain hidden charges.
Asked about his debt, Scott said, "Most of it has been paid off or will be paid off. I think that, within the month, I won't have much at all." He said his assets were "significantly more" than his liabilities.
Scott's credit-card accounts have grown steadily since 1998, when he reported only one account meeting the reporting threshold of $10,000.
In 2003, aside from his credit cards, Scott listed five outstanding margin loans totaling at least $65,000. He had stock assets of at least $160,000. Financial disclosure reports do not include information on members' personal residences or income derived from government retirement plans.
Unlike Scott, Hunter has only recently found himself with a great deal of short-term debt. His six-bedroom home in Alpine, Calif., burned down in October 2003, causing a loss of more than $500,000. Although he received a hefty insurance payment shortly after the fire, he reported $85,000 in personal and car loans in addition to credit accounts, amounting to a much higher level of debt than he had reported in prior years.
A spokesperson for Hunter could not comment on the situation.
Several members who appeared in the survey have been strong advocates of personal responsibility or fiscal discipline in government.
Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), who has often called for fiscal discipline and balancing the federal budget, reported two credit cards with balances upwards of $10,000.
Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.), who reported one card over $10,000, railed against the rising national debt in floor statements last fall. "We have borrowed in the last 45 months or so $1 trillion if we add all of this up, $1 trillion. I do not have to tell all of us, myself included, who have debt on our house, our car or our credit cards, what $1 trillion means," he said. "It is time that we started doing something about it. … On Friday, the United States of America will reach our credit-card limit."
Freshman Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas), who tied for fourth on the list, was previously a district court judge in the Houston area best known for creative sentencing and a hard-line view on law enforcement.
Asked about four charge accounts totaling more than $40,000, he said in a statement, "Just like millions of Americans, I understand the burden of debts - and the moral obligation to honor them. I believe it is important that we reform our bankruptcy laws."
Poe was also among several members who had received campaign contributions from the same bank or credit card company with which they held an account. Poe received $1000 from Capitol One's political action committee. He and his wife have a joint account with the company that was reported at between $10,000 and $15,000.
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) received $6,000 from MBNA in 2003 and 2004. She reported a $15,000 account with the company.
Richer members of Congress were much less likely to have credit-card debt. Of the 50 richest members of Congress, only one, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), had significant credit-card debt. DeLauro's net worth is reportedly $5.5 million, in part from an ownership interest in her husband Stan Greenberg's polling company. She reported at least $30,000 on two credit cards.
"Like many individuals, my boss and her husband retain personal credit cards for spending," DeLauro's spokeswoman said, "When the [disclosure] report is completed for the 2004 fiscal year, it will show the cards have been cleared."
A spokesman for Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.), who is tied for fourth place on the congressional credit-card debt list with three cards and debts of $40,000-115,000, said, "She was a consultant who traveled to Europe repeatedly on business and charged everything to her credit cards. She was billing her clients sporadically so all that revolving debt stays there until she bills."
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Isn't significant debt a barrier to getting top security clearance?
Only if you can't pay it off, or if you "suddenly" have no more debt, without a corresponding rise in income or cash on hand.
To the best of my knowledge, members of Congress are not required special security clearance for most matters, and that is an entirely different but major problem. What I find most surprising is that these people (most of whom presumably own homes) keep such large credit card balances rather than use their home's equity. Bobby Scott (#1 on the list) is in the district next to where I live, the value of my house rose over 20% last year I presume Scott had a similar gain. I think that if they are keeping all of this in credit cards, it is because they are receiving preferential treatment from the credit card providers and this is a conflict of interest.
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