Are There Too Many Multimillionaires In Congress-- Out Of Touch With Ordinary Americans' Concerns?

Almost nothing passes unanimously in the House. I was surprised that H.R. 4695, the bill imposing sanctions on Turkey over the invasion of Syria-- which did pass yesterday with a 403 to 16 veto-proof majority still had 15 die-hard Trumpists-- like Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) and Pence's brother (R-IN)-- willing to vote know to please Señor Trumpanzee.

But that same day, the House managed to pass a bill-- a significant, consequential and important one-- unanimously. Katie Porter (D-CA) of Orange County wrote the Help America Run Act. When it becomes law, it will make it easier for working parents to run for federal office, clarifying that candidates are permitted to use campaign contributions to pay for child care, elder care, dependent care, and healthcare premiums and passed the House with unanimous, bipartisan support.

House Administration Committee Chairperson Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) said "The Help America Run Act is a simple, cost-free, commonsense measure to make America’s representatives look more like the everyday Americans we are here to represent. Americans caring for their children or parents today must weigh the option of running for office to serve the nation against the risk of losing coverage. It is precisely those everyday Americans that I want to see join us at the decision-making table. I’m proud to join Representative Katie Porter, the very first single mother of young children ever to serve in U.S. Congress, in supporting this important legislation. The ranking Republican on the committee, Rodney Davis (D-IL), agreed and urged, successfully, his party to back it. Though the NRCC is targeting Katie Porter as one of the top 5 democratic freshmen they want to replace, Davis publicly said that "I commend my colleague, Rep. Katie Porter, for this important legislation that I believe will allow more hardworking Americans to run for Congress. Strong candidates should not be limited by their circumstances to the point that it prevents them from representing their communities in Congress. Representatives of this body should come from all backgrounds to allow for equal representation of all who make up this great nation."

Katie, one of the most active of the freshman class, said "As a single working mom myself, I am acutely aware of the challenge it can be to balance running for office and taking care of a family. I’m proud to be a member of a historic freshman class that more closely reflects the diversity of the people we represent, but there’s still more work to be done. I’m pleased that a large number of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle have come together to help break down the barriers for Americans who want to serve their communities in federal office."

One of the big problems in Congress is that few working class candidates can afford to run. That has a lot to do with how many millionaires there are in Congress. And remembers, millionaires tend to be more conservative than normal people. Here are a bunch of the richest members of the House:

• Gil Cisneros (New Dem-CA)- $266 million
• Mitt Romney (R-UT)- 250 million
• Rick Scott (R-FL)- $232 million
• Greg Gianforte (R-MT)- $135.7 million
• Michael McCaul (R-TX)- $113.0 million
• Mark Warner (D-VA)- $90.2 million
• Dean Phillips (New Dem-MN)- $77 million
• Vern Buchanan (R-FL)- $73.9 million
• Kevin Hern (R-OK)- $36-$92 million
• Mike Braun (R-IN)- between $35- $96 million
• Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)- $70.0 million
• Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)- $58.5 million
• Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN)- $50.1 million
• Paul Mitchell (R-MI)- $37.7 million
• Scott Peters (New Dem)- $32.0 million
• Don Beyer (New Dem-VA)- $31.2 million
• Suzan DelBene (New Dem-WA)- $28.4 million
• Roger Williams (R-TX)- $27.7 million

In 2012 the Center for Responsive Politics reported that, for there first time more than half the 534 members of Congress had an average net worth of $1 million or more (268 of them). The median net worth for the members of Congress was $1 million. They have different problems and experiences of life than the vast majority of Americans do.

Illinois single mom Rachel Ventura is very much the kind of working citizen-candidate Katie Porter's bill is meant to assist. She's running for a Chicagoland seat occupied by a wealthy New Dei, Bill Foster, who represents the interests of other wealthy people, not of working families. This morning, Rachel told us that "It's a sad day when you look up and realize that your congressman is worth $10 million dollars and that he is not the richest one. Sadly, he is only the 34th richest member of Congress and it should scare people that 33 others have accrued more wealth than he has. Running for office as a single mother is not easy and I am glad to see that Katie Porter is proposing some modest solutions. I applaud these efforts, but honestly, we need to overturn Citizens United with a constitutional amendment and pass serious campaign finance reform that makes it easier for qualified candidates to run. Creating a system where our representatives can reflect what the country's make up in gender and race is, will create a government of shared values and diverse policy. In contrasts, how in the world can a multi-millionaire identify with working people who are living paycheck to paycheck, and why would we ever trust the super wealthy to do what is in our best interest when they are padding their campaign coffers with corporate cash?"


UPDATE: Montana

State Rep. Tom Winter is the progressive Democrat running for Montana's at-large open congressional seat this cycle. "Our Congress," he told me, "is now older and richer than ever before. Is it surprising that working people haven’t gotten a raise since before I was born when the people running things look like Greg Gianforte-- old enough to be my grandfather, and rich enough to be his boss? I get asked all the time: How can a young Democrat really relate to a voter from Glendive, Montana? And I always turn it around: Has anybody ever even tried? They’ve done it the easy way with all this fake cowboy posturing from our rich elected officials-- Gianforte, Rosendale, the whole political establishment in this state. Their clean boots get us nowhere, and their trophy ranches don’t relate to those of us who work for a living.  Our working communities deserve representatives who will work for them. That’s what Democrats used to do-- work for working people. That’s what I’ll do in Congress."