What are financial disclosure reports?
Financial disclosure reports include information about the source, type, amount, or value of the incomes of members, officers, certain employees of the U.S. House of Representatives and related offices, and candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives. These reports are filed with the Clerk of the House as required by Title I of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, as amended. Section 8 of the STOCK Act of 2012, as amended, requires the Clerk of the House to provide online public access to financial disclosure reports filed by members of Congress and candidates for Congress.
How to access financial disclosure reports?
The Office of the Clerk provides online public access to financial disclosure reports filed by members of Congress and candidates for Congress. You can download financial disclosure reports by year from 2008 to 2024. You can also search for specific members or states using keywords or filters.
The most recent personal financial disclosure statements filed by members of Congress were released on Wednesday. The full set of documents are grouped by state and available here for review.
How do Utah members compare with national average?
According to a report by OpenSecrets.org, a nonpartisan research group that tracks money in politics, Utah had one member who reported having stocks worth more than $100 million as of June 30, 2023. That was Rep. Rob Bishop ®, who reported having $113 million in stocks alone. He was followed by Rep. Chris Stewart ®, who reported having $9 million in stocks.
On the other hand, Utah had four members who reported having no stocks at all as of June 30, 2023. They were Rep. Ben McAdams (D), Rep. John Curtis ®, Rep. Mia Love ®, and Rep. Jason Chaffetz ®.
In terms of real estate assets, Utah had two members who reported owning more than $1 million worth as of June 30, 2023. They were Rep. Chris Stewart ® and Rep. John Curtis ®. They were followed by two members who reported owning less than $100 thousand worth each as of June 30, 2023. They were Rep. Ben McAdams (D) and Rep. Mia Love ®.
In terms of other assets such as cash on hand or bank accounts over $10 thousand or bonds over $10 thousand or mutual funds over $10 thousand or retirement accounts over $10 thousand or life insurance policies over $10 thousand or annuities over $10 thousand or trusts over $10 thousand or partnerships over $10 thousand or corporations over $10 thousand or other investments over $10 thousand or other miscellaneous assets over $10 thousand each as of June 30, 2023 , Utah had six members who reported owning more than one such asset each as of June 30 , 2023 . They were Rep . Chris Stewart ( R ) , Rep . John Curtis ( R ) , Rep . Mia Love ( R ) , Rep . Jason Chaffetz ( R ) , Sen . Mike Lee ® , and Sen . Mitt Romney ® .
The national average for these types of assets was much lower than that of Utah’s representatives .
Financial disclosure reports provide a glimpse into how members of Congress manage their personal finances and what kind of investments they hold. However, they do not reveal everything about their wealth, income, or spending habits. They also do not account for potential conflicts of interest, lobbying activities, or campaign contributions. Therefore, it is important to look beyond these reports and use other sources of information to evaluate how well our representatives serve our interests.
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