The study averaged the net worth of each member. When members file their financial disclosure statements, they list assets and liabilities as part of minimum and maximum bet worth and CRP averaged those. For example, Sen. Amy Klobuchar reported a minimum net worth of $345,029 and a maximum of $1,104,000 for an average net worth of $724,512.

In Minnesota politics, the Republican members are much wealthier than the DFLers.

The wealthiest member of Minnesota’s delegation was Sen. Al Franken with an average net worth of $8,747,525 followed by Rep. Michele Bachmann at $1,783,508 and Rep. Chip Cravaack in 217th place with an average net worth of $1,391,551.

Those three were in the top half of Congress’ 535 members.

After Klobuchar’s $724,512 comes Rep. Erik Paulsen with an average net worth of $487,017, Rep. John Kline had $471,006, Rep. Collin Peterson had $263,005, Rep. Tim Walz with $247,502, and Rep. Betty McCollum with an average net worth of $88,005.

Rep. Keith Ellison had the lowest net worth, with negative $14,497.

The generally accepted cutoff for the top 1 percent of Americans in terms of net worth is about $9 million on 2010, a threshold that none of the Minnesota delegation report.

Eleven percent of Congress is in the top 1 percent in terms of net worth.

The “60 Minutes” report alleged that some members of Congress were benefiting from insider information, allegations that leaders like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and House Speaker John Boehner have denied. The allegations contend that members of Congress have bought and sold stock in companies that pending legislation would impact, which is legal.

Walz introduced his bill to end that type of insider trading and make it illegal for members of Congress, the same as it is for corporate leaders.

“This is about faith in the markets, it’s about faith in democracy, it’s quite honestly what I think irritates people if they believe someone is gaming the system, it hurts all of us,” Walz told KEYC News.

Although the bill, titled the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, has only one Republican among its nine sponsors, Walz’ bill is already getting some measured support from Republicans.

“I am for increased disclosure,” said Majority Leader Eric Cantor. “If there’s any sense of impropriety or any appearance of that, we should take extra steps to make sure that the public’s cynicism is addressed.”

And it’s become a campaign issue in Minnesota.

Brian Barnes, a DFL candidate challenging Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen in Minnesota’s Third Congressional District, called on Paulsen to work to end insider trading in Congress.

“This reprehensible practice—which would land business people in jail—should be banned immediately,” Barnes said. “Therefore, I am asking Rep. Erik Paulsen to join with me in condemning the members of both parties who have engaged this insider trading they themselves made legal. I am also calling on the congressman to sponsor legislation to make this disgusting conduct what it should be—criminal.”

Boisclair works for the Society for Truth and Justice, an anti-abortion group whose staffers are running primary challenges around the country in order to exploit a campaign law loophole and get graphic ads aired on broadcast television, as the Minnesota Independent first reported.

In a press release titled, “Christian challenges Muslim for congressional seat,” Boisclair announced that he had launched his first ad.

“We did not pick this fight,” Boisclair said. “Islam’s war against Christianity and human liberty has raged against us for 1,400 years. We are merely responding with the truth.”

“The call to violent acts against Christians and Jews within this ‘holy’ book should alarm every American. The fact that a U.S. Congressman swore an oath on a book that calls for most of us to be persecuted is an outrage.”

The video was deemed offensive by Youtube and promptly pulled from the video hosting service. Ellison praised the move.

“I’d like to thank YouTube for removing the ad because it violated the company’s ‘policy on shocking and disgusting content,’” Ellison wrote in a statement. “The people of Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District elected me to uphold our Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion for every American. I intend to maintain the high level of civility the voters expect and deserve. And, I will continue working with our communities to organize for greater inclusion of people of all faiths and backgrounds.”

Boisclair, who currently works in Washington, DC, for the Society for Truth and Justice is one of several candidates from that organization running in primary challenges against House members in order to force local media outlets to air the candidates’ ads no matter how graphic.

The Federal Communications Act of 1934 says that all candidates for a specific office must have equal access to public airwaves.

Randall Terry, an anti-abortion activist who founded the group, is also running a Democratic primary challenge against President Obama. Earlier this week, Terry began soliciting $100,000 in donations to air graphic anti-abortion ads in the 2012 Democratic primaries and caucuses.

Boisclair told the Hopkins Patch that he doesn’t yet have the money to air his anti-Islam ads, but hopes to in time for the election

Here’s Boisclair’s new ad:

Source: donsutherland1, Flickr

Reps. Keith Ellison, Betty McCollum and Tim Walz joined 130 other members of Congress in filing a brief in a court case challenging part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

The members are challenging Section 3 of DOMA that denies benefits to some legally married couples in Massachusetts that others are afforded and the members say it compromises states’ rights.

The lawsuit began in 2009, when the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) filed suit on behalf of eight legally married same-sex couples and three surviving spouses after they were denied federal legal protections.

133 House members added their support for the couples’ lawsuit.

“Some [House members] voted against the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) while others voted for it; still others were not in Congress when DOMA was enacted. But all believe, today, that Section 3 of DOMA, which defines marriage for all federal purposes as ‘only a legal union between one man and one woman,’ lacks a rational relationship to any legitimate federal purpose and accordingly is unconstitutional,” the brief said.

Fourteen of the 133 House members signing the brief voted for the original law that they now view as unconstitutional. The only member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation to have voted for DOMA in 1996 is Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson, who has said he continues to support the law and voted to “reaffirm” it earlier this year.

Walz, Ellison, and McCollum have all been elected to Congress well after that vote. All three have also sponsored legislation to repeal DOMA.

The brief said, in part, that it was a response to House Speaker John Boehner’s decision to expend federal time and money on the Defense of Marriage Act.

“[The members] also wish to make clear that the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (“BLAG”), which has intervened in this case to defend Section 3’s constitutionality, does not speak for a unanimous House on this issue.”

The brief concluded that DOMA was a federal overreach into the individual states’ rights to determine marriage.

“Prior to DOMA, Congress achieved its legitimate federal interests in promoting the welfare of American families by working cooperatively with the states and respecting state marriage determinations. Congress’s radical departure from that federalist practice was a mistake; because Section 3 violates the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection guarantee, it is also unconstitutional. The decision below should be affirmed.”

The case is being heard in the First Circuit’s U.S. Court of Appeals.

Here’s the full list of members who signed the brief:

Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, James E. Clyburn, Jerrold Nadler, John Conyers, Jr., Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin, Jared Polis, David N. Cicilline, Gary L. Ackerman, Robert E. Andrews, Karen Bass, Xavier Becerra, Shelley Berkley, Howard L. Berman, Timothy H. Bishop, Earl Blumenauer, Robert A. Brady, Bruce L. Braley, Lois Capps, Michael E. Capuano, André Carson, Judy Chu, Hansen Clarke, Yvette D. Clarke, Wm. Lacy Clay, Emanuel Cleaver, Steve Cohen, Gerald E. Connolly, Joe Courtney, Joseph Crowley, Danny K. Davis, Susan A. Davis, Diana DeGette, Rosa L. DeLauro, Theodore E. Deutch, Lloyd Doggett, Michael F. Doyle, Donna F. Edwards, Keith Ellison, Eliot L. Engel, Anna G. Eshoo, Sam Farr, Chaka Fattah, Bob Filner, Marcia L. Fudge, John Garamendi, Charles A. Gonzalez, Raúl M. Grijalva, Luis V. Gutierrez, Janice Hahn, Colleen W. Hanabusa, Alcee L. Hastings, Martin Heinrich, Brian Higgins, James A. Himes, Maurice D. Hinchey, Mazie K. Hirono, Kathy Hochul, Rush D. Holt, Michael M. Honda, Jay Inslee, Steve Israel, Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., Sheila Jackson Lee, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr., William R. Keating, Dennis J. Kucinich, John B. Larson, Barbara Lee, Sander M. Levin, John Lewis, Zoe Lofgren, Nita M. Lowey, Carolyn B. Maloney, Edward J. Markey, Doris O. Matsui, Carolyn McCarthy, Betty McCollum, Jim McDermott, James P. McGovern, Jerry McNerney, Gregory W. Meeks, Brad Miller, George Miller, Gwen Moore, James P. Moran, Christopher S. Murphy, Grace F. Napolitano, Richard E. Neal, Eleanor Holmes Norton, John W. Olver, William L. Owens, Frank Pallone, Jr., Ed Pastor, Donald M. Payne, Gary C. Peters, Chellie Pingree, David E. Price, Mike Quigley, Charles B. Rangel, Laura Richardson, Steven R. Rothman, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Bobby L. Rush, Tim Ryan, Linda T. Sánchez, Loretta Sanchez, John P. Sarbanes, Janice D. Schakowsky, Adam B. Schiff, Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, José E. Serrano, Brad Sherman, Louise McIntosh Slaughter, Adam Smith, Jackie Speier, Fortney Pete Stark, Mike Thompson, John F. Tierney, Paul Tonko, Edolphus Towns, Niki Tsongas, Chris Van Hollen, Nydia M. Velázquez, Timothy J. Walz, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Maxine Waters, Henry A. Waxman, Peter Welch, Lynn C. Woolsey, John A. Yarmuth.

With the 2012 elections looming, states have passed a slew of laws making voting more difficult, including voter ID laws. Opponents of the new laws say the rules will make it harder for minorities and young people to vote in the upcoming elections.

The office of Democratic Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., announced that the letter urges secretaries of state across the country “to oppose new state measures adopted over the last year that would make it harder for eligible voters to register or vote.”

“A year from now, millions of Americans will head to the polls to exercise their most fundamental right—the right to vote,” Hoyer said in a press release. “Unfortunately, in states across the country, partisan measures have been adopted that would make it more difficult for nearly five million voters, particularly the poor, young people, the elderly, and minorities, to register and vote.”

House Democrats signing onto the letter said voter restriction laws were a “disturbing trend.”

“Election legislation and administration appear to be increasingly the product of partisan plays,” the letter read. “It is critical for our democracy that this does not continue. Voting hours, voting sites, identification requirements, voter registration regulation and access to mail ballots should not be used as weapons to achieve a preferred electoral outcome.”

The letter asked secretaries of state to “be vigilant in protecting against fraud but equally vigilant in protecting the franchise for all our citizens.”

“History has taught us that our democracy has suffered far more from elected officials who chose to deny some of our citizens the opportunity to vote than from any other cause,” the letter reads. “There is no greater threat to our democracy than a diminished belief that the rules are fair and fairly administered.”

The letter is signed by Rep. Collin Peterson, Rep. Keith Ellison, Rep. Betty McCollum and Rep. Tim Walz.

A voter ID law was vetoed by Gov. Mark Dayton in 2011, although Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake) has said she plans to pursue a voter ID law in 2012 as a constitutional amendment.

“As part of the deficit reduction process, the agriculture committees are responsible for reviewing existing programs and identifying where the Congress can find savings,” the House members wrote on Nov. 3. “However, we are greatly troubled by any attempt to use the Joint Select Committee to authorize costly new mandatory programs without adequate congressional review.”

The Super Committee is tasked with cutting $1.2 trillion over the next decade. In a bid to avoid deeper cuts, four members of congressional agriculture committees, including Rep. Collin Peterson (DFL-Minn.) have been working on a proposal to cut $23 billion from the Farm Bill. Although the plan hasn’t yet been released, it’s expected to eliminate direct payments to farmers in favor of programs focused on lost revenues. Peterson did not reply to a request for comment on the status of the legislation.

“We urge the Joint Select Committee to resist proposals that would go beyond its mandate of deficit reduction and authorize new, complicated agriculture programs that have not been the subject of congressional review,” the letter reads. “If the agricultural committees believe that these cuts will require a fundamental redesign of agricultural programs, those committees can and should move legislation through regular order.”

As the Minnesota Independent reported last week, agricultural lobbyists are gearing up to influence the Farm Bill, which will only be subject to an up or down vote if the Super Committee accepts it. Advocates from environmental and other groups have mobilized against the process.

“Anyone who thinks a bill driven by industry lobbyists, written behind closed doors and negotiated in secret, will be a good deal for taxpayers or the hungry should have their head examined,” said Jim French of Oxfam America in a statement lauding the letter. “Members of the Super Committee should reject the ‘Secret Farm Bill’.”

The full text of the letter is below:

November 3, 2011

The Honorable Patty Murray
Co-Chair, Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction
448 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Jeb Hensarling
Co-Chair, Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction
129 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairwoman Murray and Chairman Hensarling:

We are writing to express our concern with reports that the House and Senate Agriculture Committees intend to use the expedited legislative process of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to authorize new Farm Bill programs and entitlements outside of regular order. As part of the Deficit Reduction process, the Agriculture Committees are responsible for reviewing existing programs and identifying where the Congress can find savings. However, we are greatly troubled by any attempt to use the Joint Select Committee to authorize costly new mandatory programs without adequate Congressional review.

As you know, Congress charged the Joint Select Committee with the task of reducing the deficit by $1.5 trillion between 2012 and 2021 and provided for its legislative recommendations to be brought to the floor of both the House and the Senate for expedited consideration. Furthermore, its recommendations are not subject to amendment or filibuster. Congress implemented these rules to dull the pain of politically contentious but fiscally responsible measures. Yet, it has become apparent that some believe they can create new programs and entitlements with limited Congressional scrutiny and input.

We urge the Joint Select Committee to resist proposals that would go beyond its mandate of deficit reduction and authorize new, complicated agriculture programs that have not been the subject of Congressional review. The Joint Select Committee should instead act to find efficiencies within existing programs. If the Agricultural Committees believe that these cuts will require a fundamental redesign of agricultural programs, those Committees can and should move legislation through regular order.

Sincerely,

Ron Kind
Earl Blumenauer
John Campbell
Donna Christensen (Virgin Islands)
Steve Cohen
Peter DeFazio
Keith Ellison
Jeff Flake
Raul Grijalva
Rush Holt
Hank Johnson
Barbara Lee
John Lewis
Tom McClintock
Gwen Moore
Jim Moran
Mick Mulvaney
John Olver
Ron Paul
Tom Petri
Joe Pitts
Adam Smith
Jackie Speier
Pete Stark
Bennie Thompson
Ed Towns
Henry Waxman

Michele Bachmann, John Kline

Reps. Michele Bachmann and John Kline were among the signers of a letter to the U.S. Senate urging that body to pass an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would prohibit gay members of America’s Armed Forces from using military facilities for marriage ceremonies.

The Department of Defense, in the wake of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, has indicated that it will allow chaplains and same-sex couples to use facilities on a “sexual orientation-neutral basis,” something Republican members of the U.S. House oppose.

The letter was authored by Republican Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri and was signed by 86 members of the House.

“The Defense of Marriage Act was passed by a bipartisan vote in Congress and signed into law by President Clinton,” Akin said in a statement. “Unfortunately, this current administration is now directing the Department of Defense to ignore this law and perform gay marriages on military bases. I think this is wrong, which is why I offered an amendment to the House-passed defense bill making it clear that DOMA applies to the DOD. This letter calls for the Senate to add a similar amendment to their version of the bill. The Department of Defense should not be allowed to simply ignore laws they do not like.”

The House members complain that guidance by the Department of Defense General Counsel would make resources available to all members of the military. The general counsel guidance said that the “use of DoD real property and facilities for private functions, including religious and other ceremonies, should be made on a sexual orientation neutral basis.”

“This clear and deliberate violation of established U.S. law sets a dangerous precedent,” the letter states. “[The Defense of Marriage Act] makes it clear that for purposes of the federal government, marriage is defined as between one man and one woman. The use of federal property or federal employees to perform anything but opposite-sex ceremonies is a clear contravention of the law.”

The letter comes as same-sex couples in the military filed suit to overturn DOMA on Thursday in order to secure military benefits denied to them by the federal government.

Quist lost the Republican endorsement to former legislator Randy Demmer in 2010. Quist, who is a longtime religious right activist, has run for office several times, including a primary challenge to Gov. Arne Carlson who Quist thought was too liberal.

“I wish to thank all the patriotic Republicans who have been encouraging me to become a candidate for First District Congress,” Quist wrote on his website. “Be assured that I hear what you are saying, and I am now leaning in the direction of aggressively going for it. I will make a final decision soon.”

Quist ran in 2010 for the Republican endorsement and made national headlines for his statements at the Wabasha County Republicans Christmas Party when he said that defeating liberals was more important than defeating terrorism. He lost the endorsement to Randy Demmer, who lost in the general election to Walz.

He’s spent a long time in politics and during his stint in the Minnesota Legislature in the 1980s, he made a name for himself by opposing LGBT rights and ranting against abortion, two topics on which he has authored books.

In the 1988 legislative session, Quist was notorious for his emphasis on social issues. “He alleged that Mankato State University was encouraging the spread of AIDS by sponsoring a counseling center for gays, comparing it to a center for the Ku Klux Klan,” wrote the Star Tribune’s Dane Smith in 1994.

Sen. Mike Parry is the only Republican challenger to have formally announced for Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District. He officially kicked off his campaign on Thursday morning with a series of stops in southern Minnesota.

“I’m running for Congress because Congressman Tim Walz and the Washington crowd have sold us out,” Parry said in a statement. “They have mortgaged the futures of our children and grandchildren with their wasteful spending. I look forward to speaking with families across southern Minnesota about how we can bring fiscal responsibility to Washington.”

Michele Bachmann, John Kline

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has missed more votes than all but two of her House colleagues, both of whom were ill.

Bachmann is running for the GOP nod for president and spends much of her time in Iowa and other early primary states. She missed 26 percent of all votes so far in 2011, according to a New York Times’ analysis of House attendance. In missed votes, Bachmann trails only Rep. Maurice Hinchey of New York, who is ill, and Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in January.

Rep. Ron Paul, who is also running for president, missed 21.3 percent of 2011 votes.

But Bachmann has vastly improved her voting record since this summer, when the Hill reported that she had missed 37 percent of all House votes from the time she declared her candidacy until late July.

Even before she officially declared her candidacy, Bachmann had a higher proportion of missed votes than most members of the House. A Minnesota Independent report last year found that many of her missed votes coincided with media appearances.

The analysis shows Rep. Keith Ellison also missed 11.3 percent of the year’s votes, mostly because of a leg injury earlier this year.

The New York Times’ analysis of House attendance showed a bright spot for Minnesota, with Rep. John Kline being one of only 15 House members to make every one of the 814 votes so far this year.

Parry is so far the only challenger to Rep. Tim Walz, a DFLer who first won election in 2006.

“After five years in Washington, Congressman Tim Walz has represented the values of Washington liberals like Nancy Pelosi and not the values of southern Minnesota,” Drazkowski said in a statement. “I’m convinced that Mike will build the grassroots campaign to defeat Congressman Walz. As a small business owner, he is best equipped to go to Washington and rein in wasteful government spending and jump-start our economy.”

Both Drazkowski and Parry are among the most conservative members of the Minnesota Legislature. Minnesota’s First Congressional District is one of the state’s most moderate. Since 1980, the district has been held for an equal number of years by both the DFL and the GOP.