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By Jessica Wehrman, Staff Writer 12:20 AM Tuesday, June 16, 2009

WASHINGTON — Think you took a bath in the stock market last year? So, most likely, did your congressman or congresswoman.

Financial disclosures released late last week show members of Congress have not been immune from the financial crisis.

Take House Minority Leader John Boehner, who watched his net worth drop by at least $400,000 from last year to this year.

Boehner’s minimum net worth dropped from $2.1 million in 2007 to $1.7 million in 2008, according to financial disclosure forms filed in Congress.

In 2008, Boehner, R-West Chester, the former president of a plastic sales company, reported between $1 million and $5 million in a limited partnership profit sharing retirement plan for that company. In all, his net worth is between $1.7 million and $6.6 million. Boehner is not the wealthiest in the region’s congressional delegation, though.

That honor goes to U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, whose net worth — including land owned by her family — ranged from $2.7 million to $9 million last year.

Schmidt’s family’s land, and her share, accounted for between $2.3 million and $7.7 million in assets. She also received between $41,000 and $122,500 in rental income and for crops grown on her family’s property.

Her wealth has grown. Last year, Schmidt’s assets ranged from between $2 million and $5.9 million.

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, continues playing the stock market, owning stock in companies as diverse as Cisco and Walt Disney. He was worth between $172,091 and $1.45 million last year, according to his disclosure, a decrease from 2007, when his worth was between $269,087 and $1.7 million.

On the other end of the spectrum, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, reported a net worth of between $104,008 and $327,000 last year, most tied up in Ohio Public Employees compensation programs. That, too, represented a slight dip in worth from last year.

Congressmen are not required to disclose houses, spousal income and certain other assets.

U.S. Rep. Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek, meanwhile, reported between $6,006 and $90,000 worth of assets, as well as between $6 and $1,200 in dividends and interest income last year. And Sen. Sherrod Brown claimed between $65,009 and $275,000 worth of assets.

Sen. George Voinovich, meanwhile, claimed a variety of publicly traded assets, including shares in the Columbus sewer system, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, and various public improvements in Montgomery County.

He estimated his worth at between $586,060 and $1.93 million, according to his disclosure.

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