Now that it is official that the Feds are investigating Countrywide's "VIP" home loan program, it's time to revisit one of the key problems in disclosure that abetted the hiding of these loans. Since every member of Congress is required to file an annual personal financial disclosure report it would seem as though the public would have the ability to know which lawmakers received loans from which mortgage company and at what rate. Unfortunately, personal financial disclosures do not require lawmakers to list private residences or any home that does not generate income (ie: rent).

This is a problem with an easy solution. Earlier this year, numerous lawmakers, including Rep. Mark Souder and members of the Senate Ethics Committee, introduced bills to require limited, but adequate, disclosure of personal residences. Now that this issue is back in the headlines Congress should move quickly to address future concerns and tackle the myriad other problems with the personal financial disclosure forms.

The Sunlight Foundation's Executive Director Ellen Miller had an op-ed in Roll Call (sub. req'd) earlier this year that addressed the failings of the personal financial disclosure:

...Congress must make personal financial disclosures more transparent and accurate. All of the manners in which lawmakers obscure their finances must be eliminated. Exact dollar figures must replace ranges. Loopholes for residences that do not generate income should be closed. Lawmakers must reveal how much stock they own, show who they are doing business with when engaged in a partnership, and list property in a more transparent manner. Personal financial disclosure reports must live up to the desire of Congressional leaders to operate in an open and honest manner.

The new rules Congress passed last year requiring the disclosure of expense-paid trips members and their staff receive have sharply cut the number of free trips they have accepted. According to a short piece by Alex Knott at CQ, members of the 110^th Congress and their staff have accepted a little more than $3 million in free trips, as opposed to $7.5 million accepted by the 108^th Congress, a cut of more than half over the four years. Last year, Congress passed the new rules in the wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal, where it was revealed that lobbyists were showering lawmakers with lavish gifts and junkets. By the way, Abramoff, who is serving a six-year sentence for a fraudulent casino deal, is to be sentenced today by a federal judge where he faces an additional 11-year sentence for corrupting Congress.

CQ lists the lawmakers who have accepted the most money in free travel so far in this Congress:

- Rep. Susan A. Davis, Calif., $55,765

• Sen. Richard G. Lugar, Ind., $53,222

• Rep. Mike Ferguson, N.J., $51,886

• Rep. Russ Carnahan, Mo., $49,978

• Rep. Mark Souder, Ind., $49,750

• Rep. George Miller, Calif., $47,625

• Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Wis., $44,359

• Rep. Rick Boucher, Va., $42,219

• Rep. Howard L. Berman, Calif., $41,230

• Rep. Lloyd Doggett, Texas, $41,184

Center for Responsive Politics' Congressional Travel database allows users to search all the trips taken by member of Congress, sponsors, industry, trip destination (both city and foreign country) and other fun data.

Last month, after Portfolio revealed that Sens. Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad received favorable loan deals from mortgage giant Countrywide, members of the Senate Ethics Committee attempted to attach an amendment to housing relief legislation that would require the disclosure of mortgages and their details for members of Congress in their annual personal financial disclosure reports. The amendment was ruled non-germane and was dropped from consideration.

In the House, Rep. Mark Souder is keeping the disclosure flame alive, introducing a bill to require mortgage disclosure on personal financial disclosure reports. Souder's bill would mandate the disclosure of home mortgages including the name of the creditor, the interest rate on payments, the number of years remaining, and the amount of the mortgage.

This is a good step in providing more detailed and accurate information on personal financial disclosure reports, and certainly a proper response to the Countrywide revelations. Congress should take this issue seriously and aim to adopt the transparency reforms in Souder's bill.

For further steps on clarifying and furthering disclosure in personal financial disclosures, you can see Ellen Miller's Op-Ed in Roll Call (no subscription needed this time) from a few weeks ago.