LegiStorm: Transparency's Sidekick

Before he became a politician, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) made at least $1 million a year salary as a comedian and author, according to his financial disclosure he filed when he first ran for the U.S. Senate. But Franken's first full financial disclosure as a sitting senator doesn't provide any insight into how much money he continues to take in royalties from television, film and book products.

The personal financial disclosure forms require all members of Congress to disclose any outside income. Franken appears to have gotten around that requirement because his income comes to a corporation, Alan Franken Inc., of which he is listed as president and joint owner.

The disclosure lists Alan Franken Inc. as "a multi media Professional Services Corporation including but not limited to writing, acting, producing and personal appearances in all film/video/digital/TV formats and all print media." Franken's stake in this corporation is listed between $500,000 and $1 million, and he does not report receiving any income from it in 2008.

Senators may have reputations to some as being inexhaustible windbags but they sure like to write too.

Personal financial disclosures released today reveal numerous Senators with book contracts or royalties.

1. - Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) - The son of a noted politician has a publishing agreement with Emmis Books to write a book on fatherhood, with all proceeds to be donated to charity. 
2. - Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) - Boxer has two book publishing agreements from 2004 and 2007 with Chronicle Books LLC of San Francisco.
3. - Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) - Brown has an agreement from 2000 with New Press to donate all royalties to charities that he makes from a book about trade policy, as well an agreement to receive 10% royalties from Kent State University Press for a book called "Congress from the Inside." 
4. - Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) - Brownback has an agreement to receive $75,000 in advance from W Publishing Group for a manuscript title "From Power to Purpose."
5. - Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) - The Senate's oldest member received $10,000 in book income from Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents.
6. - Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) - DeMint listed $5,000 in royalty from Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, and a $42,500 book advance from B&H Publishers.
7. - Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) - The North Dakota senator has a $120,000 advance agreement from the William Morris Agency for the title, "Reckless! How Debt, Deregulation and Dark Money Nearly Bankrupted America."
8. - Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) - The wealthy senator donated $22,544 in book royalties to charity.
9. - Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) - The Minnesota senator had royalties of $319 from Waveland Press.
10. - Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) - Kennedy was the clear winner in the royalty race, pulling down $2 million for his autobiography.
11. - Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) - The former vice presidential nominee has two book deals in the works.
12. - Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) - The former presidential candidate's report puzzlingly suggests he earned royalties of only $20,539, which he donated to charity. Other books are underway. McCain splits royalties with his co-author Mark Salter, and the report lists no royalites from three of his five books in print.
13. - Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) - Menendez has one book contract with a $50,000 advance, to be split with his co-author. A second with Sterling Lord Literistic gives his co-author the entire $50,000 advance, plus 100% of any additional proceeds up to $50,000, with a 50-50% author/co-author split after that.
14. - Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) - She has an agreement for two books that also promises 50% of the royalties.
15. - Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) - The Senate majority leader earned $135,903 in book royalties, which he donated to charity.
16. - Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) - Schumer has an agreement to publish a book and reported receiving an advance in an earlier report.
17. - Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) - The former Republican reported $20,000 in royalties.

But senators didn't receive royalties only from writing books. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) continued to supplement his Senate income with royalties from writing songs, having 19 separate royalty agreements involving his tunes. His total haul was $8,369. That makes him far more lucky than the lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig, that represented him in an unspecified number of those transactions. His agreement with them is to pay a relatively stingy 5% representation fee.