Ken Thomas
Obama assets valued between $2.6M and $8.3M
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hold assets worth between nearly $2.6 million and nearly $8.3 million, according to financial disclosure reports released Tuesday by the White House.
The documents show the couple’s assets for last year. The first family’s assets were valued between $1.8 million and nearly $12 million in 2010.
Obama released the annual report in the middle of a presidential campaign that has brought attention to the wealth of his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor is worth $190 million to $250 million, with much of his money coming from investments.
Romney has amended his 2010 financial disclosures during this primary season, and also caved in to pressure to release his tax returns. The returns showed a series of offshore holdings that weren’t in the former Massachusetts governor’s 2010 financial disclosure, including a Swiss bank account that has received criticism from the Obama campaign.
Obama’s disclosure forms show he holds between $500,000 and $1 million in a JPMorgan Chase checking account. The Wall Street firm has faced scrutiny this week after it reported losing more than $2 billion on bad trading bets, prompting renewed calls for more stringent oversight of the nation’s top financial institutions.
Obama said Monday that JPMorgan Chase’s loss showed the need for Wall Street rules passed by Congress two years ago, many of which are still being written and have not yet gone into effect. He said in an interview with ABC’s “The View” that JPMorgan is “one of the best managed banks there is” and CEO Jamie Dimon is “one of the smartest bankers,” but even the best-run banks can make mistakes, underscoring the importance of the regulations.
The disclosure form requires public officials to list their assets in broad ranges, for example, between $1 million and $5 million, making it difficult to determine a precise net worth.
The president and first lady’s asset mix includes Treasury notes valued at between $1 million and $5 million, Treasury bills worth $500,000 and $1 million, along with retirement and checking accounts.
Royalties from Obama’s books, “Dreams From My Father,” ”The Audacity of Hope” and “Of Thee I Sing,” totaled between $250,000 and $2.1 million.
The Obamas have a 30-year mortgage on their Chicago home worth between $500,000 and $1 million with an interest rate of 5.625 percent.
Vice President Joe Biden listed assets of between nearly $230,000 to $860,000, many of them in investment accounts and insurance policies. The vice president disclosed in his 2011 tax returns receiving $20,900 in rental income on a guest house in Wilmington, Del.
Biden also disclosed receiving an $800 Vulcain Cricket watch as a gift from a Helsinki, Finland, jewelry store owner who has given watches in the past to U.S. presidents who have visited Finland.
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Associated Press writers Jim Kuhnhenn and Kasie Hunt contributed to this report.
Pro-Obama ad backs up case against Romney
WASHINGTON (AP) — A super PAC supporting President Barack Obama is airing a new ad in five states questioning Republican Mitt Romney’s commitment to workers.
Priorities USA Action is airing the ad in Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. It comes a day after the Obama campaign released a similar ad attacking Romney’s past role as head of private equity firm Bain Capital.
The new Priorities ad shows a testimonial from a former steel worker at GST Steel in Kansas City, Mo., who says Romney’s Bain Capital was only interested in making money at the expense of workers.
Romney’s campaign has said it welcomes the debate on jobs.
Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior Romney adviser, said Tuesday the ad on Bain Capital was an attempt to distract voters from Obama’s poor economic record and was “the biggest smokescreen since Mount St. Helens.”
Obama seeks to undercut Romney’s record on jobs
President Barack Obama visits with the crowd during his visit to the home of Val and Paul Keller, in Reno, Nev., Friday, May 11, 2012. Obama met with the Kellers who recently refinanced their home loan under a federally backed program that the President wants to expand to all homeowners who are paying their mortgages on time.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)(Credit: AP) WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is launching a sharp critique of Mitt Romney’s business record, airing a hard-hitting TV ad that recounts the demise of a Kansas City, Mo., steel mill that was restructured by Romney’s private equity firm and led to hundreds of job losses.
The ad and events targeting Romney’s role with Bain Capital planned for this week mark the president’s most forceful attempt to define Romney’s business record before the November election.
The ad includes interviews with former workers at the steel plant, who say Bain’s role led to job losses and slashed benefits. One worker calls Romney a “job destroyer.”
Romney’s campaign did not respond to the ad early Monday.
Obama honors nation’s top police officers
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is honoring the nation’s top police officers for their courage and sacrifice.
Obama praised the winners of a national police association award Saturday at a White House ceremony, paying tribute to officers who showed courage in the line of duty.
The president, joined by Vice President Joe Biden, said they were representative of the “sacrifices and that quiet courage” found in officers across the nation.
Recipients included 15 members of the Detroit Police Department who confronted a gunman who opened fire in a local precinct station; five Las Vegas officers who stopped an assailant who shot an officer at a Wal-Mart; and five New York City police detectives who rescued two cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point who had become disoriented while rock climbing.
Obama’s ‘to do’ list for Congress: jobs, mortgages
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pressuring Congress, President Barack Obama is laying out an election year “to do” list Tuesday that urges lawmakers to take another look at economic proposals to promote job creation and help families refinance their mortgages.
The White House said Obama planned to discuss the list during a stop at college science complex in Albany, N.Y. It’s the president’s latest attempt to portray congressional Republicans as obstructing his economic agenda at a time when millions of Americans are out of work. Obama has sought to tie Republican Mitt Romney to GOP leaders in Congress, arguing that the likely GOP presidential nominee would simply rubber-stamp their policies.
Continue Reading CloseObama pushing ‘to do’ list for Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama plans to lay out an election year “to do” list for Congress, urging lawmakers to take another look at proposals to promote job creation and help families refinance their mortgages.
The White House says Obama will detail the list during a stop Tuesday at a college science complex in Albany, N.Y. The president has repeatedly charged that Republicans in Congress have blocked his economic agenda even though millions of Americans are out of work.
The items on Obama’s list include a number of issues he has promoted before — among them eliminating tax incentives for companies that ship jobs overseas and new tax credits for small businesses and clean energy.
The president plans to discuss another measure to help homeowners refinance their homes on Friday in Nevada.
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