Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas is not the region’s wealthiest lawmaker, but his net worth rose higher than his area colleagues since the 1990s, according to a government watchdog group.

   The average net worth for the Kansas Republican more than doubled between 1995 and 2006, from $5.3 million to $13.3 million, according to a report by the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation.

   The group analyzed the assets of all 535 members of Congress.

   "Even though popular stereotypes tell us that lawmakers are all millionaires and get more wealthy the longer they serve in Congress, we found that every lawmaker profile is different," said Ellen Miller, co-founder and executive director of the Sunlight Foundation.

   Brownback Spokesman Brian Hart said his assets increased sharply because of the sale in 1994 of a communications company owned by his wife’s family.

   For Rep. Kenny Hulshof, a Missouri Republican who is leaving Congress to run for governor, the report estimated that his average net worth rose from nearly $11,000 in 1995 to about $3.3 million in 2006. A Hulshof spokesman could not be reached for comment.

   There were declines, too.

    Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s average net worth tumbled, from $3 million in 2004, the year he was elected, to $628,000 in 2006.

    So did the average net worth of Democratic Reps. Ike Skelton of Missouri and Nancy Boyda of Kansas, as well as Republican Rep. Todd Tiahrt of Kansas.

   The group’s analysis was based on personal financial disclosure forms that lawmakers are required to file, but which are never precise. Congressional rules allow them to value their assets and liabilities in ranges - $15,001-$50,000, for instance - instead of establishing a specific number.

   The foundation arrived at an average net worth by calculating the sum of all the possible values of their assets and subtracting the sum of all the possible values of their liabilities.

   The report noted that congressional rule don’t require members to list certain significant items, such as their homes, which can be valued in the millions.

   Among the presidential candidates, Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton’s average net worth rocketed from a minus $6 million in 2000 when she ran for the Senate from New York, to nearly $31 million in 2006.

   The average net worth of Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting, soared from $9 million to $36 million. Sen. Barack Obama’s numbers pale by comparison: $328,442 when he was elected in 2004 to $799,000 two years later.

   The report did not provide reasons for changes in net worth, but they can run the gamut, from marriage, death and shifts in financial fortunes.

   "There are 535 individual stories influenced by stock portfolios, mortgages, student loans, inheritance and other factors," it stated.

   Skelton’s average net worth, for instance, dropped nearly $700,000 due to the cashing in of certificates of deposits and other financial changes.

   The wealthiest lawmaker from the region, Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, is also the 26th richest member of Congress. Her average net worth rose by more than $3 million, to nearly $24 million, since 2006 when she was elected.