U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes is among the wealthiest members of Congress, according to a Capitol Hill newspaper.

In a report released Monday, Roll Call ranked the Concord Republican No. 5 among the 535 members of the House and Senate. The newspaper estimates his net worth at about $79 million, much of it in stocks and bonds held in trust funds.

Hayes, heir to a textile fortune, has seen his wealth more than double since 2006. "According to Hayes' office, the increase, including more than $36 million in new trust funds, is the result of an inheritance. Hayes' mother passed away in 2007," Roll Call says.

Other Carolinas lawmakers in the Top 50: Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole at 19th, Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler at 35th and Democratic Rep. John Spratt at 36th.

The ranking, though, includes several caveats. Roll Call notes that lawmakers must disclose only a range for each asset and liability and do not have to report certain assets at all. They sometimes fill out the disclosure forms incorrectly.

Anti-tax activist Grover Norquist campaigned across the 3rd Congressional district Monday, saying that Republican Congressman Walter Jones had broken his anti-tax pledge.

Norquist said Jones had violated an anti-tax pledge by voting last year for major farm and energy bills, Rob Christensen reports.

Norquist said he had known Jones for years, and had sent letters and talked to him by telephone urging him to avoid voting for a tax hike.

"There were flares up in the sky that were tax increases," Norquist said.

Glen Downs, Jones' chief of staff, said in both cases the farm bill and the energy bill were major pieces of legislation, and only a small portion involved increasing revenues — involving renegotiating oil company leases in the energy bill.

"There has never been a straight up tax increase that Walter has voted for," Downs said.

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U.S. Rep. David Price was North Carolina's top solo earmarker.

According to a database compiled by the nonprofit Taxpayers for Common Sense, the Chapel Hill Democrat was singlehandedly responsible for $24.3 million in earmarks in this year's spending bills.

He was followed by Reps. Heath Shuler ($14.9 million), Bob Etheridge ($11.2 million), Robin Hayes ($8.6 million) and Virginia Foxx ($7.6 million).

At the bottom of the list, Rep. G.K. Butterfield, who was responsible for just $856,000 in solo earmarks.

The list shift slightly if you include earmarks requested along with other members of Congress. On that list, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole is top with $147.8 million, followed by Sen. Richard Burr ($116.2 million), Price ($90.1 million), Hayes ($43.8 million) and Rep. Mike McIntyre ($32.6 million).

Butterfield still comes in last, with $8.2 million.

Click below for North Carolina earmarks or here for the complete spreadsheet.

The new 2008 Almanac of American Politics — a sort of political bible for Beltway junkies — landed on Dome’s desk last week smelling of fresh ink. The book is crammed with trivia.

The 1,800-page tome, published by National Journal, has details on voting records, election opponents and inside baseball on every member of Congress, Barb Barrett reports.

A few bits from the Triangle delegation:

* On Sen. Elizabeth Dole: "During the 2005-06 cycle Dole spent relatively little time in North Carolina and ended the year with only $245,000 cash on hand." The entry goes on to list all the Democrats uninterested in taking her on: Gov. Mike Easley, Mary Easley, Erskine Bowles, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, Treasure Richard Moore, Attorney General Roy Cooper and Rep. Brad Miller.

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A majority of southeasterners disapproves of both President Bush and Congress.

A survey by the Elon University Institute for Politics and Public Affairs showed 57 percent of respondents disapprove or strongly disapprove of the way Bush is handling his job.

At the same time, 53 percent said they lack confidence in Congress. Forty-four percent trusted the Democrats more than Bush, 32 percent backed Bush and 15 percent said neither could be trusted.

"Citizens are clearly frustrated with both branches of government," said Hunter Bacot, director of the Elon University Poll. "But, at least in these states, it appears they blame the president more than Congress for problems in Washington."

The poll was conducted of 1,374 residents of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia from Nov. 4-8 and 12-14.

It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percent. 

Business leaders from across the state are traveling to Washington today for a Chamber of Commerce fly-in sponsored by several members of the North Carolina congressional delegation.

This afternoon, some county chamber groups are taking Capitol tours. There’s a question-and-answer session with eight members of Congress, then an evening reception with all the delegation, reports Barb Barrett.

Tomorrow, chamber leaders will attend a breakfast with congressional members, then a morning of listening to speakers that range from New York Times columnist David Brooks to Alphonso Jackson, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Federal intelligence agencies must provide Congress with a detailed report by April 2008 of all the private contractors performing intelligence work for the U.S. government under language inserted into the Intelligence Authorization Bill on Thursday by U.S. Rep. David Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, Barb Barrett reports.

The report would include specific programs and responsibilities of contractors, the justification for hiring private companies to do such work, and an estimate of the costs or savings of hiring private contractors for intelligence work.

“We want to know exactly what the government is asking contractors to do,” said Paul Cox, Price’s spokesman. “We have serious concerns about prisoner interrogation, about private surveillance, about the transfer of prisoners between countries.”

The bill, which provides annual authority for intelligence programs, passed the House Thursday night.

Price had the language inserted because of increasing concerns about the roles of private security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.