House warns Kerry he could lose 1/16,000th of salary

WASHINGTON (AP):

Republican lawmakers are threatening to withhold salary representing less than one-sixteen thousandth of multimillionaire Secretary of State John Kerry's net worth.

The House Appropriations Committee's measure demands Kerry's agency implement recommendations of a US investigator for Afghan reconstruction. If the State Department doesn't report progress, he loses a quarter of his salary for three months next year.

The conditions also apply to the US special envoy to Afghanistan.

For Kerry, whose assets totalled at least $184 million according to a 2011 Senate disclosure, it hardly matters. His wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, is reportedly worth more than $1 billion.

And the family made more money when billionaire Warren Buffett bought out ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co earlier this year.

Still, some Democrats opposed the amendment to next year's foreign-operations bill.