House's GOP head rents from a lobbyist
Pushed for legislation advocate had stake in
WASHINGTON -- Representative John Boehner, who was elected House majority leader last week, is renting his Capitol Hill apartment from a lobbyist whose clients have direct stakes in legislation that Boehner has co-written and that he has overseen as chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee.
The relationship between Boehner, an Ohio Republican, John D. Milne, and Milne's wife, Debra R. Anderson, underscores how intertwined senior lawmakers have become with lobbyists paid to influence legislation. Boehner's primary residence is in West Chester, Ohio, but for $1,600 a month, he rents a two-bedroom basement apartment near the House office buildings on Capitol Hill owned by Milne, a Boehner spokesman, Don Seymour, said yesterday. Boehner's monthly rent appears to be similar to other rentals of two-bedroom apartments close to the House side of the Capitol in Southeast Washington, based on a review of apartment listings.
House members may not accept anything from lobbyists worth more than $50. If Boehner is paying market-rate rent, it would appear he is not violating that rule.
Milne's clients, including restaurant chains and health insurance companies, hired him to lobby on issues at the heart of Boehner's work, including minimum-wage increases, small-business tax breaks, and tax-free savings accounts to help cover insurance costs, according to congressional lobbying records.
In the weeks preceding last week's GOP leadership elections, Boehner acknowledged his ties to the lobbying community, but he assured Republican lawmakers that all of his relationships were ethical, and campaigned on a platform of change and reform. Seymour reiterated that message last night.
''John Milne does not lobby John Boehner on any issue," he said.
Boehner's work coincides with the interests of Milne. In 2002, the House approved the Economic Security and Worker Assistance Act, a tax measure drafted by Boehner, Representative Sam Johnson, a Texas Republican, and Representative Howard P. McKeon, a California Republican, as the Back to Work Act. The measure eventually became law. Disclosure forms indicate Milne client Fortis Health Plans hired him to lobby for the act.
