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Groton Daily Independent
Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 223 ~ 47 of 52
trying to in uence public policy — were their primary reasons for booking with Trump.
Government ethics watchdogs say that while these actions may be legal, they can cause the public to
question some of the Trump administration’s decisions.
“There’s a pretty big difference from lobbying and giving business to the president, which essentially
means actually enriching the president,” said Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Respon- sibility and Ethics in Washington.
“When you have these kinds of business relationships, it creates the risk that the president is instead going to be motivated by what’s in his nancial interest instead of what’s in the best interest of the Ameri- can people.”
A look at several special interests that met at Trump properties, their lobbying priorities, and the real- world results:
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BANKERS
Hedge fund managers, bankers and payday lenders have been opening their wallets at Trump properties. In March, the Palm Beach Hedge Fund Association, members of an industry that Trump once said were
“getting away with murder” with tax breaks, held a meet-and-greet gathering at his Mar-a-Lago club in town. A few days later, executives from dozens of banks converged for a three-day conference at the Trump National Doral Miami that was sponsored by a trade magazine. Its panel discussions included one titled
“The Trump presidency and what it means for banking.”
Next up, a payday lending group will be heading to the Doral in April for its annual conference.
Trump administration goals often align with business groups, but those groups have nevertheless notched
signi cant concessions from lawmakers and regulators in recent months.
Federal regulators recently announced they would reconsider rules requiring payday lenders to make sure
potential borrowers can pay back loans. And a law passed late last year will make it harder for consumers to join together to sue their banks.
Also, the tax overhaul left open a loophole for hedge fund operators to claim much of their income as “carried interest” taxed at lower rates than ordinary income. But after Senate questioning, Treasury Sec- retary Steven Mnuchin said last week that he plans to close the loophole.
Money manager Tom Brown, who spoke at the Doral event for bankers, said he didn’t believe attendees saw it as an opportunity to curry favor with the Trump administration.
For its part, the Community Financial Services Association, a payday lending group, said it rst held an annual meeting at the Doral 16 years ago and added, “We look forward to returning.” A board member of the Palm Beach hedge fund group, Jonathan Beaton, said it was a just a social club, not a lobbying organization.
“No one is trying to get to Trump or change policy,” he said.
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VAPING VICTORY
In July, a Washington-based trade association for the vaping and e-cigarette industry held its annual
two-day conference at the Trump International Hotel in Washington. The keynote speaker was Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican who had just written the Food and Drug Administration asking that it rein in a 2016 rule requiring e-cigarette makers get federal approval to sell the products, something the association says stunts innovation and places heavy costs on small businesses.
Ten days later, the FDA announced that, as part of its efforts to strike the “appropriate balance” be- tween regulation and innovation, manufacturers of e-cigarettes and cigars already on the market would have another four years before they would be required to get agency approval. The delay also applies to regulations on avored vaping products, which studies show to be especially appealing to young people.
Tony Abboud, executive director of the Vapor Technology Association, said in a statement that it was “overly simplistic” to suggest the July event at Trump’s hotel had anything to do with the FDA delay. He said the venue was selected based on budget and proximity to Capitol Hill.