The House overwhelmingly passed a bill taxing foreign travelers to the U.S. in order to fund government-backed advertising campaign for the U.S. tourism industry.
Why do we have such a program? The tourism industry lobbied for it, of course. Here’s a hotel industry group applauding the House vote.
An industry lobbying for and obtaining federal subsidies is not that interesting of a story. What’s more interesting is the root of this lobbying effort, and what it tells us about the dynamics of K Street and Capitol Hill.
You see, politicians — despite their public complaints — love being lobbied. And K Street, rather than being the tool business uses to move Congress, is often the tool politicians use to rope in business.
Here’s the story from my 2009 column:
It’s not every day that a lawmaker issues a clarion call for more lobbying, so the industry obliged with enthusiasm. The Travel Business Roundtable registered as a lobbying organization in 2006, changed its name to the Discover America Partnership, and hired Steven Schwadron, Delahunt’s longtime chief of staff, as its K Street lobbyist. Nobody can say Delahunt doesn’t take care of his employees.
Delahunt this year sponsored HR 2935, the Travel Promotion Act, which creates a Corporation for Travel Promotion, funded through voluntary contributions from tourism businesses, plus a $10 tax on every foreigner entering the United States.
