TAX LOBBYISTS DONATED MILLIONS TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
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President Donald Trump rubber-stamped his party’s revision to the U.S. tax code on Friday, capping a year in which lobbyists working to influence tax law poured millions into the reelection campaigns of Congress.
Lobbyists working on issues related to taxes donated $9.6 million to members of Congress during the first nine months of 2017.
Among the 11,078 total lobbyists who have registered and actively lobbied so far in 2017, about 58 percent – or 6,421 – lobbied on the issue of taxes, according to quarterly disclosure forms filed between January and September.
Almost a quarter of these “tax lobbyists” – or 1,476 – made political contributions. Their combined average contribution during the first three quarters of the 2018 cycle was $6,520.
The remaining 705 lobbyists who donated to members of Congress, but were not involved in tax issues, contributed an average of $3,397.
Fourteen lobbyists working at least part time on taxes donated more than $50,000 – the majority of which went to Republican members.
TABLE: Top ‘tax lobbyist’ donors to Congress and leadership PACs (Q1-Q3, 2017)
| Lobbyist | Employer | Donated | Dems | Repubs |
| Brownstein, Norman | Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck | $60,500 | $44,300 | $16,200 |
| Burgos, Tonio | Tonio Burgos and Associates | $103,800 | $90,000 | $11,100 |
| Daschle, Linda | LHD & Associates | $57,050 | $57,050 | $0 |
| Fields, Jack | Twenty-First Century Group | $67,529 | $3,000 | $64,529 |
| Geduldig, Sam | CGCN Group | $76,200 | $0 | $76,200 |
| Goldstein, Lon | Goldstein Policy Solutions | $54,400 | $2,500 | $51,900 |
| Hirschmann, Susan | Williams & Jensen | $80,100 | $0 | $80,100 |
| Kies, Kenneth | Federal Policy Group | $72,347 | $2,499 | $69,848 |
| Kimbell, Jeffrey | Kimbell & Associates | $50,700 | $0 | $50,700 |
| Kimberly, Richard | Kimberly Consulting | $51,500 | $0 | $51,500 |
| MacKinnon, Jeffrey | Farragut Partners | $95,450 | $0 | $95,450 |
| McGivern, Tim | Ogilvy Government Relations | $51,778 | $0 | $51,778 |
| Milne, John | The Ingram Group | $62,225 | $1,500 | $60,725 |
| Nathanson, Melanie | Nathanson & Hauck | $53,100 | $53,100 | $0 |
| Total | $253,949 | $680,030 |
Eighteen lawmakers received more than $100,000 in political contributions from tax-lobbying donors. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) were the largest recipients.
Ryan ($357,200) and Hatch ($314,974) held a ceremonial signing of the GOP tax bill this week. After signing the paperwork, Ryan handed the pen to Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), the House architect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which Trump signed Friday.
Brady, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, received about $116,000 from tax lobbyists during the first three quarters of 2017.
TABLE: Members of Congress who received more than $100,000 from ‘tax lobbyists’
| Member | Party | State | Chamber | Total |
| Ryan, Paul | R | WI | House | $357,200 |
| Hatch, Orrin | R | UT | Senate | $314,974 |
| Heitkamp, Heidi | D | ND | Senate | $301,775 |
| McCarthy, Kevin | R | CA | House | $274,000 |
| Nelson, Bill | D | FL | Senate | $236,950 |
| Brown, Sherrod | D | OH | Senate | $230,372 |
| Tester, Jon | D | MT | Senate | $174,750 |
| Kaine, Tim | D | VA | Senate | $163,850 |
| Walden, Greg | R | OR | House | $156,346 |
| Heller, Dean | R | NV | Senate | $147,200 |
| Cantwell, Maria | D | WA | Senate | $136,825 |
| Tiberi, Pat | R | OH | House | $130,550 |
| Heinrich, Martin | D | NM | Senate | $128,975 |
| Casey, Bob | D | PA | Senate | $127,906 |
| McCaskill, Claire | D | MO | Senate | $121,615 |
| Brady, Kevin | R | TX | House | $116,425 |
| Scalise, Steve | R | LA | House | $111,400 |
| Donnelly, Joe | D | IN | Senate | $110,549 |
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