Congressman signed on to bills for those tied to the social group
Jump to full article: San Diego (CA) Union-Tribune, 2010-09-07
Author: Brooke Williams, Watchdog Institute
Intro: In the months after Rep. Brian Bilbray sponsored the formation of a cigar association for Congressional staff, he introduced or lent his name to several pieces of legislation that would benefit clients of lobbyists involved in the social club.
The lobbyists included those working for pharmaceutical and medical product companies and the National Rifle Association.
Bilbray’s efforts supporting these lobbyists might be expected, as the North County Republican was pushing for gun rights and lowering taxes. But lobbyist involvement in the cigar club concerns some open-government advocates because it could fall into a gray area requiring less transparency than other lobbying activities. . . .
The review found that, in one instance, Bilbray sponsored a bill that would eliminate a tax on medical devices — and he introduced it five days after the cigar club held an exclusive, rooftop event across the street from the Capitol in late June.
Jeff Choudhry, who lobbies for a large medical device maker and other interests, was a board member of the club at the time.
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