The son of Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Richard Neal — leader of the House Ways and Means Committee — raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees from his father’s campaign and pressure groups who were actively lobbying his dad on tax policy, according to Politico.
Richard Neal’s son Brendan Neal launched a one-person public affairs firm offering “political advice, lobbying and strategic communications” in 2020, roughly one year after his father became the ranking member on Ways and Means — the sole congressional committee with jurisdiction to introduce federal tax legislation, Politico reported.
Brendan Neal went on to receive a total of $196,340 from his father’s campaign for “strategic consulting services,” $20,000 from Van Heuvelen Strategies, which had interests in at least six different Ways and Means issues, and $252,500 from a client of a lobbyist who was simultaneously working for Blackstone to protect the carried-interest rate, which allows individuals working in the financial industry to pay a lower tax rate.
“Lobbyists sending huge amounts of money to the son of a particularly powerful politician, who has a great deal of control over tax policy, just reeks of corruption,” Morris Pearl, chair of Patriotic Millionaires — a coalition of wealthy Americans concerned about income inequality — told Politico. “Almost anyone, including the clients of the lobbyists who are concerned about tax policy, would conclude that these lobbyists are trying to curry favor with Representative Neal for their clients.”
Richard Neal’s office has claimed the congressman was unaware his son was employed by lobbying firms with tax issues being decided by his committee, and that the two do not discuss official business, according to Politico.
“Congressman Neal has been clear – Brendan has never lobbied his office on Ways and Means Committee business,” Neal campaign spokesman Joshua Carp told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “With early voting started, while his political opponents are manufacturing distractions, he remains clear-eyed about what’s really important in the stakes of this election — fighting to lower costs for working families, for a woman’s right to choose and to preserve Social Security. That’s what’s on that ballot and why he’s traveling from Pittsfield to Pittsburgh campaigning for Kamala Harris.”
“I’m proud of my work advocating for causes like LGBT suicide prevention, the opioid crisis, climate change and American industry,” Brendan Neal told the DCNF. “I’ve always followed ethics rules. I don’t lobby my father and we don’t discuss my business.”
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