The other day, the Boston Globe reported that four congressmen "have attended luxurious Fourth of July weekends at Cape Cod's exclusive Wequassett Inn in Chatham with representatives of various interest groups, courtesy of a little-known nonprofit group started by a longtime lobbyist."

The lobbyist, Jeanne Campbell, received millions of dollars in contracts to lobby Congress through her Washington-based firm, Campbell-Crane. Her clients, including several Massachusetts agencies and companies, routinely attend the Fourth of July events.

The trips to the Wequassett Inn, where room rates range from $475 to $1,300 per night, are intended as seminars where industry representatives can discuss legislative issues with members of Congress. But government watchdog groups say they represent a common route around federal lobbying restrictions.

The firm has paid more than $22,500 to cover Massachusetts congressmen attending the sessions since 1996, the first year for which records are available. Nearly $11,000 went to cover food and lodging expenses of US Representative Richard Neal, a Springfield Democrat, who has attended every year but 2002.

For Neal -- along with Representatives Michael E. Capuano, William D. Delahunt, and the late J. Joseph Moakley, each of whom attended at least two July Fourth weekends at Wequassett over the past 10 years -- costs were covered by the Invest to Compete Alliance, which describes itself as a nonprofit educational organization for service and manufacturing groups.

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Published on: 2006-07-04 (188 reads)