Industry Makes Gains On Hill

<H1> Industry Makes Gains On Hill</H1>By Lauren Bielski

<B>T</B>he U.S. meetings industry locked arms to lobby Congress last week and picked up momentum in advancing a common set of objectives, particularly in gaining sponsorship for a bill creating a private-public partnership for promoting inbound U.S. travel.

During the industry's third annual Legislative Action Day, 250 volunteers representing 10 industry associations met with their congressional representatives to advance three previously established goals: increasing the number of sponsors for H.R. 2579, which would replace the now-defunct United States Travel and Tourism Administration; establishing a more feasible cost and reporting structure for licensing copyrighted music, and restoring business meal and entertainment tax deductions from 50 to 80 percent (Meetings Today, Feb. 26).

By day's end, the group picked up 10 new sponsors for H.R. 2579, bringing the total number of sponsors to 189-only 30 short of the 219 necessary for a majority to assure that the bill will be brought up for a House vote.

The allied industry group was less successful with its other two priorities. Legislators seemed familiar with music licensing, but displayed a wait-and-see attitude toward sponsorship. Many delegates said that congressmen and aides cited the strong polarity between ASCAP and BMI, the principal music copyrighting organizations, and the hospitality industry as the biggest reason why the bill has remained in committee, suggesting more compromise is in order.

But closer to the trouble, said participants, was that music licensing companies "barreled the legislation through" with sophisticated lobbyists who misrepresented the issues. "Actually, I don't think they understood what it was we were asking for, which is simply the equivalent of a pricing schedule," said Ohio team leader Joe Bellian of Belyan Enterprises in University Heights, Ohio, and a member of International Association of Exposition Management.

But, he added, "Once we sat down with them, showed them letters from BMI and ASCAP and explained our essentially reasonable position, we appeared to get a few converts."

As for business meal deductibility, delegates were advised to tread lightly on the issue this time. With a budget-weary Congress, the group's strategists recommended that members do little more than ask for deductibility to be frozen at 50 percent.

Even so, the annual event has advanced light-years logistically-it delivered pre-meeting information to Congress sooner and it increased industry participation, said David Kliman, Meeting Professionals International president and director of travel management and corporate events for Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., Novato, Calif. He noted that the group doubled in size with the inclusion of multiple associations and greater efforts within MPI to gain volunteers.

This year, according to MPI, which coordinated the event, 215 visits were scheduled with congressional representatives and senators, up sharply from the 55 calls that were made in 1994.

Declaring his support for an industry that is the second largest employer in the United States, Rep. Toby Roth (R-Wis.) addressed the delegation during a breakfast briefing at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill Hotel. The sponsor of H.R. 2579 said the group should not be discouraged by politics as usual, and applauded efforts to demonstrate a unified presence to legislators. "Congress has to be reminded of this industry's contribution," he said. It is estimated that the travel industry generated $535 billion in revenues in 1995, including $58 billion in tax revenue for federal, state and local governments, and pays more than 14 million Americans more than $493 billion in wages and salaries, Roth said.

On the whole, participants seemed pleased with their efforts. Corporate meetings buyers Bill Severson, meeting planner with Allen Bradley Co. in Milwaukee, and Michael Flynn, special events coordinator at Xerox Corp. in Miami, expressed enthusiasm over the results of Legislative Action Day.

"The booklet summarizing our positions particularly impressed Rep. Illeana Ros-Lehtinen [R-Fla.]," Flynn said, adding that Reps. John Mica (R-Fla.) and Bill McCollum (R-Fla.) both backed the USTTA replacement bill that day. Severson, whose group met with three congressmen and the aides of Sens. Herbert Kohl (D-Wis.) and Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), also thought his sessions went well, and that the organization of the event was a critical improvement over the previous year.

"MPI should be applauded for bringing all these associations in and having it go as well as it did," said Jayne Carmona, sales manager at Renaissance Hotels International. "We had a multiple-association team and really felt prepared to field opposition on that basis." She was seconded by Chris Pentz, healthcare conference consultant with Pentz Group Communications in Levittown, Pa., whose group convinced Robert Borski (D-Pa.) to sign on to the legislation.

Barb Taylor Carpender, chair of MPI's government affairs committee, led a group of 12 Colorado delegates which visited eight offices and met with Reps. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), Scott McInnis (R-Colo.) and Joel Hefly (R-Colo.).

"We're almost there, with some follow-up on those who were interested but didn't commit; I feel sure we'll get the bill passed," Taylor Carpender said.

Bellian said the Ohio delegation, which logged 18 meetings before the day ended, drew a particularly positive response, with average meetings lasting 20 minutes. The group secured three sponsorships for H.R. 2579: Reps. James Traficant Jr. (D-Ohio), John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Frank Cremeans (R-Ohio). Texas team member Philip Crouse, of Petroleum Engineering and Management Consultants, reported that the state delegation nailed down support from Charles W. Stenholm (D-Texas).

Several delegates indicated that they felt more comfortable asking for recognition and support this year. "We've gotten more sophisticated at the lobbying process," said Nancy Foy, director of sales at Adventures by the Sea, and team leader for the Northern California delegation. "We didn't get bogged down, for example, in the presentation of statistics, because we learned firsthand from last year that the congressmen want a snapshot of an issue in these sessions." This year the groups also were divided by state, which meant that legislators were confronted by their constituents.

"Dealing with the government is just like dealing with clients; you have to establish and maintain relationships in order to negotiate effectively," said Steven Foster, vice president of sales and marketing for Gray Line in Dallas.

In addition to MPI, delegates came from the American Society of Association Executives, Convention Liaison Counsel, Greater Washington Society of Association Executives, Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, International Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus, International Association of Exhibition Managers, National Speakers Association, Professional Convention Management Association and Society of Incentive Travel Executives.