Clay Helps Industry After Receiving Political Donations

For more than a decade, the rent-to-own industry has watched as 20 separate pieces of federal legislation it supported failed in Congress. After years of frustration, it decided to assert itself more aggressively.

Already a major political donor, the $6.3 billion-a-year industry paid lobbyists to “put a human face” on its case and looked for new ways to sow good will with key Democratic lawmakers, who were wary of an industry that rents equipment such as televisions, appliances, computers, furniture and refrigerators to people — often low-income consumers — with the option to buy them later.

For instance, the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations (APRO) invited Rep. William Lacy Clay of Missouri to be keynote speaker at its annual conference last year in St. Louis and arranged for executives to donate $14,000 to Mr. Clay’s personal charity so they could participate in his annual golf tournament that raises money for student scholarships.

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(Jerry Seper, “Rental Industry Hopes to Buy Influence on Hill,” The Washington Times, 10/26/09)