Florida Archives - Checks and Balances Project

FIU Is First University Dropped by Hotel Lobby in Pay-to-Play Academics Scheme

2017-07-24

Grant Withdrawal Raises Questions and Shifts Pressure to Penn State and University of North Carolina The New York Times and Checks and Balances Project have uncovered an extensive, secretive pay-to-play academic scheme by the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), the primary lobbying arm of the hotel lobby, engaging several universities. Last Thursday, C&BP issued… Read more »

C&BP Calls Upon Florida International University and American Hotel & Lodging Assn. to Release Grant Application Records for $68K Study

2017-07-20

Checks and Balances Project (C&BP) today called upon Florida International University (FIU) to immediately release both the initial and final grant applications to help to erase any question of the integrity of FIU research funded by the hotel lobby. The request includes all communications and documents relating to a grant proposal that resulted in a… Read more »

Hotel Lobby Expands Pay-to-Play Research Campaign to Florida International University

2017-07-11

Purpose is to buttress testimonial campaign to undermine home-sharing in South Florida Last October, Checks and Balances began investigating the university-corporate partnership between Penn State University and the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), the primary lobbying arm of the hotel lobby. In April, we expanded our inquiry to three additional universities, including Florida International… Read more »

C&BP Expands Probe of Hotel Lobby Influence To Univ. North Carolina, Florida International University and Rutgers

2017-04-20

New York Times Story Reveals Efforts by AHLA to Build Upon Pay-to-Play Research at Penn State Since October 2016, we’ve been investigating the relationship between Pennsylvania State University Professor John W. O’Neill and the hotel industry’s lobbying arm, the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA). Now, new reporting shows that AHLA has expanded its efforts… Read more »

Checks and Balances Project Launches Captured Regulators Initiative

2015-02-25

Influence peddling in America is a $9 billion a year industry. It’s as big as Major League Baseball or NASA’s Mars spacecraft program, changing from direct meetings with lawmakers to a vertically integrated set of businesses that work every stage of government decision making – including the shaping of public opinion. Many have charted the… Read more »