Speaker of the House John Boehner has long denied that his perpetual tan skin color is the result of sunless tanning. He just spends a lot of time outdoors, the Ohio Republican is known to say.
But despite his repeated denials of using tanning beds, Boehner has ties to the industry. Not only has he accepted campaign contributions from a group called the Indoor Tanning Association, Boehner actually lives in a D.C. apartment owned by a lobbyist for the American Suntanning Association.
Boehner rents a Capitol Hill English basement apartment from John D. Milne, a lobbyist with the firm mCapitol, Milne and Boehner’s office confirmed to The Daily Caller on Tuesday. Milne lobbies for the American Suntanning Association, which retained mCapitol for $90,000 in 2013.
The Washington Post reported in 2006 that Boehner was paying $1,600 a month that year to rent Milne’s two-bedroom apartment. In that article, a Boehner aide stressed that Milne did not seek to influence Boehner on legislation. “John Milne does not lobby John Boehner on any issue and has not lobbied him on any issue during the time period in which John has been renting the property,” he said.
Forms indicate that the Indoor Tanning Association gave Boehner $5,000 in 2011. It gave money to a number of other lawmakers that year, including South Dakota Sen. John Thune, also known for his year-round tan skin color.
The Indoor Tanning Association opposed the so-called 10 percent sales tax in Obamacare, something the Republican conference also opposed in 2010.
But despite Boehner’s connections to the industry, no tanning bed exists in the house he rents, the lobbyist said in response to a question from TheDC.
“There is not nor has there ever been a tanning bed in the residence!” Milne, his landlord, said in a Tuesday email.
Boehner’s office declined to comment.