Raymond
J. McGrath, President of the
Downey McGrath Group, Inc. (DMG),
joined the firm in September
1999. Ray brings more
than 30 years of experience
dealing with public policy
issues at all levels of
government and in the private
sector.
Ray actively directs and
manages client affairs.
He presides over the weekly
client activities meetings in
which the entire DMG team
reviews the agenda for each
client and how best to achieve
our goals and objectives.
Ray has a long record of
public service, starting as a
Member of the New York State
Assembly where he was a
pivotal force in helping to
reform the state's Medicaid
system. He left the
Assembly in 1981 after
successfully running for
Congress from the 5th District
of New York. He served
as a Republican Member of the
House until his departure in
1993.
In Congress, Ray first served
on the Government Operations
and Science and Technology
Committees. In his third
term, Ray won a seat on the
House Ways and Means Committee
where he served for eight
years. On Ways and
Means, Ray developed an
expertise in tax, trade and
health care issues. He
was one of the chief
architects of a provision in
the 1986 tax bill to preserve
state and local tax
deductions, and served on the
Health Subcommittee for six
years. |
 |
After
Congress, Ray served as
President and Chief Operating
Officer of the Beer Institute,
a trade association
representing more than 300
industry members
worldwide. As President
of the Beer Institute, Ray
represented the industry
before Congress and state
legislatures on issues ranging
from taxes to advertising
regulations to
transportation. Ray
helped develop industry
programs to promote health
awareness and address underage
drinking and drunk
driving. He served as
Director of the Alcohol
Beverage Medical Research
Foundation.
Ray's experience and knowledge
of health care issues is
unmatched. He has a
particular interest in the
area of hearing impairment, as
the father of a child who is
hearing impaired, and has been
actively involved as an
advocate on these issues as
well as working on behalf of
clients to achieve changes in
taxes, health and other
appropriate areas for
legislative or regulatory
change. He was President
of the Camelot Association.
Ray's leadership on this issue
has been recognized in a
number of ways. Former
Secretary of Health and Human
Services Tommy Thompson
invited Ray to serve as a
member of his official
delegation traveling to Africa
to examine the impact of the
AIDS pandemic and to advise
the Secretary on an ongoing
basis on this vital issue on
two different occasions.
Ray McGrath is President of
the Capitol Hill Club and is
on the Board of Directors for
the Center for Congressional
and Presidential Studies at
the American University.
He also serves as a guest
instructor at the Lobbying
Institute at the American
University. He serves on
the Board of SOAR (Support our
Aged Religious) and is a
member of the Order of
Malta. Ray and his wife,
Sheri (Peterson), have four
sons. |
