Lobbyist launches effort to send crypto-friendly politicians to Washington

From: POLITICO Influence - Friday Nov 12,2021 09:49 pm

Nov 12, 2021

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With Daniel Lippman

CRYPTO LOBBYIST HELMS BLOCKCHAIN PAC PUSH TO ELECT CRYPTO-FRIENDLY LAWMAKERS: Rulon & White’s Todd White is helming a push to raise massive sums for a super PAC focused on sending a legion of cryptocurrency-friendly lawmakers to Washington next year. The PAC was formed back in May, according to FEC filings, and has reported no receipts or disbursements in the months since. But the group says now it is looking to haul in $300 million to help elect a new generation of crypto-savvy politicians, opening up a new phase in the crypto industry’s political advocacy push. For reference, that is only slightly less than the $304 million that Senate Democrats’ campaign arm raised during the entire 2020 cycle.

— White has been among those at the forefront of the digital currency lobbying scene that exploded this summer. In 2019, he registered to lobby on behalf of Satoshi Nakamoto Renaissance Holdings , an entity that claims to be run by Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym of the reclusive creator of Bitcoin. And earlier this year his firm formed a dedicated digital currency practice, which Rulon & White said was the first such practice group in D.C., preceding a flood of crypto lobbying business amid the fight over the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

— “As federal officials seek policy methodologies to navigate how public blockchain platforms and innovators should be regulated, the American Blockchain PAC will serve as a critical source of knowledge and information for donors and decision-makers on issues impacting this ecosystem,” White said in a statement, adding that the PAC “will work tirelessly to ensure the United States continues to be an environment that proudly fosters innovation and offsets an exodus of 21st century talent.”

— Adelle Nazarian , the super PAC’s chief executive, said in a statement the committee will lead “efforts to build a vanguard of new Congressional candidates and reelecting officials who believe in and support cryptocurrency-blockchain innovation and transformation,” with ad buys “to support American digital ingenuity and regulation, with an emphasis on privacy protections for American investors.”

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BIDEN LOOKED AT NOMINATING BIO CHIEF EXECUTIVE FOR FDA POST: President Joe Biden announced today that he would nominate former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf to lead the agency a second time, ending the administration’s monthslong search for a permanent leader for the agency. Part of the reason the search took so long, POLITICO’s Adam Cancryn, David Lim, Alex Thompson and Sarah Owermohle report, is that the administration spoke to or vetted around a dozen other candidates and ended up ruling out several because of ties to the drug industry or other financial conflicts of interest.

— Among those considered for the job was Michelle McMurry-Heath, the president and chief executive of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, a trade group that counts leading pharmaceutical companies among its members and is perennially one of the biggest lobbying spenders on K Street. McMurry-Heath became head of the lobbying group last year after previously serving as an executive at Johnson & Johnson.

— Though Biden’s team ultimately landed on Califf several weeks ago, thanks in part to the broad bipartisan support he received the last time he was nominated, Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) have already signaled or said outright they will once again vote against Califf’s confirmation because of his industry ties. Back in 2016 Califf had written papers with pharmaceutical industry executives and consulted for drug and device makers. More recently, he has helped lead health policy at Google parent company Alphabet — a role that could draw further scrutiny from the Senate‘s left flank.

GLOBAL VISION OPENS LOBBYING SHOP: Public affairs firm Global Vision Communications is rebranding itself as GVC Strategies as it builds out a bipartisan government relations operation featuring a one-time aide to now-President Joe Biden. David Walsh, who will lead government affairs for the firm, worked for three years in Biden’s Senate office. Kate Sullivan Hare will lead the firm’s health care initiatives.

— “Increasingly, our clients requested direct lobbying as part of strategic communications and public affairs campaigns, and so we expanded to officially provide government relations services,” Neil Hare, GVC’s president and chief executive, said in a statement. “Over GVC’s 16 years working in Washington, the lines have blurred as to what is lobbying and what is public relations or strategic communications, so it is critical to provide clients both services.” Hare will focus on small business policy issues under the new brand.

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VETS BECOME A POLITICAL FORCE PUSHING TO LEGALIZE PSYCHEDELICS: “Jose Martinez, a former Army gunner whose right arm and both legs were blown off by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, has a new calling: He’s become one of the most effective lobbyists in a campaign to legalize the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs across the country,” The New York Times’ Andrew Jacobs reports.

— “In the two years since Oregon, Washington, D.C., and a half-dozen municipalities decriminalized psilocybin, vets have become leading advocates in the drive to legalize psychedelic medicine, which they credit with helping ease the post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression that are often tied to their experiences in the military. The campaign has been propelled by the epidemic of suicides among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, but also by the national reckoning over the mass incarceration of people on drug charges that has softened public attitudes on prohibition.”

— “Juliana Mercer, a Marine Corps veteran from San Diego who helps connect former service members to psychedelic therapies, says her lobbying efforts are especially useful with Republican legislators who often harbor antidrug attitudes but hold veterans in high esteem. ‘It helps that I’m not some stereotypical hippie doing LSD for fun,’ she said. ‘But I think our voices are impactful because we’ve put our lives on the line for our country, and after 20 years of war, we need help healing because nothing has worked so far.’”

— “Recent converts include Rick Perry, the former Republican governor of Texas, who earlier this year returned to the State Capitol to join Democratic lawmakers promoting a bill to authorize the clinical study of psilocybin. The bill passed both legislative chambers in June, and became law.”

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MEANWHILE, IN CALIFORNIA: “As many as two dozen firms significantly engaged in lobbying California’s state government, including several of the highest-grossing firms last year, received PPP loans for which they may not have been eligible, worth about $3.7 million total, according to a review of public records and interviews” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Alexei Koseff.

— “Most of the loans to California lobbying firms were forgiven and converted into grants by this summer, suggesting a failure by the federal government at multiple stages to adequately communicate requirements and vet the eligibility of applicants. Representatives for several firms said they were confused by unclear guidance from the SBA during the application process or were entirely unaware of the restriction on lobbying firms until reached by The Chronicle.”

— “A half dozen of the loan recipients are law firms, several of which said lobbying is only a fraction of their work, even if it brings in millions of dollars annually. Others told The Chronicle they generate a majority of their revenue from non-lobbying services such as association management and that they had determined their eligibility before applying for the program. … But some loan recipients acknowledged that lobbying is their primary business and said they mistakenly believed they were eligible to apply for a PPP loan. One pointed to informational documents provided by their SBA-approved lender, which used language like ‘all small businesses eligible.’”

Jobs Report

— Jason Holley is joining OPR Communications as a senior account executive. He was previously the communications director at J. A. Green & Company.

— Ayshia Connors is rejoining The Madison Group as director of government relations. She was most recently director of grassroots operations at Americans for Prosperity and is a Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Trump Inaugural and Rob Woodall (R-Ga.) alum.

— Taylor Roberson has joined the Center for Responsible Lending as federal policy counsel. Roberson most recently worked as an attorney at KPMG, and before that served at the New York State Department of Financial Services.

— Art Hackney is now vice president of Axiom Strategies. He’s a longtime Alaska GOP consultant and chair emeritus of the American Association of Political Consultants.

— Elise Argall will be senior associate director of public policy communications at the Alzheimer’s Association . She previously was communications director for Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.).

— Priya Bery will be senior vice president for partnerships at the Pew Charitable Trusts. She most recently has been CEO of the Tarsadia Foundation.

— Dan Green is now digital director for the American Values Coalition. He most recently was national comms director for Democrats for Life of America.

New Joint Fundraisers

None.

New PACs

Honor & Liberty PAC (Super PAC)

New Lobbying Registrations

Airspan Networks Inc.: Airspan Networks Inc.
Barker Leavitt, Pllc (Ska Mr. James C. Barker): Millcreek, Utah
Bloom Strategic Counsel: Tops Markets LLC
Bracewell LLP: Residential Elevator Coalition (Informal Coalition)
Bracewell LLP: Speks
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Lightstone Investments
Desimone Consulting, LLC: Phenome Health
Gorman Strategy Group: Gorman Strategy Group, Too On Behalf Of Parkervision, Inc.
Hill East Group, LLC: American Food & Vending Corp.
Miller & Chevalier Chartered: Crossharbor Capital Partners LLC
Pavluchuk & Associates: Hax
Pavluchuk & Associates: Neo Networks
Pavluchuk & Associates: Sacramento Area Council Of Governments
Pavluchuk & Associates: San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Pavluchuk & Associates: Via
Ryan Costello Strategies: Njoy, Inc.
Shumaker Advisors Florida, LLC: Phoenix Programs Of Florida, Inc.