|
Presented by America’s Job Creators for a Strong Recovery: Delivered daily, Influence gives you a comprehensive rundown and analysis of all lobby hires and news on K Street. | | | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | | | With Daniel Lippman COLLINS’ FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF STARTS A LOBBYING FIRM: Brendan Belair, who served as chief of staff to then-Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) for virtually his entire congressional tenure, has started his own lobbying firm, looking to carve out a niche for issues under the purview of his former boss’s committee. The firm, Duddington Global Strategies, takes its name from the street that Belair lives on, just a few blocks south of the Capitol, and that he contended in an interview is the “best block in America.” — Belair was Collins’ top aide when the congressman was ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and one of his first lobbying clients, Amazon, was one of Collins’ major targets on the committee. Belair told PI he’ll be monitoring issues for the company focusing on Judiciary matters, including antitrust issues and efforts to curb the sale of counterfeit products in online marketplaces, as they make their way to the floor. — Earlier this summer, the committee approved a package of six antitrust bills targeting Big Tech companies like Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Google despite fierce lobbying from the companies. The package was built around recommendations stemming from a 16-month investigation into the companies’ competitive practices that took place when Belair served as the panel’s minority staff director. Collins and four other Republicans on the committee released their own report on the investigations’ findings. It focused on accusations of bias against conservatives but still accused the companies, Amazon included, of “anticompetitive behavior.” — Duddington, which is a one-man operation for now, has signed one other client, forensic DNA testing company Othram Inc. Belair said he’s eager to build a client list with a focus on the Judiciary Committee issues that do have bipartisan support, like criminal justice. “I do think the committee a lot of times is overlooked, even though it has super broad jurisdiction on antitrust matters, on intellectual property matters,” and on patent, copyright, gaming and cannabis issues as well, Belair said. “A lot of times, you know, most of the lobbyists who position themselves downtown and K Street, you know, it's Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means,” he continued, referring to the two powerful House committees. “That's part of the construct here, is hopefully … create a niche in this space that I think is needed, because I don't think there's that many people that do it.” Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Send lobbying tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko. BLUE ORIGIN LOBBYING ON RECONCILIATION TAX PROVISIONS: Blue Origin, the space company helmed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has hired Mac Campbell of Capitol Counsel to lobby on, “monitor and evaluate proposed changes to the Internal Revenue Code being considered by Congress as part of the budget reconciliation process,” according to a newly filed lobbying disclosure. — Campbell is an Obama administration alum, previously serving as assistant U.S. trade representative for congressional affairs. He was also a top aide to Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) and former Sen. Blanche Lincoln, and served as deputy staff director and general counsel for the Senate Finance Committee, the chamber’s tax-writing panel. — Blue Origin, which has spent $1.4 million on lobbying so far this year, retains about half a dozen other outside lobbying firms: Barnes & Thornburg; Maynard, Cooper & Gale; Clark Hill; J. Sullivan Advocacy; and K&L Gates. The hire of Capitol Counsel came as Democrats were still weighing an increase to the corporate tax rate in their reconciliation bill, before opposition from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) scuttled the plan, which still includes a minimum corporate tax rate on companies with a declared income of more than $1 billion. — CNBC’s Brian Schwartz notes it also came after Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) introduced a bill taking aim at space exploration companies like Blue Origin, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic , all of which sent civilians into space this year. Blumenauer’s Securing Protections Against Carbon Emissions, or SPACE, Tax Act “would create new excise taxes on commercial space flights carrying human passengers for purposes other than scientific research,” according to a press release when the bill was introduced — the same day Bezos traveled to space on Blue Origin’s first crewed flight. ANNALS OF THE POLITICAL-MEDIA COMPLEX: “A major Democratic donor is funding a new media outlet that launched Thursday, aimed at covering state and local races in the Midwest as the latest entrant into the growing partisan-media landscape,” POLITICO’s Elena Schneider reports. “The outfit combines Heartland Signal, a new digital news site that will focus on midterm coverage, and WCPT , an existing progressive talk radio station with a large footprint in Midwestern states.” | | A message from America’s Job Creators for a Strong Recovery: Tax the rich? Hardly. Under the Biden-Bernie $1.75 trillion tax-and-spend bill, family-owned businesses would be hit hardest. It would impose taxes on incomes way under $400,000, burden Main Street employers with the highest tax rates in the world and destroy middle-class jobs. It’s time for Congress to say NO. Watch here to learn more: https://americasjobcreators.org | | | — “It’s all backed by Fred Eychaner , a Democratic donor based in Chicago, who has given approximately $100 million to Democratic causes over the last two decades, according to federal campaign finance records. It’s part of a recent trend of explicitly Democratic-backed digital news projects that have popped up in the last several years, as candidates and movements across the political spectrum try to speak directly to supporters, drive viral attention and shape the media ecosystem by creating their own content instead of working through legacy outlets.” — “Both parties are working to fill a void left by the hollowing out of the local news industry, which has spawned news deserts across the country, including in critical battleground states. But conservative dominance of talk radio has been a source of long-running frustration for many on the left, which the new outlet is partly addressing. It’s also a reaction to the success of online media startups and personalities that dominate social media platforms.” CHAMBER LAUNCHES NEW PUSH TO DERAIL RECONCILIATION BILL: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is redoubling its efforts to tank Democrats’ reconciliation package with a new ad blitz highlighting its potential effect on inflation as the House tees up a vote on the roughly $1.8 trillion bill as soon as today. The latest campaign features patch-through calls to connect constituents with their members, as well as digital and print advertising on copies of The Washington Post that every member’s office will receive, according to the Chamber. The group has also parked a mobile billboard outside of the Capitol that asks “How much higher will inflation go with Build Back Better?” — The campaign comes after the Chamber sent a letter to lawmakers last week demanding a “complete accounting of the budgetary and economic impacts” of the bill, which the group charged uses “gimmicks to cover up well over $1 trillion in spending.” The House is awaiting final word from the Congressional Budget Office on the bill’s expected cost, which the office has said will arrive today. In a statement this morning, Chamber President and CEO Suzanne Clark asserted the bill will “accelerate inflation and stop America’s fragile economic recovery in its tracks,” calling for members to “ reject proposals that would harm American businesses and consumers and threaten our future prosperity.” BULLY PULPIT ADDS 10: Bully Pulpit Interactive is staffing up ahead of next year’s midterms. The agency recently added several new senior level staff members, including Sheldonn Plummer-Duff, formerly with Comscore, as director of survey operations; senior director Jazmín Châvez, who previously served as the associate vice president of public affairs for Hispanics in Philanthropy; Hai Giang as director of marketing analytics; and Nathan Dowds as director of contracting and legal, who previously was at the Truman Defense Council. Bully Pulpit also added five new directors: Ellen Esterhay, Michael Zetts, Sarah Horvitz, Walter Torres and Mike Uehlein. | | | | DON’T MISS CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO’s new platform that delivers the latest exclusives, twists and much more in real time. Get it on your desktop or download the POLITICO mobile app for iOS or Android. CHECK OUT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE. | | | | | | | | SPOTTED at a reception last night hosted by the Distilled Spirits Council to protest taxes on canned cocktails, per a PI tipster: DISCUS President and CEO Chris Swonger and DISCUS’ Lisa Hawkins, Christine LoCascio, Kelly Poulsen and Jessie Brady; Barry Becton of Diageo, Kristin Bodenstedt of Bacardi, Marco Barassi of Campari, Terry McNaughton of Beam Suntory, Sam Scales and Les Fugate of Brown-Forman, Joe Durso of Pernod Ricard and Lauren Bazel of the Alpine Group. — The Railway Supply Institute has named Patty Long its next president. She was most recently interim chief executive and chief operating officer at the Plastics Industry Association and is a National Association of Manufacturers alum. — Avisa Partners has added Andrew Deerin as global creative director. He was previously creative director at Signal Group. — Michael Balmoris is launching a PR consultancy, the Balmoris Group. Balmoris is assistant vice president-corporate communications for policy at AT&T. — Eric Hersey is joining Mercury as a managing director in the New York office. He was most recently communications director for the House Financial Services Committee and is a Kirsten Gillibrand and Hillary Clinton alum. — Gabriel Bastomski has joined Hitachi’s D.C. office as a communications specialist. He was most recently at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and is a Rep. Steve Russel (R-Okla.) alum. — Joshua Friedlander is now senior lead for corporate comms at Compass. He most recently was an associate at the Brunswick Group. — Ken Koffman is retiring from the Telecommunications Industry Association , where he is senior vice president and chief technology officer, at the end of the year. He was a founder of the TIA QuEST Forum. Mike Regan has been hired as vice president for business performance and will oversee the forum’s initiatives. | | | | A message from America’s Job Creators for a Strong Recovery:   | | | | | | VICTORY FOR ALASKA (Sen. Dan Sullivan, True North PAC, NRSC) | | | Action Not Hope PAC (Hybrid PAC)
American Leadership Action (Super PAC)
Michiganders for Progressive Change (PAC)
Missouri Conservative PAC (Super PAC)
Red Wave PAC (Super PAC)
Restore Common Sense, Inc. (Super PAC)
Sunnova Energy Corporation PAC (PAC)
Values America PAC (PAC) | | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we’ve got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don’t miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | New Lobbying Registrations | | Capitol Counsel LLC: State Federal Strategies On Behalf Of Boa Vida Healthcare LLC
Lfa Holdings Inc: Guinean American League Of Friends For Freedom
Moody's Corporation: Moody's Corporation
Strategies 360: Service Year Alliance (On Behalf Of America's Service Commissions)
The Spectrum Group: Haas Automation Inc. | | New Lobbying Terminations | | Strategies 360: Nevada Donor Network, Inc.
| | A message from America’s Job Creators for a Strong Recovery: Family-owned and Main Street businesses are already struggling through a pandemic and rising prices – they can’t afford another massive tax hike under the Biden-Bernie tax-and-spend bill. It’s time for Congress to say NO. Watch here to learn more: https://americasjobcreators.org | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
