The end of the Internet Association

From: POLITICO Influence - Wednesday Dec 15,2021 10:09 pm

Dec 15, 2021

Presented by Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l

With Daniel Lippman

THE INTERNET ASSOCIATION DISSOLVES: The Internet Association, the onetime tech lobbying powerhouse that dubbed itself “the unified voice of the internet economy” announced today that it will close up shop at the end of the year, after POLITICO’s Emily Birnbaum scooped the news Tuesday night. “Our industry has undergone tremendous growth and change since the Internet Association was formed almost 10 years ago, and in line with this evolution, the Board has made the difficult decision to close the organization at the end of this year," the group said in a statement today.

— Though the statement offered no specific reason for the group’s shuttering, Emily notes that it “has struggled with financial woes after Microsoft pulled its support earlier this year, and it has fought to maintain relevance on Capitol Hill despite being torn by competing pressures from its huge and smaller member companies on issues like antitrust.”

— IA was “previously a powerhouse in Washington, even as member companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon fell out of favor on both sides of the aisle. The trade group in 2019 held an awards ceremony in Union Station featuring appearances by both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and then-Trump adviser Ivanka Trump.” IA posted its highest-ever federal lobbying expenditures that year, according to a PI analysis of disclosure filings, but lobbying spending plummeted by more than $1 million last year before beginning to bounce back through the first three quarters of 2021.

— In 2018, IA brokered a controversial deal with lawmakers that led to the online sex trafficking law known as FOSTA-SESTA. Lately, it “was beset by infighting between the big tech companies — Google, Amazon and Facebook — and the smaller tech companies,” Emily reports, while IA’s “absence from the antitrust debate was especially frustrating for Google and Amazon, two of its highest-paying members, prompting them to seriously consider cutting back on how much they gave IA, two people familiar with the discussions told POLITICO in July .”

— The group also saw a leadership shake-up in recent years, with longtime chief executive Michael Beckerman leaving the trade association last year for a job with TikTok. The group’s new CEO, Dane Snowden, took over in February after a yearlong search.

MICROSOFT ADDS ANOTHER: Days after news broke of its departure from IA, Microsoft added a new outside lobbying firm to its long list already on retainer, according to a newly filed lobbying disclosure. The company retained Menda Fife of FifeStrategies at the beginning of December.

— Fife, a former Senate Appropriations staffer, will lobby on policies and funding for the military’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System and quantum technologies, the filing shows. Microsoft, which spent nearly $9.5 million on federal lobbying last year, currently retains more than two dozen other lobbying firms including King & Spalding, Monument Advocacy, Ferox Strategies, Cornerstone Government Affairs, CGCN Group and Penn Hill Group.

Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Have you or your firm signed any interesting clients lately? Drafting up any interesting memos for clients? Send them my way: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

A message from Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l:

Pilots are committed to keeping our skies safe, and that means keeping two pilots on every flight deck. Help keep the most vital safety feature on board: two highly trained pilots. Learn more.

MORE NEW BUSINESS: A coalition of former federal health care officials, health care providers and other stakeholders that advocate for so-called Covid-19 long-haulers has retained its first lobbyists. The COVID Patient Recovery Alliance, formed by former HHS Secretary and Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt and Nancy-Ann DeParle, former deputy chief of staff for policy under President Barack Obama, has hired Josh Trent of Leavitt’s lobbying firm Leavitt Partners.

— Trent will lobby for the development of “national solutions that coordinate diverse data sources, inform the development of models of care, and ensure adequate payment for long-COVID patients, with a focus on the most vulnerable,” according to a disclosure filing.

H&R BLOCK TAPS MASTERCARD’S GANNON TO LEAD D.C. OFFICE: Tom Gannon has joined H&R Block as chief government relations officer, as the company looks to expand beyond tax prep and into the world of fintechs. He’ll lead H&R Block’s government relations team and oversee the company’s legislative and regulatory priorities, which Gannon said in an interview include the litany of tax provisions in the reconciliation bill, privacy, and cyber incident reporting legislation. Gannon was most recently vice president of public policy at Mastercard , where he spent a decade and was recently promoted to lead federal affairs for the company. He’s also an alum of the Credit Union National Association.

CONSERVATION GROUPS LOBBY SINEMA OVER TAX BREAK: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) has become one of the chief opponents to curbing the so-called conservation easement tax break, a deduction for landowners who vow not to develop the property, as part of Democrats’ reconciliation bill, The Daily Beast’s Sam Brodey reports.

— “Privately, Sinema has also expressed doubt regarding a compromise proposal to have reforms apply only to future conservation easement deductions and leave past ones alone,” while last week “over a dozen conservation advocacy groups—who believe abuse of the tax break is endangering its original mission—wrote to Sinema to directly make the case to her.”

— “‘We respectfully ask you to stand with us—and all in our community—by urging your leadership to curb abuse and restore the integrity of this cherished and worthy conservation program,’ said the organizations, according to a copy of the letter viewed by The Daily Beast. John LaBombard , a spokesperson for Sinema, told The Daily Beast that the senator has heard from Arizona officials and constituent groups—specifically citing hospitals and colleges—who have concerns with ‘the approach under consideration for this legislation.’”

— According to The Daily Beast, “pro-conservation easement entities … have spent a combined total of nearly $1 million lobbying the Senate this year on the issue.” According to disclosure filings, one group, Partnership for Conservation , has spent $720,000 so far this year on lobbying while another group has hired former Rep. Henry Waxman’s Waxman Strategies. P4C “has also blanketed Facebook with heart-tugging ads featuring fuzzy critters that convey the impression they are focused on climate change and environmental preservation. ‘Time is running out for our natural lands and wildlife,’ reads one ad, featuring a forlorn-looking racoon. ‘Will you help save them?’”

HOLDING COMPANY FOR D.C. LOBBYING AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS FIRMS GOING PUBLIC: The Public Policy Holding Company, a partnership made up of lobby shops Crossroads Strategies, Forbes Tate Partners and Alpine Group, as well as O’Neill and Associates of Boston and the D.C.-based public affairs firm Seven Letter, has raised more than $14.5 million as it prepares to go public on the London Stock Exchange tomorrow, The Times of London reports.

— “Public Policy Holding, which specialises in government lobbying and public relations for more than 500 clients, placed almost 23 million shares yesterday at 135p, giving it a market capitalisation of [around $193 million] when dealings start on Thursday on the junior Aim market,” The Times reports. More from our Megan Wilson in Bloomberg last year on the company’s formation.

PROJECT VERITAS RAKING IT IN: Project Veritas had “a banner year for fundraising” in 2020 as it was advancing debunked claims of voter fraud, The Washington Post’s Isaac Stanley-Becker reports. “The organization nearly doubled its revenue last year, according to a recent public filing. Project Veritas, led by James O’Keefe, raised about $22 million in 2020, compared with $12 million in 2019, the tax filing shows.”

— “O’Keefe earned a salary of $412,000 from the group, whose methods have drawn scrutiny from federal law enforcement. The FBI last month searched two locations associated with Project Veritas as part of an investigation into how a diary reportedly belonging to President Biden’s daughter, Ashley, became public just before the 2020 election. O’Keefe, 37, said his group acquired the diary lawfully and did not publish it because its authenticity could not be confirmed."

— “The fundraising boom shows how Project Veritas has capitalized on confrontational tactics and baseless claims of election fraud — both increasingly mainstream in the Republican Party. With expanded resources, it’s seeking to press its case in Washington, recently hiring its first lobbyist, an ex-aide to former vice president Mike Pence, to inform lawmakers about its interactions with the FBI, according to a filing.”

SPOTTED at the DNC’s holiday party last night at the Hotel Washington, per PI tipsters: President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden; Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; DNC Chair Jaime Harrison; the White House’s Emmy Ruiz, Cedric Richmond and Katie Petrelius; Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s David Reid; Subject Matter’s Steve Elmendorf; Canopy Growth’s Foxhall Parker; Elizabeth Bagley; Capitol Counsel’s Rob Diamond and David Jones; Microsoft’s Fred Humphries; Bully Pulpit Interactive's Paulette Aniskoff; Planned Parenthood’s Alexis McGill Johnson and Jacqueline Ayers; NARAL’s Mini Timmaraju; Booz Allen Hamilton’s Anastasia Dellaccio; David and Carol Pensky; and Alan Kessler.

A message from Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l:

Jobs Report

— Erik Hotmire has joined Finsbury Glover Hering as managing director. He most recently served as senior managing director at Teneo, where he advised clients on a wide range of critical issues.

— Ashok Pinto is now director of the intellectual property policy group at Intel. He most recently was senior adviser to the U.S. executive director of the World Bank and is also a Treasury alum.

— Adam Golodner is now a senior adviser at WestExec Advisors . He previously was at Arnold & Porter, and is a Cisco and DOJ alum.

— Katie Thomson is returning to DOT to coordinate the implementation of the infrastructure law. She’s currently vice president and associate general counsel of worldwide transportation and sustainability at Amazon and previously was DOT's general counsel from 2013 to 2016 and chief counsel of the FAA from 2012 to 2014.

— Emily Patt will be joining the Lucid policy team as senior manager for trade and international. She was most recently federal government relations director at Honda.

— Boundary Stone Partners has added three new transportation veterans to its transportation practice: Allison Cullin, an Amazon and GOP Senate Commerce Committee alum with experience in automated vehicle and freight policy; Suzi Emmerling, a former DOT deputy chief of staff and director of public affairs under Secretary Anthony Foxx; and Kelly Fleming, formerly of the Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Office.

— John Campbell is joining Red Edge to launch its fundraising practice. He’s an alum of FreedomWorks and Prosper Group.

— Wells Griffith is now a senior director for FTI Consulting’s strategic communications segment. He most recently was managing director and senior adviser to the CEO for energy at the U.S. International Development Finance Corp., and is a Trump NSC, NEC and DOE alum.

— Alifair Masters is now deputy chief of staff for Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.). She previously was vice president at HM Consulting.

— Zach Farmer is joining the Council for Opportunity in Education as director of congressional affairs. He most recently was in Rep. Warren Davidson’s (R-Ohio) office, covering education, veterans and other issues.

— Maurice Turner has joined Meta as a public policy manager.

— Ed Brzytwa , former director of international trade at the American Chemistry Council, is joining the Consumer Technology Association as vice president of international trade.

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New Joint Fundraisers

None.

New PACs

AeroVironment, Inc PAC (PAC)
Indigenous Peoples Alliance (Hybrid PAC)
PENNSYLVANIA PATRIOTS PAC (Super PAC)

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New Lobbying Registrations

6K Inc.: 6K Inc.
Arent Fox LLP: Saito Tech Ltd. (Previously Known As Candiru Ltd.)
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: The Defi Education Fund
Confluence Government Relations: Spilman, Thomas, & Battle, Pllc For New Venture Fund
Fgh Holdings, LLC (Formerly Known As The Glover Park Group LLC): Meyer Burger (Americas) Ltd.
Fifestrategies, LLC: Microsoft Corporation
Hannegan Landau Poersch & Rosenbaum Advocacy, LLC: Tsmc Arizona
Leavitt Partners, LLC: Covid Patient Recovery Alliance
Mcguirewoods Consulting (A Subsidiary Of Mcguirewoods LLP): Marymount University
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough: Dc Blox
Solv Energy, LLC: Solv Energy, LLC

New Lobbying Terminations

Abi Associates: Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP On Behalf Of Reliance Industries Ltd.
Garner Group International, LLC: E&M Property Management LLC
Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP: Zte Corporation

A message from Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l:

Pilots are committed to keeping our skies safe, and that means keeping two pilots on every flight deck. Over a decade of research from NASA and the FAA proves that no computer can match the skill, instinct, and responsiveness of the pilot and co-pilot partnership. Help keep the most vital safety feature on board: two highly trained pilots. Learn more.