MORE NEW BUSINESS: Owlet Baby Care, the maker of sleep-tracking socks for babies, has hired its first two K Street lobbying firms, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Thorn Run Partners, amid scrutiny from federal regulators, Megan R. Wilson reports. — Disclosure forms say that lobbyists are working on issues "related to the FDA and digital health," and the "regulation of digital health products; consumer access to health data." Neither of the firms responded to an inquiry about the company's advocacy efforts or policy priorities. A spokesperson for Owlet said: “Our mission is to help every family get access to the best, innovative technology, tools and resources they need in the home. We are working to educate around the opportunities and needs in digital health, as well as ways the system can be improved to help get this technology to the end consumers.” — Last fall, The company received a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration about a line of sleep socks that claim to track a baby's heart rate and oxygen levels, saying that they qualify as a medical device and need to be cleared or authorized by the FDA. Owlet has stopped selling the product in the U.S. — although it has debuted a new line of sleep-monitoring socks — and a statement from the company says it plans to apply with the FDA for marketing authorization. BROWNSTEIN ADDS SENATE GOP WATER AIDE: Jessica Kramer has left the Hill to join Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as a senior policy adviser and counsel. Kramer most recently served as water counsel to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. She helped craft several water infrastructure bills, including spearheading water and water-related provisions in the bipartisan infrastructure bill that K Street is turning its focus to implementation of. At Brownstein, she’ll work on land use, development and infrastructure issues. ACROSS THE POND: “Google is making a last-ditch effort to change the EU’s incoming laws on Big Tech with a flurry of advertising, emails and targeted social media posts aimed at politicians and officials in Brussels,” the Financial Times’ Javier Espinoza reports. — “As EU policymakers put the finishing touches to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), executives at Google’s headquarters in Silicon Valley are stepping up their efforts to water down parts of the legislation that they fear may have a severe impact on their business. ‘Top executives in California have known about the DMA all along but they are only waking up now,’ said one Google insider.” — “The campaign includes direct lobbying by Google, but also by several trade associations that the search engine giant funds. Kim van Sparrentak, a Dutch MEP, said she had noticed a marked escalation in lobbying in recent weeks, with the message that curbing Google would harm small businesses. She said she had been invited to discuss her views with Google, at a time of her choosing, and had been invited to an event organised by the company on the benefits of digital marketing to small businesses.” — “She was also lobbied by the Connected Commerce Council, whose partners include Google and Amazon, with a letter signed by small business owners saying: ‘Please don’t make it harder for my business.’ Other MEPs and officials said their Twitter feeds had recently been filled with adverts from tech lobby groups on issues that Google particularly cares about. ‘My feed is on overdrive,’ said one EU diplomat.” LAWMAKERS TAKE AIM AT LONGTIME GOP WATERING HOLE: “Conservative House lawmakers are urging their colleagues to boycott a storied, private Republican club near the Capitol to protest an indoor vaccine mandate imposed by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D), which is set to take effect this week,” The Hill’s Scott Wong reports. — “Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, stood up in a closed-door GOP Conference meeting Tuesday and told colleagues they should refuse to patronize the 70-year-old Capitol Hill Club , eliciting support from some conservatives in the room, sources in the meeting told The Hill. The club, which is located next to the RNC’s headquarters and is a favorite watering hole of GOP members, other federal employees and lobbyists, “stated on its website that starting Saturday it will begin requiring that members and guests show their COVID-19 vaccination cards before they can enter the facilities.” — “But Good quickly faced pushback from two of the club’s board members — Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) and Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) — who argued that the club was simply following the city’s health regulations and should not be blamed. ‘For some, there’s a mentality of 'burn the house down,'’ said one GOP member who heard the debate in the meeting Tuesday. ‘The majority of the conference was in the camp of you need to protect the club.’” ENERGY-EFFICIENT ‘SMART’ GLASS CREDIT CAME AFTER RAMPED-UP LOBBYING, DONATIONS: “A few lines tucked into Democrats’ $2.2 trillion social safety net and climate package would expand eligibility for renewable energy tax credits to a specific type of adjustable-tint window glass — an effort backers hope will expand the market for what’s known as ‘dynamic’ or ‘smart’ glass in energy-efficient building construction,” according to Roll Call’s Laura Weiss. — “Supporters say the technology has proven climate benefits and would create more U.S. jobs than other energy-saving window options. They wrote the benefit into the package as a top smart glass manufacturer — Milpitas, Calif.-based View Inc. — ramped up campaign donations, filling the coffers of key members of tax-writing committees and vulnerable incumbents. The provision also has other backers, but View has been a vocal supporter previously, and federal lobbying records and a source with knowledge of the discussions pointed to the company’s involvement and backing.” — “An aide with knowledge of the discussions, who wasn’t authorized to speak for the record, said House Democrats pushed for inclusion of the smart glass credit in the reconciliation package. The aide also pointed to Energy Department research showing the glass could generate significant emissions reductions from the building sector.” But “support for the glass tax credit came as View ramped up its political efforts, beginning last spring as President Joe Biden was finalizing his budget proposal. — “Capitol Tax Partners , a lobbying shop chock-full of Ways and Means, Senate Finance and Treasury Department veterans, registered to lobby on behalf of View in May. The company spent $40,000 lobbying on energy tax issues, including the electrochromic glass bill, from April through June and another $60,000 on the same plus the reconciliation bill from July through September, according to Senate lobbying records. View had previously lobbied through another firm, including on the glass credit, and generally has spent $30,000 per quarter since first registering to lobby in 2014.” Executives for the company have also recently begun to donate large sums to key Democrats, including the top tax writers in the House and Senate.” | 
