Minor league sports appeal for Covid aid

From: POLITICO Influence - Wednesday Feb 02,2022 10:11 pm

Feb 02, 2022

Presented by

With Daniel Lippman

MINOR LEAGUERS MAKE THEIR PITCH FOR COVID AID: A coalition of minor league baseball, hockey and soccer organizations pressed congressional leadership today to include their industry “in the first available legislative vehicle,” as negotiations for a government funding package begin in earnest ahead of lawmakers’ Feb. 18 deadline.

— “As we enter year three of the pandemic, teams continue to grapple with decreased consumer confidence as a result of the COVID-19 variants, which is impacting ticket sales for the upcoming minor league baseball season and causing postponements and cancelations for the 2021-2022 minor league hockey season,” executives from Minor League Baseball, the American Hockey League, ECHL, the Southern Professional Hockey League, the United Soccer League, the American Association of Professional Baseball, the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, the Frontier League of Professional Baseball and the Pioneer Baseball League wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

— The leagues wrote that continued fallout from the pandemic has only compounded what was a “particularly devastating” first year of the crisis “for professional minor league sports teams, with many losing more than 90 percent of their revenue during this first year alone as a result of mandated closures.”

— Limits on attendance, along with increased costs for teams to operate, hit minor leaguers hard last year as well, the organizations noted, while “our teams were excluded from previous relief packages enacted by Congress and therefore did not receive the help that was made available to other small businesses in the live entertainment industry.”

— Minor league sports teams are one of several industries vying for lawmakers to include another round of Covid relief as part of a spending package this month — restaurants, gyms, and the tourism and hospitality sectors have pushed for, in some instances, the first targeted relief for those industries since the pandemic began.

— But the bipartisan effort, some of whose proponents hoped that including assistance for minor leaguers could help sweeten the deal for rural state lawmakers, has been met with resistance from Republicans wary of additional spending. McConnell appeared to lay a marker down this morning as to where the rest of his caucus might be on new aid, pointing to money from prior Covid bills that hasn’t been spent yet. “Let’s start the discussion by talking about repurposing the hundreds of billions already sitting in the pipeline,” McConnell said, The Washington Post’s Tony Romm reported.

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A message from Save The American Inventor:

Invention breakthroughs like the many technologies in a wireless communication standard such as 5G come from years of expensive R&D, incentivized by strong patent rights. A campaign to weaken related patent rights threatens to undermine U.S. innovation and is aimed only at boosting Big Tech profits. Read below to learn more.

FIRST IN PI — KOCH NETWORK SEEKS TO STYMIE FRONTLINER DRUG PRICING PUSH: The conservative nonprofit Americans for Prosperity is launching a six-figure ad buy aiming to squeeze vulnerable House Democrats who are pushing party leadership to move forward with drug pricing reforms that were included in the party’s stalled climate and social spending package.

— In a letter to party leaders earlier this week, 40 House Democrats, many of whom represent battleground districts, stressed the “paramount urgency of fulfilling the promise of lowering drug prices now for the American people” — an issue that helped the party retake control of the House in 2018.

— In a 30-second digital spot that will air across Arizona, home to several key races this fall as well as a crucial Senate swing vote , Americans for Prosperity will tie efforts at allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for certain drugs and limit out-of-pocket costs for seniors to the Biden administration’s fumbled Covid-19 testing response as the Omicron variant was spreading rapidly late last year.

— “The Biden administration asked us to trust them on Covid testing,” the ad says. “It's been a disaster. Americans shivering in long lines, empty shelves, broken promises. The same politicians who failed us on testing now want to control drug prices.” Another digital ad warns viewers that “government is the problem” when it comes to regulating drug prices. The ad will run in the districts of Reps. Tom Malinowski (N.J.), Cindy Axne (Iowa), Lizzie Fletcher (Texas), Chris Pappas (N.H.), Elaine Luria (Va.), Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), Haley Stevens (Mich.) and Tom O’Halleran (Ariz.), who voted previously for drug pricing reforms.

BANKERS’ TOP LOBBYIST TO DEPART: “The American Bankers Association's head lobbyist, James Ballentine, will retire this spring after two decades representing lenders in Washington, D.C.,” according to an internal memo from the trade group’s President and Chief Executive Rob Nichols obtained by POLITICO’s Zach Warmbrodt.

— “Ballentine joined the group in 2000, after serving at the Small Business Administration and as a senior congressional staffer. Ballentine's 22-year tenure at ABA saw the group trying to shape and respond to several industry-changing laws and regulations, including the implementation of Gramm-Leach-Bliley, Dodd-Frank and 2018's regulatory relief bill, not to mention TARP and the pandemic's Paycheck Protection Program.”

— “‘I was trying to think the other day of a banking issue I had not been involved in over the past 20 years,’ he said in an interview. ‘They've been plentiful. At a certain point, it's time to get off that treadmill and start another walk somewhere else. I look forward to that next chapter.’” Ballentine told Zach the organization will continue to focus on President Joe Biden ’s pending Fed nominees, and “will also be putting ‘a lot of effort’ into advancing cannabis banking legislation, which may be attached to the China competitiveness bill the House is considering this week.” After that, he told Zach, “I hope to get a few rounds of golf in, but I don't plan to have my expertise go to waste.”

HOUSE GOP LEADERSHIP AIDE HEADS TO K STREET: Max Becker is leaving the Hill, where he’s worked in the offices of nearly every House GOP leader for more than a decade, to join the Bockorny Group as a principal. Becker was most recently coalition coordinator for ousted conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), and before that was special assistant to Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the head of the House GOP’s campaign arm, at the NRCC. He began his Hill career in former Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) office and also worked for McCarthy.

— “We are excited to add Max and his broad combination of political, policy and liaison skills to our team,” Dave Bockorny, the firm’s chair and chief executive, said in a statement. “We look forward to his personal and hands on approach, and are confident our clients will significantly benefit from his strategic abilities and deep relationships throughout the House GOP Leadership ranks. We also value the trust and respect Max has established and earned with so many Members and key staff within the House Republican Conference.”

FIRST IN PI — API TAPS CHEVRON CHIEF FOR CHAIRMANSHIP: The oil and gas industry’s top lobbying group, the American Petroleum Institute, has selected Chevron Chief Executive Mike Wirth to lead the trade association’s board of directors. Wirth will succeed Phillips 66 Chief Executive Greg Garland for a two-year term as the oil and gas industry fights to beat back Democratic efforts to phase out fossil fuels and to probe whether the oil industry misled the public on climate change.

— In a statement, Wirth called it “a privilege to lead API’s board in this moment of transformation as energy systems evolve to meet the demands of a changing world.”

DIRECTORS GUILD LOBBIES AGAINST FCC PICK: “The Directors Guild of America is urging the Senate Commerce Committee to reject Joe Biden’s nominee to the FCC, citing Gigi Sohn’s past stances on copyright,” Deadline’s Ted Johnson reports. “The committee was scheduled to take up Sohn’s nomination on Wednesday, but it will be postponed because of the absence of Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), whose office announced that he suffered a stroke. He is expected to make a full recovery.”

— In a letter to committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) sent Tuesday, the union's national executive director, Russell Hollander, argued that Sohn’s “long standing record and hostility towards copyright law is inconsistent with the role of the FCC,” while contending “that the agency’s role in licensing and regulation of TV, satellite and cable ‘implicate intellectual property.’”

— “Industry lobbyists, often at odds with Sohn when she led the media and telecom public interest group Public Knowledge, have expressed their misgivings to the Biden administration. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), an industry ally on issues of copyright, in December urged Biden to withdraw the nomination. The Motion Picture Association has been publicly silent on her nomination, while other trade groups, like the NCTA- The Internet & Television Association, representing the cable industry, and the National Association of Broadcasters, have expressed concerns but not outright opposition.”

— Fourth-quarter lobbying records show that DGA’s director of government affairs, Sarah Howes, lobbied the White House and the Senate on Sohn’s nomination and that of Jessica Rosenworcel to chair the agency, the first time the union mentioned the FCC among lobbying issues since 2017. Rosenworcel’s nomination was approved in December.

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

Jobs Report

— Cami Connor has joined the government operations team at Boeing as a defense, space and security analyst. She most recently was an associate at Targeted Victory and is a Trump White House alum.

— TechNet has named Ashley Sutton as executive director for Washington and the Northwest. She previously owned the Washington public affairs shop Agile Public Affairs.

— Ward Cormier is now senior director of federal affairs for The Picard Group . He was most recently deputy chief of staff for Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.).

— The National Waste & Recycling Association has hired Katie Raverty-Evans as vice president of chapter management and member relations and Patrick Bennett as vice president of chapter management. Raverty-Evans previously helped manage government affairs for Best Way Disposal, and Bennett previously lobbied for the Indiana chapter of NWRA for more than a decade.

— Kasia Witkowski is now senior manager for public policy focusing on brand protection and customer trust at Amazon. She most recently was director for government relations for the Americas at HP and is an Obama HHS alum.

— Olivia Troye is joining the Renew America Movement as chief strategy officer. She’s founder of the Troye Group and a Mike Pence alum.

— Alejandro Roark is joining the FCC as chief of the consumer and governmental affairs bureau per Playbook. He previously was executive director of the Hispanic Telecommunication and Technology Partnership.

— William Rich is now chief sanctions officer for emerging markets at Citibank . He most recently was managing director for Middle East and Africa at Kharon, and is a Treasury and Intelligence Community alum.

— Angie Buckingham Melton is now vice president at McAllister & Quinn, Playbook reports. She previously was a lobbyist and strategic consultant at the Margolin Group.

New Joint Fundraisers

Bennet Neguse Victory Fund (Sen. Michael Bennet, Rep. Joe Neguse)
GOMEZ SWALWELL CALIFORNIA COMMITTEE (Reps. Jimmy Gomez, Eric Swalwell)
Lankford Victory Committee (Sen. James Lankford , Leadership and Accountability are National Keys PAC, NRSC)
Lets Go Brandon Victory Fund (PAUL BERRY III FOR CONGRESS, PBIII Leadership PAC)

New PACs

Defend our School Boards (PAC)
PBIII Leadership PAC (Leadership PAC: Paul Berry III)
Restore America Victory Fund (PAC)

A message from Save The American Inventor:

American companies lead the world in developing standard-essential patents (SEPs) for technologies in standards like 5G. To continue doing so, they need balanced rules that incentivize risky, expensive R&D. Yet again and again, Big Tech and other large companies that want to bolster their bottom lines and don’t like paying to use technologies they didn’t invent have pushed the U.S. government to weaken SEP rights. We urge policymakers to examine all the facts and reject these efforts. Weakening SEP rights will only cause America to lose its competitive edge and cede the future of key technologies like 5G and artificial intelligence to other countries, to the detriment of U.S. innovators, our economy, and national security. For more, visit Save the Inventor.

New Lobbying Registrations

Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Partnership For Medicaid Home-Based Care
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz /The Daschle Group: Netchoice
Capitol Counsel LLC: Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (Asca)
Capitol Counsel LLC: Foss Energy Services
Capitol Counsel LLC: Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals LLC
Daniel Consulting: Integrated Energy Materials LLC
Foley & Lardner LLP: Webasto Charging Systems, Inc.
Greenberg Traurig, LLP: Camara Nacional De Las Industrias Azucarera Y Alcoholera (Cniaa)
Lobbyit.Com: Guidestone Financial Resources
Robert W Gerber: Icewind USa
Romo Strategies: Proleague.Gg
The Hamm Consulting Group, LLC: Fayetteville Public Works Commission
The Vogel Group: Highly Innovative Fuels

New Lobbying Terminations

Jim Dornan Strategies: Kurdish Defense Forces/Ypg Sdf
Prism Group: National Association Of Workforce Boards
The Vogel Group: Veterans Guardian Va Claim Consulting

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