|
Presented by Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future: Delivered daily, Influence gives you a comprehensive rundown and analysis of all lobby hires and news on K Street. | | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | Presented by Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future | With Daniel Lippman NEW BUSINESS: Half a dozen labor organizations have brought on new lobbying help in the past month, according to newly filed disclosures. Elevate Government Affairs, which already represents the Major League Baseball Players Association, rounded out its client roster by signing the players unions for every other major U.S. sports league: the National Football League Players Association, the National Basketball Players Association, the National Hockey League Players Association and the Major League Soccer Players Association. Elevate’s Rob Chamberlin, Sam Whitehorn, Jeff Markey and Mike Burnside will represent the unions on general sports-related issues, according to the filings. — The NFLPA also retains Forbes Tate Partners and Fierce Government Relations, while the NBPA, NHLPA and MLSPA had not to this point hired lobbyists before. — The Screen Actors Guild, which has gone since the middle of last year without registered lobbyists, hired Platinum Advisors at the beginning of February to lobby for several bills on behalf of the union, including the American Music Fairness Act, which would require broadcast radio stations to pay royalties to singers and other performers when they broadcast their work. The bipartisan bill, which has pitted broadcasters, backed by the National Association of Broadcasters, against artists and record labels, got a rare hearing in Congress last week in front of the House Judiciary Committee. — SAG-AFTRA is also lobbying to support the CROWN Act, which would ban race-based hair discrimination, as well as a bill backed by others in the entertainment industry to expand a tax break for middle class performing artists and creative professionals. The union previously retained entertainment lobbyist Todd Flournoy, but has reported less than $12,000 in lobbying expenditures since 2018, disclosures show. — Meanwhile, Nicole Brener-Schmitz, the former Teamsters lobbyist and NARAL political director, has registered to lobby for the Communications Workers of America on a range of issues that includes Democrats’ landmark labor overhaul, the PRO Act; the bipartisan infrastructure bill; congressional Democrats’ voting rights bills; the offshoring of call center jobs; union rights for state and local government workers; and paid leave. CWA also retains Emmer Consulting. Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Send tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.
| | | | A message from Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future: Natural gas is accelerating our transition to a clean energy future. The pairing of natural gas with renewable sources has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 78%. When available, renewables like solar and wind, eliminate emissions. When these sources are not available, natural gas fills gaps, ensuring affordability and reliability for all Americans while further lowering emissions. Natural gas is accelerating America’s clean energy future. Learn more at www.naturalalliesforcleanenergy.org | | | TRUCKERS URGE SENATE TO REJECT LABOR NOMINEE: A coalition of trucking industry groups is pressing senators to oppose David Weil, President Joe Biden ’s pick to lead the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division when the nomination comes to the floor, arguing that Weil’s support of tightening restrictions on which workers can be considered independent contractors amount to “ideological blinders” they assert “will wreak havoc across our economy and supply chains.” — Weil, who held the same role during the Obama administration and has garnered intense opposition from Republicans and the business community, managed to skate through the HELP Committee on party lines last month after the panel deadlocked on his nomination previously, preventing it from moving forward. — “In trucking, many interstate truck drivers are independent contractors who lease their own trucks … and hire themselves and their power units to motor carriers to haul freight loads,” executives from the National Association of Small Trucking Companies; the Western States Trucking Association; the Towing and Recovery Association of America Inc.; Mercer Transportation Co. Inc.; the Auto Haulers Association of America; the Truckload Carriers Association ; the Alliance for Safe, Efficient and Competitive Truck Transportation; the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers; the Transportation & Logistics Council; the Air & Expedited Motor Carriers Association; American West Worldwide Express; the Expedite Alliance of North America; and the Transportation Loss Prevention & Security Association wrote in a letter to Senate leadership today. “For over 40 years, this model has come to dominate interstate trucking; America’s economy would come to a halt without owner-operators available to contract independently to carry the load.” — Weil’s nomination is unlikely to head to the floor anytime soon, with Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) still out while recovering from a stroke, thus complicating a nomination that could still require Vice President Kamala Harris to serve as a tiebreaker. Last month, four West Virginia trade groups urged Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) to oppose Weil. PELOSI DROPS OPPOSITION TO STOCK BAN: All four major party leaders in Congress have now backed the notion of banning lawmakers from trading individual stocks, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi backing down from her opposition to the idea this morning. “But in a complicating twist, she said she wanted any stock-trading limitations, including existing disclosure rules on stock ownership and trading that now apply to members of Congress and the executive branch, to also apply to the judicial branch of government, especially the Supreme Court,” The New York Times’ Jonathan Weisman reports. — “‘It has to be governmentwide,’ she told reporters at her weekly news conference, adding, ‘the judiciary has no reporting. The Supreme Court has no disclosure. It has no reporting of stock transactions, and it makes important decisions every day.’” — “Multiple proposals for a trading ban already exist in the House and Senate, including a new bill unveiled this week by Senators Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Steve Daines , Republican of Montana. The drive was touched off by a spate of revelations in 2020 that senators from both parties had traded health care stocks after closed-door briefings on the then-nascent coronavirus pandemic,” and comes after an Insider investigation found that 55 members of Congress, and at least 182 senior congressional staffers, violated a 2012 law meant to prevent insider trading. — Still, there are many details of such a ban that could make a final deal elusive. “Existing bills differ on whether spouses and family members should also be prohibited from owning and trading individual stocks, whether capital gains taxes on forced stock sales should be deferred, and whether the prohibition should apply to other assets like businesses.”
| | | | HAPPENING THURSDAY – A LONG GAME CONVERSATION ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS : Join POLITICO for back-to-back conversations on climate and sustainability action, starting with a panel led by Global Insider author Ryan Heath focused on insights gleaned from our POLITICO/Morning Consult Global Sustainability Poll of citizens from 13 countries on five continents about how their governments should respond to climate change. Following the panel, join a discussion with POLITICO White House Correspondent Laura Barrón-López and Gina McCarthy, White House national climate advisor, about the Biden administration’s climate and sustainability agenda. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | WHAT ALEC IS UP TO LATELY: The American Legislative Exchange Council, the conservative organization that writes model legislation, “is driving a surge in new state laws to block boycotts of the oil industry,” modeled on bills to punish divestment from Israel, The Guardian’s Chris McGreal reports. — “Since the beginning of the year, state legislatures in West Virginia, Oklahoma and Indiana have introduced a version of a law drafted by Alec, called the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act, to shield big oil from share selloffs and other measures intended to protest the fossil fuel industry’s role in the climate crisis. A dozen other states have publicly supported the intent of the legislation. Texas has already begun compiling a list of companies to target for refusing to do business with the oil industry after the state passed a version of the law last year. Top of the list is the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock.” — “The drive to pass the legislation follows the refusal of major financial firms to fund new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic. Banks and other financial institutions are also under pressure from environmental groups and customers to divest from fossil fuel companies. JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and Goldman Sachs are among those firms to publicly commit to supporting the transition away from oil.” SPOTTED at a New Democrat Coalition Action Fund fundraiser Tuesday night at the Hotel Washington, according to a tipster: Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), Reps. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-V.I.), Chris Davis of Cigna, Lee Friedman of NCTA, Anna Weinstein of Hogan Lovells, Cristina Antelo of Ferox Strategies, Priya Dayananda of KPMG, Darren Peters of the Peter Damon Group and Joe Harris of the National Association of Realtors.
| | | | A message from Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future:   | | | | | | — Elevate Government Affairs is bringing on three new hires: Mike Burnside will be vice president and Georgie Littlefair and Alex Chanen will be associates. Burnside was most recently a policy analyst at the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers Association, Littlefair was most recently a legislative assistant for House Education ranking member Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) and Chanen was most recently a consulting analyst at Huron. — Lawrence Reicher is now corporate counsel for litigation and regulatory at Amazon . He most recently was chief of the Office of Decree Enforcement and Compliance in the antitrust division at the Justice Department. — Judy Brown has left mining giant Rio Tinto after two decades to open the D.C. office of Australian mineral miner South 32 as head of external affairs for the Americas. She’s a U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Senate Energy & Natural Resources alum. — Kevin Johnson has joined Environmental Defense Fund Action’s board of directors. He’s a managing partner at the eRacing Association and is a Biden transition alum. — Alan Fitts is now vice president and chief of staff for corporate affairs and communications at American Express. He most recently was executive director of international government affairs at JPMorgan Chase and is an Obama White House and State Department alum. — Brendan Peter is now vice president of government relations at Socure. He previously was head of U.S. government affairs for Seagate Technology. — Matt Gerst is joining Wilkinson Barker Knauer as a partner. He previously was vice president of regulatory affairs for CTIA. — Tomicah Tillemann has joined Katie Haun’s new firm, an as-yet-unnamed Web3 fund, as global chief policy officer. He, along with Rachael Horwitz and Nick Pacilio, who are running marketing and communications, respectively, left a16z crypto at the beginning of the year.
| | | Gillibrand Demings Beasley Victory Fund (Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Reps. Val Demings, Cheri Beasley)
TEAM HERSCHEL VICTORY COMMITTEE (People’s Champion PAC, Team Herschel, Inc., Save America PAC, Wyoming Republican Party, Inc.)
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | Defeat and Empower (Hybrid PAC)
Defend Georgia (Super PAC)
Illinois Freedom Fund (Super PAC)
Reagan Project PAC (Hybrid PAC)
Redwood Stellar PAC (Super PAC)
| | New Lobbying Registrations | | Alan Pasetsky: Global Business Alliance
Apco Worldwide LLC: Hikma Pharmaceuticals USa Inc.
Ballard Partners: Metropolitan Government Of Nashville And Davidson County
Christopher Hladick: City Of Dillingham
Crossroads Strategies, LLC: National Electrical Contractors Association (Neca)
Crossroads Strategies, LLC: Sense Biodetection Ltd.
Dc Legislative And Regulatory Services, Inc.: Intuitech
Dc Legislative And Regulatory Services, Inc.: Pool And Hot Tub Alliance
Elevate Government Affairs, LLC: Major League Soccer Players Union
Elevate Government Affairs, LLC: National Basketball Players Association
Elevate Government Affairs, LLC: National Football League Players Association
Elevate Government Affairs, LLC: National Hockey League Players Association
Elevate Government Affairs, LLC: Peak Power
Elevate Government Affairs, LLC: Renewable Water Resources
Ervin Graves Strategy Group, LLC: Genvac Aerospace
Fgh Holdings, LLC (Formerly Known As The Glover Park Group LLC): Fortescue Future Industries
Hogan Lovells US LLP: Alpaca Audiology
Hogan Lovells US LLP: National Corn Growers Association
Holland & Knight LLP: Acp Technologies, LLC
Holland & Knight LLP: Digital Health For Equitable Health Alliance
Ice Miller LLP: Ebci Holdings, LLC
J.Sullivan Advocacy: Moog Inc.
Keller Partners & Company: Mercy Medical Center
Mike Hooks, LLC: Mike Hooks, LLC
Nbs Strategies: Communications Workers Of America (Cwa)
Nbs Strategies: Document Storage Systems
Squire Patton Boggs: Putco, Inc.
T A Business Development, LLC: Pcs Wireless, LLC
The Nickles Group, LLC: Amgen
The Nickles Group, LLC: Canoo Inc.
Tremont Strategies Group LLC: Avadel Pharmaceuticals Plc
Vdma Washington, Inc.: Vdma Washington, Inc.
Veterans Guardian Va Claim Consulting LLC: Veterans Guardian Va Claim Consulting LLC
Williams And Jensen, Pllc: Fight Colorectal Cancer
| | New Lobbying Terminations | | Alpha Strategies, LLC: American Alliance For Economic Development
Theodore Sitther: Alliance For Peacebuilding
| | | | A message from Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future: Across the country and across our economy, America is building a vital and exciting clean energy future. Natural gas is accelerating this transition and can help us rapidly achieve our climate goals. By partnering with renewable energy sources, natural gas has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 78%. On its own, natural gas emits 50% less carbon compared to coal, making it a lower-carbon alternative that fills gaps and prevents disruptions whenever sources like solar and wind are unavailable. Existing interstate pipelines for natural gas also offer versatility for transporting hydrogen, renewable natural gas and other zero-carbon fuels of the future. Investing in natural gas infrastructure equips us for continued innovation while ensuring an affordable, reliable transition for all Americans. Natural gas is accelerating our clean energy future. Learn more at www.naturalalliesforcleanenergy.org | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
