Frontline Democrats ask Biden to get involved in Covid small business talks

From: POLITICO Influence - Thursday Feb 10,2022 10:49 pm
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By Caitlin Oprysko

Presented by Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future

With Daniel Lippman  

VULNERABLE DEMS ASK BIDEN TO WEIGH IN ON SMALL BIZ RELIEF: Nearly a dozen House Democrats set for close reelection fights this fall have asked the White House to get involved with efforts on the Hill to hash out a package of new pandemic aid for small businesses still struggling to survive.

— “As we have met with small business owners and local elected officials over the past several months, we have heard unanimous concern about the impact of Omicron on the economic health of our communities,” the lawmakers, all of whom represent battleground districts, wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden on Wednesday. The members added that “our constituents are worried that businesses vital to our towns, cities, and main streets will be forced to close without additional assistance.”

— The letter, signed by Reps. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), Cindy Axne (D-Iowa), Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Susie Lee (D-Nev.), Tom O’Halleran (D-Ariz.), Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.) and Susan Wild (D-Pa.), asks Biden to “support and help negotiate” a package that provides targeted grant programs for restaurants and venues with enough funding for businesses that didn’t receive it initially or “for a second round of funding for hard-hit businesses where needed, and be funded at such a level as to fully meet demand.”

— The lawmakers also asked that any package include aid for “other at-risk sectors centered on in-person gatherings,” like the travel and fitness industries and other businesses offering indoor recreation and group activities, and an extension of tax credits for small businesses to offer pandemic related paid sick leave.

— “As Members with strongly bipartisan districts,” the group wrote, “we made commitments to our constituents to provide the relief that our communities needed and we intend to keep those promises.” Biden traveled to Virginia today for an event with Spanberger touting the administration’s efforts to lower drug costs, but did not mention ongoing Covid relief talks in his remarks.

Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Send tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

 

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NEW FARA ADVISORY OPINIONS FOCUS ON NONPROFITS: The Justice Department this week released another batch of Foreign Agents Registration Act advisory opinions, several of which touched on the FARA statute’s exemption for nonprofits, think tanks, charitable organizations, and academic and religious institutions, an issue rarely addressed by the letters, which guide lawyers advising lobbyists on whether or not they need to register as foreign agents.

— Taken with DOJ’s plans to offer up new FARA regulations, the focus on nonprofit activity in the latest batch of opinions signals that “the Justice Department does not appear inclined to carve out — at this time — exceptions for nonprofits as a group,” Brandon Van Grack, a former head of the FARA Unit now a the law firm Morrison & Foerster, said in an interview. “I think the big takeaway is that there is no special treatment for nonprofits.”

In one opinion, FARA Chief Jennifer Gellie concluded that the vice president for government relations of a foreign university was not exempted from registering under FARA because the person’s duties include conducting “outreach and advocacy” to U.S. officials “to promote [foreign university]’s mission, goals, and financial priorities.” Part of the role also includes seeking grant money from the U.S. government, which Gellie also determined constitutes political activities under the law and not “only … activities in furtherance of bona fide . . . scholastic [or] academic pursuits,” which triggers the exemption.

In another opinion , Gellie told a nonprofit global charity organization headquartered in a foreign country that it is obligated to register as a foreign agent because the organization seeks to “ increase friendship and goodwill between the [foreign country] and the rest of the world”; because the organization “believes and intends that its actions will influence members of the United States public to view the [foreign country] in a positive light and, thus, ultimately foster beneficial U.S. foreign policies in regards to the [foreign country]”; and because the president of the country selects the organization’s chairperson.

— The opinions released this week didn’t all land in favor of registration, though. In a third opinion, Gellie determined that a university professor did not meet the requirements to register for providing what the professor described as an “independent analysis of issues of international law within your areas of expertise.” In an analysis of the advisory opinions, the law and lobbying firm Covington & Burling noted that this opinion “did not reach the academic exemption, instead concluding that the professor’s activity did not meet any of the FARA-enumerated activities.”

— Van Grack noted that there is still uncertainty surrounding nonprofits’ obligations to register under FARA in certain situations, in part because DOJ is wary of creating exceptions that foreign governments and organizations could exploit, but argued that on the whole there was “nothing in the content of the analysis that necessarily jumped out as surprising” or that broke new ground.

— Still, “these interpretations of the exemption should prompt nonprofits and other organizations relying on the academic exemption to consider whether registration may be required,” the Covington & Burling memo concludes.

ANNALS OF AFGHANISTAN LOBBYING: “A top Washington lobbying shop has agreed to represent the U.S. parent company of a major Afghan telecom alleged by three former employees and four former senior Afghan government officials to have paid money and extended other favors to the Taliban as they fought a bloody insurgency over the last 20 years,” Daniel reports this afternoon.

— “S-3 Group filed a lobbying disclosure Nov. 1 that it now represents Telephone Systems International, the holding company for Afghan Wireless, one of the largest mobile telephone operators in the country. The document, required by U.S. law, states three of its lobbyists — John Scofield, Jose Ceballos and Michael Long — will lobby on ‘access to wireless communication in Afghanistan.’”

— “TSI would not specifically say why it hired S-3, but in order to operate legally in the U.S. and continue to do business in Afghanistan, the company has to undergo a thorough Treasury application process.” The hiring “highlights the dilemma of how to engage with Afghanistan after the Taliban’s victory,” as “analysts who follow the Afghan economy acknowledge that most telecom companies paid ‘taxes’ to the Taliban in order to operate in militant-controlled areas of the country as it waged an insurgency against the democratically elected government.”

‘TELEHEALTH CLIFF’ DRAWS LOBBYING FROM NONTRADITIONAL PLAYERS: “Ahead of an election-year spending showdown, lobbying efforts to make telehealth services more widely available are in overdrive,” POLITICO’s Megan Wilson and Ben Leonard report.

— “In all, 485 entities listed lobbying on telehealth issues on disclosure forms in 2021, according to a POLITICO analysis, more than three times the number in 2019, before the coronavirus spread through the United States, forcing millions to turn to virtual medical care.”

— “‘What happened is America kind of woke up, as well as, frankly, the lobbying stakeholders kind of woke up almost overnight, and said, “We don't want to lose this. This has become embedded in the way we deliver care,”’ said Dean Rosen, a partner at lobbying firm Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas who works on telehealth issues. ‘That's why you're seeing so many new folks lobbying on this.’”

— “In 2021, disparate companies like tech giant Apple, defense behemoth Lockheed Martin, dairy cooperative Land O’Lakes and Zoom, the video platform that’s become ubiquitous with the Covid-19 pandemic, are pressing Congress to continue telehealth rules that helped expand access. And others already in the space increased their lobbying: For example, virtual health care company Teladoc spent $400,000 on lobbying in 2021, 60 percent more than it did in 2020, according to the analysis.”

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK: Declan Kelly, once a prominent adviser to Fortune 500 chief executives, has made a discreet comeback — just months after he was forced to quit Teneo, the public relations firm he co-founded, following allegations of sexual harassment,” the Financial Times’ James Fontanella-Khan, Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson and Arash Massoudi report.

— “The 54-year-old has launched a new Madison Avenue-based company called Consello that focuses on investing, merchant banking, corporate development and mergers and acquisitions, according to the firm’s bare-bones website, which makes no mention of Kelly’s involvement.”

— “Since he quit as chief executive of Teneo in June, Kelly had been operating under the radar for a handful of big clients, including Intel, according to two people briefed on his plans.” Kelly’s “attempt to engineer a revival comes less than a year since the Financial Times revealed allegations of his drunken misconduct at a Global Citizen fundraiser, which prompted him to relinquish his board seat at the charity and resign from Teneo. Consello, which means ‘advice’ in Galician, was formed in July last year, just a fortnight after Kelly left Teneo, according to company registration documents.”

INTEL TAPS NEW TOP LOBBYIST: Intel has brought on Sarah Kemp as vice president of international government affairs, leading the company’s global government relations operations. Kemp was most recently associate vice president and head of global women’s health policy and ESG strategy at the health care company Organon , and is a Commerce and State department alum. Part of Kemp’s charge for the chipmaker will be to align the company’s “overall public policy positions across a range of fast-moving, business-critical areas, such as manufacturing, intellectual property, geopolitical strategy and transformative technologies like cloud, IoT and AI,” according to a press release.

SPOTTED Wednesday night at a welcome reception for new BGR Group senior vice president Ret. Col. Dan Greenwood: BGR’s Haley Barbour, Jeff Shockey of Raytheon, Marc Short, former Ex-Im Bank CEO Kimberly Reed, Luke Murry of Marvell, and Shahira Knight of Deloitte.

CORRECTION: Wednesday’s Influence misstated SAG-AFTRA’s roster of outside lobbyists. The union has retained Atlas Advocacy since 2019.

 

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Jobs Report

Mathew Shearman has joined APCO Worldwide as North America lead of its health practice. He was most recently senior vice president at BCW Global.

Clare Krusing is joining JPMorgan Chase’s Morgan Health unit. She was most recently managing director at Reservoir Communications Group.

General Motors has hired Missy Owens, a former official in the Obama administration and Biden’s niece, to lead ESG policy in its D.C. office, The Detroit News reports. She previously was director of federal and diplomatic government relations at Coca-Cola.

— The American Maritime Partnership has named Ku’uhaku Park president, joined by new Vice President Jennifer Carpenter and Secretary and Treasurer Sara Fuentes. Park is senior vice president of government and community relations at the Matson Navigation Company, Carpenter is president and CEO of American Waterways Operators and Fuentes is vice president of government affairs at the Transportation Institute.

Ramona Sequeira, a top executive at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, has been named chair of PhRMA’s board of directors — the first woman to ever serve in the role. Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis, and Daniel O'Day, chairman and CEO of Gilead Sciences, have also assumed top spots on the board.

Teddy Tanzer is joining Airbnb as a public policy manager, Playbook reports. He previously was an attorney adviser to U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Commissioner Peter Feldman.

TrailRunner International is adding Jennifer Kuperman and Jen Crichton as managing directors, Playbook reports. Kuperman previously was head of international corporate affairs at Alibaba Group, and Crichton previously was comms director for Frito-Lay.

BitFury has hired former banking regulator Jonathan Gould to be its chief legal officer, per Morning Money, reuniting the one-time OCC deputy comptroller and chief counsel with former boss Brian Brooks.

 

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.

 
 
New Joint Fundraisers

Brooke Victory Fund (Brooke Taylor for Congress, Defending Our Country PAC (DOC PAC))
Duke Collins Victory Committee 2022 (Brady Duke for Congress, Jay Collins for Congress)
MILLS JACKSON MAJORITY COMMITTEE (Rep. Ronny Jackson, Cory Mills for Congress, Texas Red, Restore America's Voice PAC)

New PACs

Blast Digital Media Corp SSF (PAC)
Conservatives For A Strong America PAC (Super PAC)
LNE Group (PAC)
RIGHT ARIZONA (Super PAC)
STAND FOR FL (Super PAC)
Tarheel Conservative Values PAC (Super PAC)
Truth & Accountability Project (Super PAC)

New Lobbying Registrations

Capitol Counsel LLC: Castle Harlan, Inc.
Duck Duck Go, Inc.: Duck Duck Go, Inc.
Elevate Government Affairs, LLC: Adb Safegate Americas LLC
Elevate Government Affairs, LLC: Cooley, LLP On Behalf Of East Hampton
Elevate Government Affairs, LLC: Embraer Aircraft Holding, Inc.
Elevate Government Affairs, LLC: Garrett Advancing Motion
Elevate Government Affairs, LLC: Nexteon Technologies
Holland & Hart LLP: City Of Kotzebue, Alaska
Holland & Knight LLP: Viasat, Inc.
Mercury Strategies, LLC: Sorenson Communications
Mills Black LLP: Aksm Urology Pac
Plurus Strategies, LLC: American Financial Services Association
T A Business Development, LLC: Medequip Supply Corporation
Twinlogic Strategies, LLP: Siia

 

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.

 
 
New Lobbying Terminations

Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Texas Southern University
Edgepoint, LLC: Braden Health
Edgepoint, LLC: Cellcrypt
Jonathan Sheiner LLC: Calvary Hospital
Kogovsek & Associates, Inc.: Republican River Water Conservation District
Lester Health Law Pllc: Laboratoris Sanifit, Sl
Retired Enlisted Association: Retired Enlisted Association
Riverside Strategic Solutions, LLC: Natural Gas Vehicles For America
Rose Law Group, P.C.: Fondomonte Arizona LLC
Susan J. White & Associates, Inc.: Cencal Health (Formerly Santa Barbara Regional Health Authority)

 

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

 
 

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