Ukraine, Russia business lobbies spar over corporate withdrawals

From: POLITICO Influence - Monday Mar 14,2022 08:43 pm

Mar 14, 2022

With Daniel Lippman

UKRAINE, RUSSIA BUSINESS LOBBIES SPAR OVER CORPORATE WITHDRAWALS: The war in Ukraine is boiling over into a confrontation between the countries’ powerful business associations that represent a host of the largest American companies. In an email to the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, Andy Hunder, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, Robert Agee, had a clear message: Let’s not get riled up.

— “Regardless of the situation we find ourselves in at present, we believe that the role of the Chamber is to support our members through this challenging period without exposing them to any risk; our job now should be to calm things down as best possible and not inflame passions on either side,” Agee said in an email earlier this month obtained by POLITICO that was addressed to Hunder. The two groups, both founded in the 1990s, claim to maintain close ties with their respective governments and the U.S. government. Both of their websites list a host of major U.S. companies among their members.

— The American business association in Russia lists Apple, Google, Johnson & Johnson, ExxonMobil and others. However, a number of companies listed as members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia have announced plans to wind down business there or suspend operations in the country in recent weeks. Russian entities sanctioned by the U.S. government — including Sberbank and VTB Bank — have disappeared from their membership list.

— In his remarks to Hunder, Agee noted that he had been provided with a copy of Hunder’s “‘basement’ letter to AMCHAM Ukraine members, some of whom are also members of AMCHAM Russia.” In that letter, which Hunder provided to POLITICO, he told members that he drafted the message “after coming out from the basement while air raid sirens were blaring above.” He urged members to ask their leadership to review business operations in Russia and consider supporting Ukraine’s army.

— Agee, whose Moscow-headquartered group aims “to enhance commercial relations between the Russian Federation and the international business community,” disagreed. He said the Chamber’s mission should not be to rally financial support for military operations or encourage businesses to leave Russia. Still, he showed some sympathy. Agee said he regretted the fact that their countries were in the midst of “a terrible conflict” and empathized with Hunder’s “predicament.”

— “Our message is crystal clear,” Hunder said in an interview. “Any American Chamber of Commerce should not be working with a pariah government that is killing innocent women and children.”

— “We are calling clearly for the Chamber in Moscow to speak the truth, to speak the truth about the invasion,” he continued. “We have seen hundreds of members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, that they are closing down their business, and that's what we are calling for the American Chamber in Russia to say exactly what their members are doing.”

— Agee did not respond to a request for comment. In a message to members on its website, his organization said it would continue to carry out its duties, including to “communicate with government officials,” and hoped for an immediate ceasefire.

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CHAMBER’S TOP INFRASTRUCTURE LOBBYIST DEPARTS: How can you tell when infrastructure week is truly over? Ed Mortimer, the top lobbyist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for infrastructure and transportation issues, is moving on from the business lobby to lead the Washington, D.C., office for geolocation company NextNav.

— Mortimer will help build out the government affairs operation for the company, which specializes in offering vertical location data for first responders, as it seeks more funding for the technology while policymakers focus on making critical infrastructure more resilient. “We think there's opportunities there to ensure that multiple backup GPS technologies, not just NextNav, but others, are part of making sure that … as we're modernizing our infrastructure, that this technology aspect of it is part of that modernization,” Mortimer said in an interview, pointing to the war in Ukraine as an example for where the technology could be useful.

— Mortimer collectively spent more than a decade in the Chamber’s transportation and infrastructure policy shop, returning to the organization in 2015 as vice president of transportation and infrastructure to help push an infrastructure package over the finish line. “The goal that I went back for, we accomplished, and I was really looking for that next challenge,” he said of his decision to leave. “And I really see technology as the next wave of implementing the infrastructure bill, and the future, so I really wanted to work on something that was kind of forward-thinking.”

FIRST IN PI — CONSERVATIVE ANTITRUST GROUP BOOSTS GOP SUPPORTERS: Conservative antitrust group Internet Accountability Project is launching a digital ad buy today praising Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Lindsey Graham (R- S.C.) for their support for antitrust bills targeting the likes of Meta, Google, Amazon and Apple. The group, which has received funding from Google rival Oracle, is dropping mid-five figures on the ads, which will run in the senators’ home states.

— The spots argue that the tech giants have amassed “too much power,” which they’re using to “crush competition, shutter small businesses, and cancel conservatives” — accusations the companies have rejected. The ads thank Grassley and Graham for “supporting key antitrust reforms to rein” tech companies in, and follow previous ad blitzes by the group praising fellow Republican Sens. John Kennedy of Louisiana, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas for voting to advance a pair of tech antitrust bills out of the Judiciary Committee earlier this year.

— GOP support for antitrust legislation is crucial for the bills to meet the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, a measure of support that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has told antitrust advocates the bills must reach before he’ll put them on the floor, especially with several Democratic senators signaling concerns. “The clock is ticking to pass Big Tech antitrust legislation this Congress,” Mike Davis, IAP’s founder and president, said in a statement, alluding to the looming midterm elections.

PATIENT GROUPS LAUNCH AD BUYS OVER COVERAGE FOR ALZHEIMER’S DRUG: “Patient groups are mounting a public pressure campaign aimed at persuading the U.S. government to loosen proposed restrictions on new Alzheimer's treatments, spending millions of dollars on television and local advertisements that began running during the Sunday morning political shows,” per Reuters’ Deena Beasley.

— “The unusual ad campaign comes after a high-profile disagreement between government health agencies over who should have access to Biogen ’s Aduhelm, the first treatment for the mind-wasting disease to be approved in 20 years,” and precedes an April 11 deadline for the CMS to issue a final decision on how to pay for the drug and ones like it that are in advanced stages of development.

— “USAgainstAlzheimer's , one of the largest U.S.-based groups representing patients with the disease, said it is funding ads in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore areas targeting” CMS, HHS, the White House and Congress. ‘We want to put a face on the individuals that are affected by this Medicare decision,’ said USAgainstAlzheimer's Chair George Vradenburg. He said the group is spending millions on the campaign, which will feature Alzheimer's patients, including social media outreach and print ads on bus stops and other transportation in the Washington area. Many have the tag line ‘Alzheimer's patients can't wait.’”

MEANWHILE, IN NYC: “Mayor Eric Adams has dispensed with a de Blasio-era policy to voluntarily disclose meetings top administration officials take with lobbyists — further obscuring an already-opaque system of outside influence over government actions,” POLITICO’s Sally Goldenberg reports.

— “Two City Hall attorneys alerted administration employees of the change in a March 1 memo laying out rules governing communication with lobbyists, a lucrative line of work that brought firms $104 million last year, according to a recent report from the city’s lobbying bureau.”

— “The two-page memo, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO, defines lobbying as ‘the attempt to influence certain government actions’ and advises the staffers that they may be subject to this type of outreach. … ‘Mayor’s Office employees are not required to maintain or file any reports or documents in connection with their meetings with lobbyists,’ the attorneys wrote, effectively undoing a discretionary policy former Mayor Bill de Blasio instituted to mandate routine disclosure of lobbying meetings. The former mayor, who had his own ethics problems during his tenure, demanded his deputy mayors and agency heads report their interactions with lobbyists and the information was made public through a city-run portal.”

— “Adams spokesperson Jonah Allon did not explain the reason for the change, instead providing a statement highlighting the new mayor’s commitment to ethics,” and a City Hall lawyer argued following publication that Adams’ administration is merely opting not to “elevate form over substance based off of an ambiguous definition.”

Jobs Report

— Spencer Pederson has joined the National Electrical Manufacturers Association as vice president of public affairs. He most recently was at the Consumer Brands Association , where he served as vice president of government affairs and helped oversee the trade group’s transition rebrand from the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

— Annie Starke has joined the Beer Institute as its senior director of federal affairs. She was most recently an associate and policy adviser at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck specializing in tax policy, and is a McGuireWoods, Ways and Means and National Beer Wholesalers Association alum.

— Glen Echo Group is adding Ashley Durkin-Rixey as a senior director and Kieran Henstenburg as a graphic designer. Durkin-Rixey most recently was a director of comms at ACT | The App Association.

— Stephanie Tomasso has been appointed to lead the D.C. office at executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates. She also heads the firm’s Trade & Professional Association Practice and serves as the co-lead of the Corporate Affairs Practice.

— Rachel Feinstein is joining Polsinelli as a legislative director. She previously was senior manager of government affairs with the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association.

— Sam Mahler is now director of government and industry relations for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta. Mahler most recently served as a senior associate in the financial services regulatory and compliance risk advisory practice.

— Amanda Slater is now senior vice president of public policy and head of U.S. federal affairs at Mastercard. She previously was a principal at Rich Feuer Anderson , and is a Visa, Tom Carper and Ed Perlmutter alum.

— Edward McGlone will be North America government affairs director for Einride, a Swedish freight technology company specializing in electric trucks “pods” with no driver’s cab, remotely controlled by drivers. He was most recently deputy assistant secretary for congressional affairs at the Transportation Department.

— Nicole Meir has joined the AP as media relations manager. She previously was assistant director of media relations for the Atlantic Council.

— Margarita Valdez is now the director of policy and advocacy at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy. She previously was assistant director of congressional relations at the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

New Joint Fundraisers

New Dem Fund to Protect the Majority (New Democrat Coalition Action Fund, Reps. Greg Stanton, Jennifer Wexton, Bill Foster, Chrissy Houlahan)

New PACs

Friends of Californias Future Committee (Super PAC)
GRASSROOTS ACTION FUND (Super PAC)
Hoosier Future Fund PAC (Super PAC)
Keep Texas Texas PAC (Leadership PAC: Monica de la Cruz)
OKLAHOMA ACTION (Super PAC)
PROG Holdings, Inc., Political Action Committee (PRG PAC) (PAC)
Stand Up Riverside, Inc (Super PAC)
Stronger Fairer Forward PAC (Hybrid PAC)

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New Lobbying Registrations

American Strategic Partners: M-Fire Technologies, Inc.
Boundary Stone Partners: Equinor US Operations LLC
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Honeywell International Inc.
Crossroads Strategies, LLC: Parallel Systems
Crossroads Strategies, LLC: Eaves Law Firm, LLC Obo Vieques, Puerto Rico
Farragut Partners LLP: Animal Wellness Action
Klein Law Group Pllc: Hustle, Inc.
Lsn Partners, LLC: Federal Association For Insurance Reform
Lsn Partners, LLC: Curbflow, Inc.
Miller Strategies, LLC: Gobrands, Inc.
Simon Consulting Services: Dla Piper LLP (US) (For Mark Foods)
Tennessee Hospital Association: Tennessee Hospital Association
The Picard Group, LLC: Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government