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Presented by Freight Rail Works: Delivered daily, Influence gives you a comprehensive rundown and analysis of all lobby hires and news on K Street. | | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | | | With Daniel Lippman CHIPMAKERS FLY IN AS CHINA BILL INCHES TOWARD CONFERENCE: Top executives from the world’s leading chipmakers are scattering across Washington beginning today as the industry presses lawmakers to shepherd tens of billions in funding for the industry across the finish line. Chief executives of Intel, Micron, NVIDIA, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments, who all sit on the board of directors at the Semiconductor Industry Association, are set to meet with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as well as Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). — The meetings come as the Senate took another step today toward a conference committee with the House to reconcile the differences between each chamber’s version of legislation to increase U.S. economic competitiveness with China, though negotiators will still have to thread the needle to win support for a compromise bill in the House and Senate. — Both the House and Senate bills include $52 billion in subsidies to boost U.S production of semiconductors after supply chain snarls prompted a global shortage. Chipmakers are also set to meet with key Biden administration officials, including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. — In addition to the infusion of funding for chip research and production, semiconductor manufacturers are also pushing members to provide the industry with a package of tax breaks for companies who build plants to manufacture the chips in the U.S. — As chipmakers push for tax breaks to be added into the final bill, a coalition of business groups is lobbying lawmakers to strip out a series of trade provisions from the conferenced version. In a letter to congressional leadership Tuesday, the National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association, American Apparel & Footwear Association, American Clean Power Association, Autos Drive America, Consumer Technology Association, Edison Electric Institute, National Foreign Trade Association, United States Council for International Business and American Automotive Policy Council called on conferees to remove language that would strengthen the Commerce Department’s ability to punish serial trade offenders with anti-dumping and countervailing duties. The language was included in the House version of the bill, but not the Senate version. — The trade associations argued that the provision, aimed at addressing complaints from steelworkers, would “result in the application of more and higher tariffs on a diverse array of imported goods” from trade partners other than China, including, they argue, “steel and aluminum imports from Germany and Japan, softwood lumber products from Canada, amino acid and chemical imports from France, and pastas from Italy,” as well as fertilizer and biodiesel imports. About a dozen conservative advocacy groups echoed the concerns about the provision’s impact on fertilizer imports in a letter to the Hill earlier this year. The language, the groups argued, would “penalize legitimate trade and contribute to the inflationary pressures on American businesses.” Good afternoon and welcome to PI. I’ll be out tomorrow and Friday, but you’ll be in the very capable hands of Hailey Fuchs. Send tips for the rest of the week to hfuchs@politico.com and for next week to coprysko@politico.com . And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @Hailey_Fuchs and @caitlinoprysko.
| | A message from Freight Rail Works: In times of recovery, America needs a transportation network that can keep goods moving, help businesses prosper and remain responsive to changing customer needs. Not only does freight rail invest $25 billion annually to provide U.S. businesses with safe, reliable service. Today’s rail shipping rates are 44% lower than in 1981, which keeps U.S. businesses competitive. See how railroads are helping America get back on track. | | | MADELEINE ALBRIGHT DIES: Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as U.S. secretary of State, died today at the age of 84, her family said. Albright co-founded and led the Albright Stonebridge Group , a consulting firm that was acquired by Dentons last year and that has seen around a dozen former employees tapped to enter the Biden administration. — “Secretary Albright was an unparalleled force in world affairs, American diplomacy, and the global business community, as well as to countless family members, friends, colleagues, and students,” the firm said in a statement. “In both the public and private sectors, she epitomized the highest ideals of courage in leadership, never wavering in her admirable pursuit of dignity for all people.” MILLER, HOUSE GOP TO HOST FUNDRAISER FOR CHENEY CHALLENGER: GOP lobbyist and strategist Jeff Miller, along with more than 100 House Republicans, is set to raise money later this month for Harriet Hageman, who is looking to oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from office come fall, Alex Isenstadt reports. — “According to details about the event obtained by POLITICO, the list of hosts includes House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who succeeded Cheney as chair of the House GOP conference last May.” Miller, a longtime McCarthy adviser, is set to host the March 30 event at his home. — “The Wyoming congresswoman has drawn the ire of Republicans for her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump and her continued outspoken criticism of him, as well as her decision to sit on the committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump endorsed Hageman last year.” — “Hageman has raked in more than $1 million so far during the first fundraising quarter, which closes at the end of the month, according to a person familiar with the totals. The sum is considerable: During the fourth fundraising quarter of 2021, only three non-incumbents running for the House raised more than $1 million. Cheney has amassed a formidable war chest of her own, however. Through the end of last year, the congresswoman had more than $4.7 million in the bank.”
| | | | JOIN THURSDAY FOR A CONVERSATION ON CRYPTOCURRENCY AND REGULATION: Cryptocurrency has gone mainstream. With the market now valued at $1.8 trillion, Washington’s oversight of the fast-growing industry remains in its infancy. How should Congress and federal agencies shape future regulation of digital asset markets? Join POLITICO in person or virtually for a deep-dive discussion on what’s next for crypto, regulation and the future of finance. Programming will run from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. EDT with a reception from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. EDT. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | WELCOME TO THE SHOW: U.S. Travel Association chief Roger Dow welcomed the White House’s new Covid czar, Ashish Jha , to the gig by swiftly filling Jha in on the travel industry’s top requests to help the travel sector rebound from the pandemic. “We respectfully urge you to quickly focus on replacing pandemic-era travel advisories, requirements and restrictions with endemic-focused policies of a ‘new normal’ that enable travel to resume fully, freely and safely,” Dow wrote in a letter to the new Covid coordinator Tuesday. — Chief among the organization’s asks is an “immediate” lifting of pre-departure coronavirus testing requirements for international travelers coming into the U.S., and the repeal of mask mandates for public transportation — steps the administration has thus far declined to take. Dow pointed to sluggish numbers for levels of international and business travel spending last year compared with before the pandemic, and urged Jha to “prioritize the [removal] of travel requirements that no longer fit with the current environment and to set clear timelines and metrics for when others will be lifted.” LOUER DECAMPS FOR HOLLAND & KNIGHT: Holland & Knight has added tech lobbyist Greg Louer to its lobbying practice as a partner. Louer was most recently managing director at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, where he lobbied on behalf of clients such as Samsung, AT&T, 7-Eleven, Berkshire Hathaway Energy and Verisign. “We are entering a period of significant legislative and regulatory activity that will impact a wide range of technologies used by millions of consumers,” Louer said in a statement, adding that “I'm proud to join the firm's other policy professionals as we push for solutions that work for everyone.” — Rich Gold , who leads Holland & Knight’s public policy and regulation group, said in a statement that Louer’s “experience with cutting-edge technology issues, especially with respect to autonomous and electric vehicles, will boost our advocacy efforts as legislators lay the regulatory groundwork that will either make or break our clients' innovations."
| | | | A message from Freight Rail Works:   | | | | | | — Dolly Moorhead has joined the team at Canadian telehealth startup iHealthOX as their director of U.S. business development. She’s currently the founder of consultancy Limenitis , through which she works with clients across the healthcare and biotech industries, and was a former senior adviser to the U.S. surgeon general in the Trump administration. — Peraton has added Scott Cooper as vice president for strategic advocacy and Joe DeVooght as vice president, for federal congressional affairs. Cooper most recently served as an agent with the Charles F. Bolden Group and DeVooght most recently was senior director for government relations at Honeywell. — Rebecca Bill Chavez will be president and CEO of the Inter-American Dialogue, per Playbook. She previously was a senior fellow and is an Obama administration alum. — Gabriel Muller has launched his own editorial consultancy that specializes in narrative coaching, ghostwriting and intensive writing training for business executives and thought leaders. He previously was at The Atlantic. — Indivar “Indi” Dutta-Gupta has been named the new executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy, per Morning Money. Dutta-Gupta is currently the co-executive director of the Georgetown University Center on Poverty and Inequality. He previously worked at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and is a House Ways and Means alum. — Jamie Pascal and Sade Bruce are, respectively, the new director of civic innovation policy and the operations and partner manager at Chamber of Progress, Morning Tech reports.
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S INAUGURAL HEALTH CARE SUMMIT ON 3/31: Join POLITICO for a discussion with health care providers, policymakers, federal regulators, patient representatives, and industry leaders to better understand the latest policy and industry solutions in place as we enter year three of the pandemic. Panelists will discuss the latest proposals to overcome long-standing health care challenges in the U.S., such as expanding access to care, affordability, and prescription drug prices. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | NM WA Victory Fund (Sen. Maria Cantwell, LOBO PAC, TURQUOISE PAC)
| | | Nomi Health, Inc. PAC (PAC)
Onondaga County Democratic Committee 2022 (PAC)
Stand for Freedom PAC (Super PAC)
| | New Lobbying Registrations | | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: The US-China Business Council
Frost Brown Todd LLC: Goodmaps Inc.
| | New Lobbying Terminations | | None.
| | A message from Freight Rail Works: Alleviating an extraordinary supply chain crisis requires an extraordinary transportation network—like America’s freight railroads. The dedicated employees of America’s freight railroads are working 24/7 to find powerful solutions to maximize efficiency and reliability. Learn more about how railroads are creating an unbreakable link between manufacturers, retailers and other critical rail customers. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
