NDAA contains mixed success for K Street

From: POLITICO Influence - Wednesday Dec 07,2022 11:32 pm
Delivered daily, Influence gives you a comprehensive rundown and analysis of all lobby hires and news on K Street.
Dec 07, 2022 View in browser
 
POLITICO Influence newsletter logo

By Caitlin Oprysko

With Daniel Lippman

NDAA WINNERS AND LOSERS: Lawmakers finally dropped the text of their 4,000-plus-page defense policy bill last night, and it contained mixed results for some of the big ticket items on K Street.

— Language pushed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) that would restrict the use of certain Chinese-made semiconductors by the federal government and its contractors survived objections from business, defense and tech groups late last month .

— The industry complaints resulted in some changes to the final text that made it more palatable, however, including a clarification that the restrictions don’t apply to products or services not deemed part of a “critical system” and that they wouldn’t require the removal and replacement of covered chips acquired prior to the effective date of the amendment.

— The text released last night would also extend the deadline for compliance with the new restrictions, which groups including the Aerospace Industries Association, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, National Defense Industrial Association, CTIA, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the NCTA had called insufficient.

— “Scores of companies and associations shared their concerns with the Chamber about the original proposal, and it’s good news that the sponsors made the final version more workable,” Matthew Eggers, vice president of cybersecurity policy at the Chamber, told PI, adding that “business input is essential to ensuring that complex legislation like this can be administered effectively, and this challenge will persist as agencies write regulations.”

— Several provisions that were causing a stir in recent days were dropped from the bill, including the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act . The bill, which would allow which would allow media outlets to collectively bargain with tech platforms like Meta and Google over payments for their content to appear on those sites, pit the news industry and some anti-monopoly groups against a coalition of vocal critics that included tech companies, their lobbying organs on both the left and right, tech critics across the ideological spectrum, civil rights groups and free market groups.

— Language that would have allowed banks to offer their services to marijuana businesses was also left out of the legislation after a bipartisan package aimed at winning GOP support failed to move the needle with critics like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell . Sen. Joe Manchin ’s (D-W.Va.) permitting reform package was dropped as well , after meeting resistance on both sides of the aisle that echoed the complaints that sank the package earlier this fall.

— One exclusion stuck out to your host given the lack of outrage from supporters who’d been pushing hard for inclusion in the Senate NDAA. The bicameral legislation left out the INFORM Consumers Act , which seeks to crack down on the sale of counterfeit and stolen goods online by requiring online marketplaces to take steps to verify the identity of high-volume sellers and provide some of that information to customers.

— The bill, which won the support of a broad cross-section of interests including retailers, manufacturers, law enforcement, tech groups and online marketplaces, passed in the House last month by a landslide. But supporters have searched for a vehicle for INFORM for more than a year (it was included in one version of last year’s NDAA as well as versions of China competitiveness legislation before being dropped).

— Sources familiar with the effort told PI that INFORM’s exclusion this time around came down to procedural issues while pointing to its support from relevant committee leaders and congressional leaders, and expressed confidence that the bill would slide into any omnibus spending package.

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

 

LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today .

 
 

INSIDE NO LABELS: Daniel has a fascinating piece out today that offers a behind-the-scenes look at turmoil within No Labels , the centrist group working on a $70 million project to lay the groundwork for a unity ticket presidential campaign in 2024.

— “Interviews with 14 former employees—including five who left in the last few months—and four other people familiar with No Labels reveals a cutthroat culture, one where staffers are routinely fired or pushed out, have little trust in management, and believe the workplace environment can be difficult for minority and female colleagues.”

— “Former aides say that staff turnover and bad relations with management make executing on projects more difficult. One former employee said she suffered a panic attack under the intense pressure from her superiors. These staffers add that the image No Labels projects of an institution striving to reform the country’s rigidly partisan political system hides what one former aide said is a ‘toxic’ culture.”

— “In the defense of both [CEO Nancy] Jacobson and the organization, No Labels organized several lengthy Zoom calls featuring roughly a dozen senior officials on each. During those calls, they defended Jacobson’s management of No Labels, saying it is driven by mission and not ego. They noted that she is loath to accept public praise and rarely appears at society events in Washington.”

— “They also insisted that staff complaints, including by those seeking remuneration for the nature of their departure from the group, were simply the product of aggrieved ex-workers. They expressed a missionary zeal for the organization and made the case that the taxing workload is justified by the goals. But the group’s leaders also conceded that their office culture is demanding. Those who bought in thrived, they said. Those who didn’t, faltered.”

SCAM PAC OPERATOR TO PLEAD GUILTY: Matt Tunstall, the prolific operator of a network of scam PACs accused of bilking unwitting donors of more than $3.5 million during the 2016 elections, is set to plead guilty to his role in the scheme later this month, according to new court filings.

— Tunstall and two associates were arrested last November and charged with multiple counts including wire fraud, false statements and money laundering related to two PACs they ran during the 2016 election — though Tunstall has been linked to numerous other PACs that raised millions but spent little on the politicians they purported to support. Instead, Tunstall appeared to use the funds to finance a lavish lifestyle for himself , according to prosecutors.

— Both of Tunstall’s associates, Kyle Davies and Robert Reyes Jr., pleaded guilty in the case earlier this year and are set for sentencing in March. While it appeared as though Tunstall might head to trial, today prosecutors filed new documents in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas setting in motion a guilty plea for Tunstall at a hearing on Dec. 20.

FLYING IN: The NDAA left out another major piece of legislation looking to hitch a ride to the president’s desk during the lame duck — the bipartisan bill to overhaul the Electoral Count Act. The nonpartisan advocacy group Business for America is on the Hill today and tomorrow to push for movement on the measure before the House changes hands next year.

— Business leaders from Salesforce, Cummins, Hannon Armstrong, PepsiCo, Marriott, Bitwise Industries and the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce are set to meet with Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Manchin about the bill.

Etsy CEO Josh Silverman and COO Raina Moskowitz were also on the Hill today to meet with lawmakers to discuss “issues impacting micro businesses,” according to a spokesperson. The online marketplace is a supporter of the INFORM Consumers Act, and is also part of a push to revise tax reporting requirements that were slipped into last year’s Covid relief bill . They’ll also discuss caregiving issues like paid leave, the child tax credit, and expanding child care support.

ANNALS OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE: Nearly two dozen Democratic senators this week urged President Joe Biden to act unilaterally to require federal contractors to disclose their political spending — including contributions to dark money groups — citing the hundreds of millions of anonymous dollars that flooded this year’s elections.

— “American taxpayers have a right to know whether and how government contractors are spending money to elect lawmakers who can influence the procurement and awarding of government contracts,” the senators, led by Dianne Feinstein of California and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, wrote.

— “Federal contractors spend substantial sums in elections,” they said, adding that corporate PAC spending is dwarfed by that of super PACs that can accept unlimited contributions from anonymous donors. “The White House should not hesitate to cast a bright light on secret political spending and its corrupting effects wherever possible.”

— Federal contractors are already banned from political donations that come from the contractors' treasuries. But there is no restriction on contributions to nonprofit groups, even if those nonprofits spend money to influence elections.

— The senators’ letter echoes calls from House Democrats and the Congressional Progressive Caucus earlier this year amid the party’s struggles to pass campaign finance reform legislation. It also comes amid increased enforcement of the federal contractor ban by the FEC, according to an analysis this week from the political law group at Holland & Knight.

— The firm “reviewed a total of 17 enforcement matters resolved over the past five years involving credible allegations that respondents violated the Federal Contractor Ban,” and found that of those, 12 of the matters were resolved in 2022 alone. Holland & Knight also uncovered several trends in the enforcement record, which it laid out in a blog post .

SPOTTED at an event last night to christen ACG Advocacy’s new Capitol Hill office, per a PI tipster: Rock climbers Chris Schulte and Colette McInerney, who are in town to push for continued access to federal lands for the climbing community; ACG’s Sean Byrne , Shawn Smeallie and Chris Israel, and REI Cooperative Action Fund’s Marc Berejka.

 

POLITICO AT CES 2023 : We are bringing a special edition of our Digital Future Daily newsletter to Las Vegas to cover CES 2023. The newsletter will take you inside the largest and most influential technology event on the planet, featuring every major and emerging industry in the technology ecosystem gathered in one place. The newsletter runs from Jan. 5-7 and will focus on the public policy related aspects of the event. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of CES 2023.

 
 
Jobs Report

Meghan Meehan-Draper will be the next executive director of the Democratic Governors Association. She was previously DGA’s finance director.

Danielle Radovich Piper is joining the University of Colorado as senior vice president for external relations and strategy for CU’s system administration. She was most recently chief of staff to Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.).

Pita Juarez is now vice president of communications at LGBTQ Victory Fund and LGBTQ Victory Institute. She most recently served as national communications and creative strategies director at League of Conservation Voters and is an ESPN and CNN en Español alum.

ClimateTrade has hired Will Darrah as chief commercial officer. He was most recently vice president of sales for the North America division at Amadeus Hospitality.

Rebecca Grant has been named global chief brand officer at BCW Global, while Catherine Sullivan has been promoted to be global chief communications officer for BCW Group. Grant will continue as CEO of BCW’s UK market and as a member of the agency’s global board. Melanie Mitchem has also joined BCW as executive vice president for global marketing.

Lila Nieves-Lee will be GOP staff director for the Senate Banking Committee. She currently is senior director for U.S. government engagement at Visa.

The Asia Group has added Kevin Bassney and Brett Fetterly as vice presidents in the China practice. Bassney previously was chief of staff to the CEO of People.ai. Fetterly previously was national security adviser to Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.).

Donna Brazile is joining Purple Strategies as a senior adviser. She’s a former acting DNC chair and longtime strategist.

Michael Vazquez has launched a new social impact agency and consulting firm, The Maiden Group. He currently is an adviser at Public Private Strategies, and is a Biden USAID alum.

Prologue Strategy has added Tita Freeman and Lenny Alcivar as senior strategists. Freeman previously was a strategic consultant for Tita Freeman Communications and is a U.S. Chamber of Commerce alum. Alcivar previously was principal and owner of Alcivar Group and is a DOT, George W. Bush and Mitt Romney campaign alum.

Jeff Bozman is joining Anduril as senior director for government relations. He was previously counsel for the House Armed Services Committee.

— The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture has hired Stephanie McBath and Josie Montoney-Crawford for their public policy team. McBath was previously a senior legislative assistant for Rep. Dan Newhouse and Montoney-Crawford most recently worked for CropLife America.

New Joint Fundraisers

None.

New PACs

CoinRaise Federal PAC (PAC)
Fueling Individual Rights Everywhere (FIRE) PAC (Leadership PAC: Jasmine Crockett)
Immigrant Investors Association, Inc./Invest in the USA PAC (IIUSA PAC) (PAC)
Not So Old Fashioned PAC (Leadership PAC: Morgan McGarvey)

New Lobbying Registrations

Ervin Graves Strategy Group, LLC: Janson Communications, Inc
Fgs Global (US) LLC (Fka Fgh Holdings LLC): Tri-State Generation And Transmission Association, Inc.
The Madison Group: Community News Media LLC

New Lobbying Terminations

None.

 

Follow us

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcast
 

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings

This email was sent to by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA

Please click here and follow the steps to .

More emails from POLITICO Influence

Dec 01,2022 10:34 pm - Thursday

K Street turns out to raise cash for Warnock

Nov 30,2022 10:53 pm - Wednesday

Kraken registers to lobby

Nov 29,2022 11:11 pm - Tuesday

Tesla, Paypal add more lobbyists

Nov 28,2022 10:25 pm - Monday

Pair of top Senate aides heads downtown