BNSF hires Graves’ former chief

From: POLITICO Influence - Tuesday Mar 21,2023 10:34 pm
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By Caitlin Oprysko

With help from Daniel Lippman

BNSF HIRES GRAVES AIDE: BNSF Railway, one of the country’s largest freight railroads, has brought on the longtime aide to one of the top lawmakers with oversight of the rail industry as Congress debates imposing new safety regulations on the sector. Cassidy & Associates Paul Sass began lobbying for the railroad at the beginning of this month, according to a disclosure filed Monday.

— Before leaving the Hill last summer, Sass had worked for two decades for Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), the new chair of the powerful House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, serving as Graves’ chief of staff before moving over to become the top GOP staffer on the committee for the last three years.

— Sass joined Cassidy & Associates in June to boost the firm’s transportation credentials and help navigate the flood of new federal funding included in the bipartisan infrastructure bill. At the time, Sass told PI that he’d be able to offer clients “the freshest Hill perspective on things,” light insight on House politics or “strategic advice on how to get things done.”

— He’ll lobby for BNSF on implementation of the infrastructure bill and surface transportation issues, as well as rail infrastructure and rail safety. The latter of those issues has come under the microscope in Washington following the toxic derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio, last month. The derailment put a spotlight on the rail industry’s clout in the nation’s capital, allowing railroads to block tougher safety rules and push for the rollback of other rules already in place.

— Members of the Ohio congressional delegation have offered competing rail safety measures, but our Tanya Snyder reports that in congressional testimony tomorrow Norfolk Southern’s chief executive is preparing to endorse stiffer regulations mainly focused on industries other than his own — an indicator of the stiff headwinds advocates for new safety regulations are facing.

— While representatives from BNSF won’t be testifying at tomorrow’s hearing (though the head of the industry’s top lobbying group, the Association of American Railroads, will) the nation’s top-earning railroad hasn’t escaped some of the same scrutiny.

— BNSF saw two of its own trains derail just in one day last week. Neither derailment resulted in any immediate injuries, The Associated Press reported, similar to the East Palestine crash. But one of the wrecks resulted in around 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel leaking onto Swinomish tribal land along Washington’s Puget Sound, per the AP.

— The railroad already retains around a half dozen outside lobbying firms — B+S Strategies, DiNino Associates, Navigators Global, K&L Gates, The Madison Group, Cornerstone Government Affairs and Alpine Group — and spent more than $2.7 million on lobbying last year, though that is a fraction of the railroad’s high watermark of $6.8 million in 2011.

Happy Tuesday and welcome to PI, where we’re glad it’s finally feeling like spring out there. Tips: coprysko@politico.com. Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

 

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FLYING IN: The Ocean Conservancy is bringing a coalition of conservation, maritime and fisheries advocates to Washington this week to implore lawmakers not to shortchange the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as part of upcoming budget and government funding battles.

— The coalition is set to meet on Wednesday with members of coastal states like Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Reps. Lois Frankel and John Rutherford of Florida, according to the organization, where advocates will share how they’ve benefitted from NOAA’s resources.

— They’ll also send a letter to congressional leadership today outlining the agency’s importance to coastal communities and economies and policymakers, describing the “need for information and action from NOAA” at “an all-time high” ahead of the hurricane, tourism and fishing seasons.

SKDK LAUNCHES NEW ENGLAND PRACTICE: SKDK is launching a New England practice, which will be led by the new president of SKDK Political Pia Carusone, and Executive Vice President Alex Bloom.

— Carusone cut her teeth in the Granite State working on Howard Dean’s presidential campaign as well as for Reps. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.). Bloom, who leads public affairs campaigns at the consulting firm, has worked for New England politicians like House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Boston Mayor-turned-Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.

— SKDK and its sister firm Sloane & Company already have a sizable portfolio in the region, having worked for companies like Gillette, Panera Bread, Hartford HealthCare and National Grid and campaigns across Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire.

HOW BANKS FOUGHT TO ROLL BACK DODD-FRANK RULES: “It seemed like a good idea at the time: Red-state Democrats facing grim reelection prospects would join forces with Republicans to slash bank regulations — demonstrating a willingness to work with President Donald Trump while bucking many in their party.”

— “That unlikely coalition voted in 2018 to roll back portions of a far-reaching 2010 law intended to prevent a future financial crisis. But those changes are now being blamed for contributing to the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank that prompted a federal rescue and has stoked anxiety about a broader banking contagion,” The AP’s Brian Slodysko and Ken Sweet report.

— “The rollback was leveraged with a lobbying campaign that cost tens of millions of dollars that drew an army of hundreds of lobbyists and it was seeded with ample campaign contributions.”

— “The episode offers a fresh reminder of the power that bankers wield in Washington, where the industry spends prodigiously to fight regulation and often hires former members of Congress and their staff to make the case that they are not a source of risk to the economy” — and underscores how steep a climb advocates for restoring those financial guardrails now face.

THE NEW BATTLEFRONT FOR TECH POLICY: The tech industry group NetChoice has launched a new initiative to help Silicon Valley coordinate various litigation threats across the country, “signaling a shift in its playbook as battles over Silicon Valley regulation shift from Congress to the courts,” The Washington Post’s Cat Zakrzewski writes.

— “The litigation center will act as a central hub for tech industry efforts to coordinate on lawsuits and amicus briefs, focusing on a range of issues including state social media laws and antitrust suits. It will provide programming for lawyers on regulatory issues affecting the tech industry and collect legal analysis with tech-friendly positions.”

— “The center will also track lawsuits and local laws — a major hurdle for the industry as it scrambles to respond to the patchwork of legislation creating ad hoc rules for tech companies, after years of inaction in Congress.”

— “It is designed to respond to the newest regulatory threat: judges who, in the absence of comprehensive federal laws, are increasingly making decisions about social media and competition in the tech industry.”

— NetChoice attorney Chris Marchese will lead the new center alongside Nicole Saad Bembridge, and the trade group, whose members include Google, Amazon, TikTok, Twitter and Meta, and expects to add more lawyers to keep up with the increasing pace of tech litigation.

— The new center “is modeled after the litigation arm of the Chamber of Commerce, which brings lawsuits and briefs on behalf of the powerful business lobbying group,” and comes as “the tech industry is increasingly batting back a wave of litigation that could force broad changes to its business practices.”

TIKTOK BLANKETS D.C. WITH ADS: TikTok is intensifying its public-relations blitz days before its chief executive officer testifies on Capitol Hill this week, but congressional aides say there’s little he can say that will convince lawmakers the app can be insulated from Chinese influence,” per Bloomberg’s Anna Edgerton.

— “The company bought ads in the Washington Metro system, at Union Station and in the Washington Post, and sponsored Politico’s Playbook newsletter as well as Axios’s tech-focused Login newsletter.”

— “A four-page color ad in the New York Times on Monday included a QR code linking to TikTok’s US Data Security website, which features a cartoon video explaining how the company that operates the popular short-video app has invested $1.5 billion in security.”

— The onslaught of ads comes days before TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew makes his first public congressional appearance before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday. But Chew heads into that hearing facing deep skepticism from his interrogators: “Committee staff who briefed reporters before the hearing said lawmakers don’t believe the platform’s $1.5 billion investment in data security can protect the app, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., from Chinese influence,” per Bloomberg.

 

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Jobs Report

Nicole Lagace has joined Issue One as communications director. She was most recently senior adviser and chief of information for former Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea.

Kent Ebersole is now president of the Outdoor Industry Association after serving seven months as the organization’s interim executive director.

Healthcare Distribution Alliance has added Kirsten Wing as director of federal government affairs and Liz Baker as communications director. Wing was most recently federal relations director for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and Baker was most recently public affairs coordinator for the National Beer Wholesalers Association.

Jessica Long is now senior vice president of environmental stewardship and sustainability at Nareit. She was most recently head of sustainability for the Americas at Nuveen Real Estate and is a JBG Smith alum.

John Cooper will join the House Homeland Security Committee as a senior adviser to its chair, Mark Green, per Morning Defense. He is the senior adviser for communications at the Heritage Foundation.

Johnson & Johnson’s Ashley McEvoy was elected chair of the board of directors at AdvaMed.

Kevin Holst has been hired as the new executive director of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association. He most recently was senior campaign adviser at New Politics, and is a Seth Moulton alum.

Tim Mulvey and Randolph Bell are joining Dentons Global Advisors as partners. Mulvey most recently was communications director for the House Jan. 6 committee. Bell most recently was vice president for international government affairs for Commonwealth Fusion Systems.

Hera Abbasi is now vice president of public policy at Mastercard. She previously was a government and regulatory affairs executive at IBM, and is a State Department and Hill alum.

Reva Price is now a senior adviser at the Raben Group. She previously was director of outreach and senior adviser for then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Jeff Kuckuck is now senior government relations director at the National Cotton Council. He previously was a legislative director for Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), and is an Andy Biggs and Reid Ribble alum.

— The American Clean Power Association is adding Karina Borger as vice president of communications. Borger previously was communications director for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).

New Joint Fundraisers

Wendy Davis Victory Fund (Wendy Davis for Congress, Working Every Night and Day for You PAC)

New PACs

Arevon Energy, Inc. Political Action Committee (Arevon PAC) (PAC)
Common Sense for Michigan (Super PAC)
Invest in Education Coalition Inc. Action Fund (Super PAC)

New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS

Abi Associates: Global Technical Systems
Abi Associates: Greenfield Louisiana, LLC
Abi Associates: River Birch, LLC
Abi Associates: Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation
Alva Elliott Partners, LLC: Miller Strategies, LLC On Behalf Of J&F Investimentos
Ann Aquillo Consulting LLC: Transportation Research Center Inc.
Ardeidae Group LLC: Cove Capital LLC
Ats Communications, Inc.: Aim Intelligent Machines
Ats Communications, Inc.: Astranis Space Technologies Corp
Bluebird Bio, Inc.: Bluebird Bio, Inc.
Boundary Stone Partners: Novozymes North America, Inc.
Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Autodesk, Inc
Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Bnsf Railway Co
Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Caresource Mission
Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Clean Energy Buyers Association
Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Lightstar Renewables LLC
Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Livingston Group On Behalf Of Mccord Health
Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Reliable Robotics Corporation
Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Shipcom Wireless
Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Turo
Cassidy & Associates, Inc.: Valor
Css Partners, LLC: Cambridge Mobile Telematics
Desimone Consulting, LLC: Adams County, Wa
Desimone Consulting, LLC: East Adams Rural HealthcareDesimone Consulting, LLC: Port Of Whitman County
Eca Strategies, Inc.: United Safety Technology
Great State Strategies: Crypto World
Jd Liss Associates Formerly Known As Jonathan David Liss: 20/20Gene Systems
John Ladd & Associates, Inc.: Tougaloo College
Jones Walker, LLP: Fueltrust
Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP: Quantifind
Ked Strategies, LLC: National Association Of Broadcasters
Mcguirewoods Consulting (A Subsidiary Of Mcguirewoods LLP): Blue Star Nbr, LLC
Shumaker Advisors, LLC: International Union Of Elevator Constructors
Subject Matter: The Boeing Company
Tai Ginsberg & Associates, LLC: California Intercity Rail Corridors Linking Everyone (Circle)
Tai Ginsberg & Associates, LLC: San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority
Tai Ginsberg & Associates, LLC: San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission
Tai Ginsberg & Associates, LLC: West Central Municipal Conference
Truman Keith Jones: American Sheep Industry
Truman Keith Jones: Cornerstone Government Affairs Obo Beef Alliance
Truman Keith Jones: Cornerstone Government Affairs Obo California Walnut Commission
Truman Keith Jones: Cornerstone Government Affairs Obo Croplife America
Truman Keith Jones: Cornerstone Gov’t Affairs Obo Pesticide Registration Improvement Act Coalition
Van Scoyoc Associates: Population Council
Vnf Solutions, LLC: Washington State Department Of Ecology
Williams And Jensen, Pllc: Fire & Police Pension Association Of Colorado

New Lobbying Terminations

Alva Elliott Partners, LLC: Tower 19 On Behalf Of Ansys, Inc.
Alva Elliott Partners, LLC: Tower 19 On Behalf Of Lattice Semiconductor
Ats Communications, Inc.: Regent Craft, Inc.
Michelin North America, Inc.: Michelin North America Inc
The Surety & Fidelity Association Of America: The Surety & Fidelity Association Of America

 

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