|
Presented by the National Coalition For Accessible Voting: Delivered daily, Influence gives you a comprehensive rundown and analysis of all lobby hires and news on K Street. | | | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | Presented by the National Coalition For Accessible Voting | With Daniel Lippman | | | | JOIN AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION, SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST": Power is shifting in Washington and across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. “The Recast” is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy across America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | NEW BUSINESS: Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, whose yet-to-be-approved coronavirus vaccine the Biden administration has decided to share with countries in need, has added a new firm to its roster of outside lobbyists. A team from Prime Policy Group that includes a former aide to now-Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) will lobby on Covid-19 vaccine and therapy development issues as a subcontractor to Burson Cohn & Wolfe, according to a disclosure filing. — Several other health care names have signed up new outside help as well. Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceuticals hired the Tiber Creek Group (formerly known as Peck Madigan Jones) to lobby on drug pricing issues earlier this month, according to a new disclosure filing, as congressional Democrats pledge to push pricing reforms. Last month, the company hired Holland & Knight to lobby on income tax issues. Health insurer Cigna also hired a new team from Tiber Creek that includes a Trump HHS alum as well as House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn’s former floor director, to lobby on the Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage programs. — Former Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, who lobbies for Van Ness Feldman, has signed the Louisiana-based disaster recovery nonprofit St. Bernard Project. The organization is the first new client for Landrieu since 2019, according to disclosure filings. She also lobbies on behalf of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the Little Pine Island Limited Partnership, according to filings. ADVAMED TAPS NEW HEAD OF FEDERAL AFFAIRS: Kim Zimmerman is departing the American Health Care Association , the national group for long-term-care providers, to lead the federal affairs operation for the Advanced Medical Technology Association. Zimmerman has been at AHCA for nearly a decade, most recently serving as a vice president for the group in charge of its Democratic lobbying team. She’s also a Ben Nelson alum. Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Send lobbying tips and gossip: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.
| | A message from the National Coalition For Accessible Voting: The For The People Act (S.1) presents an historic opportunity to establish a new set of national standards to increase voting access. However, the bill's current language also eliminates accessible options needed for millions of Americans with disabilities. Congress has affirmed for decades that voters with disabilities must have equal access to cast their ballot. Learn how the Senate can protect accessible voting options in S.1 here. | | |
LOBBYING FIGHT ON ‘SURPRISE’ BILLING BAN TURNS TO HHS: “Health groups and consumer advocates are mounting a lobbying campaign to shape forthcoming federal rules around” last year’s legislation to outlaw so-called surprise medical bills, “which bars hospitals and doctors from sending unexpected, usually large bills to insured patients who unwittingly received out-of-network care,” POLITICO’s Susannah Luthi reports.
— The bill “charged the Biden administration with hammering out many of the complicated and politically fraught details of how to shield patients from the surprise bills. The outcome will provide an early sign of how aggressively the Biden administration will regulate an industry that’s readying battle against Democrats’ more ambitious health care reforms, including on drug pricing and lowering the Medicare age.” — Groups like large hospital systems and health insurers, trade associations, air ambulance companies and private-equity-backed physician staffing firms “have already spent heavily on lobbying and are expected to soon intensify their efforts, putting patient advocates on high alert over whether the new protections could be watered down during the rulemaking process and leave consumers still vulnerable to unexpectedly large bills.” — HHS officials “must figure out how to ensure patients don’t unknowingly sign away their new protections, monitor and punish providers who violate the ban, and establish a process for settling disputes, among other complicated considerations. The ban is due to take effect in January.” HOW JEFF MILLER BECAME ONE OF THE GOP’S TOP UTILITY PLAYERS: The Washington Examiner’s David Drucker profiles the rise of Miller Strategies’ Jeff Miller — the GOP fundraiser-turned-lobbyist whom Drucker calls “Washington’s new ‘Indispensable Man’” — which also includes some timeless fashion advice from a 26-year-old Kevin McCarthy . “Thirty years later, Miller is a connected Washington lobbyist with his own boutique firm, advising some of the most recognizable corporate brands in the United States — and a hard-charging Republican fundraiser and all-around GOP utility player.” — “In the 2020 election cycle, Miller, on a strictly volunteer basis, bundled more than $11.2 million for Donald Trump ’s reelection campaign and raised in excess of $100 million, combined, for the former president’s 2020 nominating convention and America First Action, at that time his designated super PAC.” — “There are few people in politics who have such a broad spectrum of knowledge. If I look back in time, maybe a [BGR Group founder and former Mississippi Gov.] Haley Barbour , who knows [the] ins and outs of politics and policy,” McCarthy told the Examiner. “But he’s also a uniter. It doesn’t matter what camp you’re in, Jeff is in that camp. Jeff is the one that everybody’s with. He’s never sitting on the sidelines.” | | | | CHECK OUT FDA TODAY: Daily regulatory developments, sent directly to your inbox. AgencyIQ's daily newsletter, FDA Today, provides readers with actionable and insightful explanations of the latest FDA developments impacting the life sciences industry. Sign up for free today. | | | | | PROGRESSIVES WANT DOJ NO. 2 RECUSED OVER ANTITRUST SLOT: “A coalition of 18 progressive groups is calling for Lisa Monaco, the newly confirmed No. 2 at the Justice Department, to be recused from future deliberations over who will head the department’s powerful antitrust division,” POLITICO’s Emily Birnbaum reports. — “The groups, including the Revolving Door Project and several digital rights nonprofits, argued that Monaco’s past consulting experience for Apple” as recently as last year at the law firm O’Melveny & Myers and her founding role at the consultancy WestExec Advisers, which has worked with Google, “should make her ineligible to participate in conversations about who will lead the division, which is tasked with overseeing large companies, including tech titans.” CHEMICAL PRODUCERS LAUNCHED LOBBYING, SPENDING BLITZ TO DEFEAT REGULATIONS: “The seven largest PFAS producers and their industry trade groups tallied at least $61m in federal political spending during 2019 and 2020, the bulk of which was directed at lobbying Congress and the Trump administration instead of campaign donations,” according to The Guardian’s Tom Perkins . “Loose campaign finance rules in the US make it difficult to know with precision exactly how much chemical companies spent lobbying on PFAS proposals and who they lobbied in Congress and at the EPA.” — “However, finance records broadly show that industry focused on killing multiple proposals that could’ve forced them to cover the astronomical costs for cleaning up widespread PFAS pollution. In other cases, proposed bills don’t present a serious threat to companies, and lobbying costs for those are largely ‘lobbyists running their meters to justify their existence,’ said Scott Faber, a lobbyist with the Environmental Working Group, which advocates for stricter regulations.” BEHIND THE ZUCKERBERG-COOK RIVALRY: The New York Times’ Mike Isaac and Jack Nicas have a great look at the frayed relationship of two of tech’s biggest names: “At the center of the fight are the two C.E.O.s. Their differences have long been evident. [Apple CEO Tim] Cook, 60, is a polished executive who rose through Apple’s ranks by constructing efficient supply chains. [Facebook founder Mark] Zuckerberg, 36, is a Harvard dropout who built a social-media empire with an anything-goes stance toward free speech. — “Those contrasts have widened with their deeply divergent visions for the digital future. Mr. Cook wants people to pay a premium — often to Apple — for a safer, more private version of the internet. It is a strategy that keeps Apple firmly in control. But Mr. Zuckerberg champions an ‘open’ internet where services like Facebook are effectively free. In that scenario, advertisers foot the bill.”
| | | | A message from the National Coalition For Accessible Voting:   | | |
| | | — The National Association of Automobile Dealers has promoted Paul Metrey to senior vice president of regulatory affairs and Doug Greenhaus to vice president of regulatory affairs. The trade association also promoted Ben Tesfazghi to senior manager of legislative affairs. — Nida Zaman has joined Wells Fargo as federal government relations director covering Senate Democrats. She most recently served as a leader in congressional relations in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. — Claire McAndrew is Waxman Strategies’ new vice president for health practices. McAndrew previously worked as director of campaigns and partnerships for Families USA, Morning Pulse reports. Zara Day also joined Waxman as a senior director. She was previously an associate policy director at Planned Parenthood. — Henry Young has joined the software trade group BSA as a director of policy focused on cybersecurity issues. He was most recently a senior policy adviser at the Commerce Department. | | | THE G TEAM (Greitens for U.S. Senate, Missouri First)
Win the West 2022 (Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.))
WISCONSIN SENATE FUND (Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Wisconsin Senate Republican Nominee Fund 2022, Strategy PAC, Republican Party Of Wisconsin) | | | Blue Faith PAC (Super PAC)
Californians Against Tyranny (PAC)
Carolyn Davis (Super PAC)
Medical Device Innovation PAC, a Political Action Committee of Smiths Group Services Corp (PAC)
MISSOURI FIRST (Leadership PAC: Eric Greitens)
Rebuild Minnesota PAC (PAC) | | New Lobbying Registrations | | Advocateus: Advocateus
Ben Barnes Group Lp: Planet Fitness Independent Franchise Council
Diroma Eck & Co. LLP: Castellum.Ai
Echelon Government Affairs: Catalyze Holdings
Envision Strategy: Boloro Global Limited
Foley Hoag LLP: Obvia Pharmaceuticals
Government Relations Group, LLC: Ancient City Brunch Bar
Government Relations Group, LLC: US Tech Homes
Joseph Huang-Racalto: Humanity United Action
Mayer Brown LLP: National Independent Talent Organization
Prime Policy Group: Burson Cohn & Wolfe On Behalf Of Astrazeneca Pharmaceuticals Lp
Tiber Creek Group: Cigna Corporation
Tiber Creek Group: Takeda Pharmaceuticals America, Inc.
Vnf Solutions, LLC: The St. Bernard Project | | New Lobbying Terminations | | Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Secure Democracy
Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Unitypoint Health
National Board For Certified Counselors: National Board For Certified Counselors
O'Rourke & Nappi, LLP: Regions Financial Corp.
US Policy Strategies: Lone Star North American Acquisitions, L.P.
US Policy Strategies: The Geo Group, Inc.
| | A message from the National Coalition For Accessible Voting: We call on the Senate to amend S.1 to protect voting options already available in 31 states and ensure that disabled voters are not left behind. The paper ballot mandate must include an exemption for voters with disabilities and other absentee voters covered under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act. Paper is not and cannot be accessible for all voters, especially blind and print disabled voters. The Senate should also expand the number of required accessible machines per polling place to provide a sufficient number of options and avoid segregating voters with disabilities. Lastly, we urge the Senate to direct the EAC to develop standards for remote, accessible ballot marking systems and increase funding for the research, development, and piloting of new, fully accessible voting systems. These changes will ensure that all voters, including those with disabilities, have equal access to the ballot box. Learn more here. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
