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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 SO CONCERTGOERS WON’T HAVE A CRUEL SUMMER: A pair of New Jersey congressmen have introduced a revamped version of their bill to reform ticket marketplaces in honor of the pop star whose ongoing tour reignited Washington’s fury toward ticketing giant Live Nation. — The Better Oversight of Stub Sales and Strengthening Well Informed and Fair Transactions for Audiences of Concert Ticketing — or BOSS and SWIFT — Act from Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) and House Energy and Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) sets out new transparency requirements for primary ticket sellers and secondary sellers alike including all-in pricing requirements that stakeholders across the industry have called for, as well as prohibitions on so-called speculative ticket sales. — The measure is named for Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift, the latter of whose tour stops in Pascrell’s district this weekend. The botched presale for Swift’s tour last fall renewed scrutiny on Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster, whom Pascrell has long criticized. Senate bills introduced this year have taken aim at ticketers’ dealings with venues or broader issues of price transparency, but Pascrell and Pallone’s bill appears to be the most comprehensive set of proposed tweaks to the consumer-facing events ticket marketplace introduced since the Swift fiasco. — Previous iterations of Pascrell’s bill directed the FTC to issue rules on price transparency in ticket marketplaces and aimed at cracking down on ticket resellers and bots, but the latest version puts forth its own rules for the industry and includes new protections for consumers on both the primary and secondary marketplace. — “The recent experience of Taylor Swift fans being locked out of her tour is not new and Swifties are just the latest victims of Ticketmaster’s policies and a broken market,” Pascrell said in a statement. “A fan shouldn’t have to sell a kidney or mortgage a house to see their favorite performer or team. At long last, it is time to create rules for fair ticketing in this country and my legislation will do exactly that for all the fans.”
| | | | GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE. | | | | | Happy Thursday and welcome to PI. You don’t want all that good downtown gossip burning a hole in your pocket over the upcoming holiday weekend. Unburden yourself ahead of time: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko. VIRGINIA DEMS SWING BACK AT DCA PERIMETER PUSH: More than a dozen members of Virginia, Maryland and D.C.’s congressional delegations pushed back on Wednesday against the revived effort by their colleagues, airlines and regional business groups to slot more long-haul flights out of Reagan National Airport. — “No Member of Congress appreciates another representative meddling with the assets in their state or district,” the lawmakers, who include Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.), Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) wrote in a letter to House Transportation leaders Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Rick Larsen (D-Wash.). “We, too, strongly oppose any attempts by other Members and special interest groups to dictate operations at these airports for their own personal convenience at great cost to our communities and constituents.” — The perennial lobbying campaign is once again picking up ahead of this year’s FAA reauthorization, and is being spearheaded by the Delta Air Lines-backed Capital Access Alliance. The coalition wants Congress to expand the number of flights that can land or take off from DCA beyond the restricted perimeter of 1,250 miles, arguing the status quo “is making air travel longer and more expensive, while also harmful to businesses and the environment.” — The DMV lawmakers argued that adding new exemptions to or expanding the perimeter, which was put in place decades ago in part to boost Virginia’s Dulles International Airport, could further strain DCA’s resources while undermining federal funding for projects to improve Dulles or compromise safety. “Our priority should be the safety and efficiency of flights, not the personal convenience of a comparatively small number of powerful and well-connected individuals,” they said. FUELS INSTITUTE REBRANDS: Transportation energy think tank Fuels Institute announced today that it has rebranded as the Transportation Energy Institute. The nonprofit was founded a decade ago by the National Association of Convenience Stores and publishes research on transportation fuels and consumers. — The group, which has received funding from the oil and gas industry as well as the convenience store and retail industry and automakers, has since launched an Electric Vehicle Council focused on the transition to electrification. But the head of the institute said in a statement that the rebranding is meant to reflect back the group’s broadened interests. — “The transportation industry itself has evolved and the term ‘fuels’ has come to be viewed by many key stakeholders as not as inclusive as it once was,” executive director John Eichberger said of the term’s association with liquid sources of energy. The name change, he added, aims to “ensure our research is being received as a valuable resource by all decision makers as we continue to evolve and explore new avenues of global initiatives that impact both the consumer and industry objectives.” HOW TO COW THE HOSPITAL LOBBY: “At a waterfront concert in one of this city’s swankiest neighborhoods, rappers Busta Rhymes and Fat Joe interspersed their hits about love, wealth, and wild parties with mini-lectures about hospitals’ high prices. It was a nostalgia-fueled rager — but it was also a not-so-subtle effort by a billionaire to convince Congress and other policymakers to crack down on the commanding sway of the hospital industry,” writes STAT’s Rachel Cohrs. — “The extravagant party … was the brainchild of Cynthia Fisher, a wealthy entrepreneur and political donor. She’s married to Jim Koch, the billionaire founder and chairman of the brewer of Samuel Adams beer. She recruited Fat Joe to the cause — as well as NASCAR great Richard Petty and actress Susan Sarandon.” — “Fisher is one of a small club of wealthy philanthropists using unorthodox tactics — and piles of cash and connections — to mount a campaign to rein in hospital prices. They’re buying Super Bowl ad spots, bringing celebrities to Capitol Hill, bankrolling research at reputable institutions, and financing small advocacy groups across the country.” — The effort appears to be paying off, and it’s got the powerful hospital lobby on notice. “So far this year, key committees in the House of Representatives have held half a dozen hearings examining the community benefits nonprofit hospitals provide, interrogating hospital markets, and considering aggressive legislation that would force hospitals to share their prices and change how they get paid by Medicare.” WHO HOLDS THE KEYS TO AI RULES: “As Congress and the White House struggle to find their way on regulating artificial intelligence, one power base is stepping up,” our Mohar Chatterjee and Brendan Bordelon write: the tech industry itself. — “On Thursday, Microsoft president Brad Smith hosted a high-profile event at Planet Word with a gaggle of D.C. lawmakers to roll out his company’s proposal for how Washington should regulate the fast-moving technology. Two days earlier, Google’s Sundar Pichai published an op-ed about how building AI responsibly was the only race that mattered.” — “The industry efforts come amid a wave of concerns over the rapidly developing technology, with some worrying it could deepen existing societal inequities or, on the extreme end, threaten the future of humanity. With Congress unlikely to move quickly, the White House recently called in the industry’s top CEOs and pushed them to fill in the blanks on what ‘responsible AI’ looks like.” — While some lawmakers appear comfortable with the level of industry involvement in crafting rules to police itself, “the companies shrug off the idea they’re in control: In a conversation with reporters after the event, Smith rejected the notion that Microsoft, its corporate partner OpenAI, or other leading companies are ‘in the driver’s seat’ when it comes to federal AI rules." ANNALS OF THE REVOLVING DOOR: “The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has allowed one of the nation’s largest wholesale drug distributors to keep shipping highly addictive painkillers for nearly four years after a judge recommended it be stripped of its license for its ‘cavalier disregard’ of thousands of suspicious orders fueling the opioid crisis,” according to The Associated Press’ Jim Mustian and Joshua Goodman. — “The DEA did not respond to repeated questions from The Associated Press about its handling of the case against Morris & Dickson Co. or the involvement of a high-profile consultant the company had hired to stave off punishment and who is now DEA Administrator Anne Milgram’s top deputy.” — “But the delay has raised concerns about how the revolving door between government and industry may be impacting the DEA’s mission to police drug companies blamed for tens of thousands of American overdose deaths.”
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The Covid-19 pandemic helped spur innovation in health care, from the wide adoption of telemedicine, health apps and online pharmacies to mRNA vaccines. But what will the next health care innovations look like? Join POLITICO on Wednesday June 7 for our Health Care Summit to explore how tech and innovation are transforming care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the United States. REGISTER NOW. | | | | | | | | SPOTTED at the International Code Council’s Building Safety Month reception at their new D.C. office, per a tipster: Naveed Jazayeri of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Lauren Gros, Alexa Williams, Logan Ferree and Michael Bauman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Brett Mattson of the National Association of Counties, Butch Browning of the National Association of State Fire Marshals, Matthew Young of ASHRAE, Emily Feenstra and Martin Hight of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Michael Armstrong and Josh Batkin of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, Justin Wiley of the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance, Thad Huguley of the International Association of Emergency Managers, Velma Smith of the Pew Charitable Trusts, Kate Zyla of Georgetown University’s Climate Center, Dan Kaniewski of Marsh McLennan, Harold Chase of NSF, Blake Nanney of the American Institute of Architects, Victor Stagnaro of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, Todd Sims of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, David Maurstad and John Ingargiola of FEMA, Lake Coulson of the National Association of Home Builders, Natalie Enclade of the BuildStrong Coalition, JQ Yuan of the National Institute of Building Sciences, Christopher Perry of the Department of Energy, and hosts Dominic Sims, Michael Wich, Gabe Maser, Ryan Colker, Aaron Davis, Karl Fippinger and Lisa Berger of the International Code Council. — And at a reception hosted by Forbes Tate Partners on Wednesday honoring leaders of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community, per a tipster: Oliver J. Kim of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Neal Patel of Alpine Group, Allison Dong of Sen. Mike Braun’s (R-Ind.) office, Stephanie Penn and Tiffany Ge of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office, John Lin of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Chris DeVore of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, Jacob Choe of the Eurasia Center, Andrew Hu of Bipartisan Policy Center Action, Tori Miller, Jennifer Yoo, Jessica Williams, Kelsey Chan, Eliza Green, Liz Gonzalez, Alekhya Tallapaka, Libby Greer, Andres Ramirez and Arthur Sidney of Forbes Tate. — The Independent Petroleum Association of America has hired Beth Stockner as its senior director of marketing, programs and development. She was previously communications director for the Virginia Oil and Gas Association. — The Organic Trade Association has hired Joelle Mosso as senior director of technical and regulatory affairs and Scott Rice as director of regulatory affairs, per Morning Ag. Mosso previously worked for Eurofins Scientific and Rice hails from the Washington State Department of Agriculture Organic Program. — Mansoor Abdul Khadir and Michael Pauls Jr. have joined the Internet & Television Association as associate vice president of external affairs and vice president of government relations, respectively. Khadir was most recently director of special projects at the DNC and Pauls was most recently senior director of government affairs at USTelecom. — Harrison Wollman is now a director at the Levinson Group. He previously was press secretary for former LA Mayor Eric Garcetti. — Nathaly Arriola Maurice has founded her own firm, Operativo, and is leading a forthcoming organization that will run accountability campaigns advocating on behalf of Latino communities. She previously was special assistant to the president and director of partnerships at the White House. — Rachael Shackelford is now senior communications adviser for the SBA. She previously was a director at SKDK and is a CNN alum. — Andrew Morley is now senior government relations manager at Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions. He previously was a legislative assistant and director of energy and natural resources policy for Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.).
| | | JUSTICE VICTORY COMMITTEE (Jim Justice for U.S. Senate, NRSC)
TEAM DESANTIS 2024 (Ron DeSantis for President, Great American Comeback)
| | | | GREAT AMERICAN COMEBACK (Leadership PAC: Ron DeSantis)
The KING Group PAC (Hybrid PAC)
Loyal Americans Raising Standards of Excellent for the Nation PAC (Leadership PAC: Flemming Larsen)
National Public Opinion (Super PAC)
| | New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS | | Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Pc: Heraeus Incorporated
Crossroads Strategies, LLC: Biobot Analytics, Inc.
Crossroads Strategies, LLC: Cohnreznick LLP
Crossroads Strategies, LLC: Kazmira LLC
Crossroads Strategies, LLC: Lifescience Logistics
Datavant Inc.: Datavant Inc.
Irrigation And Electrical Districts Association Of Arizona, Inc.: Irrigation And Electrical Districts Association Of Arizona, Inc
Mz Advising, LLC: Hpe Clothing
North South Government Strategies F/K/A Jdm Public Strategies, LLC: Sage Chemical, Inc
Razom, Inc.: Razom, Inc.
Squire Patton Boggs: Acronis Scs Inc.
William Schmidt: Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation
Wise Capital Strategy, LLC: Southeast Strategies Consulting LLC
| | New Lobbying Terminations | | Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP: Sigma-Aldrich Corporation
Tiber Creek Group: Tenable, Inc. | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
