With Daniel Lippman MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE TO SETTLE PPP CLAIM: The Middle East Institute plans to settle a lawsuit alleging the think tank obtained a pandemic relief loan under the Paycheck Protection Program for which it was not actually eligible, according to court filings unsealed last week (h/t our Kyle Cheney). The Zionist Advocacy Center, a litigious pro-Israel advocacy group run by attorney David Abrams, brought a qui tam, or whistleblower, complaint in December 2021 under the False Claims Act to challenge a $359,000 PPP loan MEI received earlier that year. — The filings remained under seal for more than two years while the government weighed intervening in the case. Last week, the Justice Department finally filed a notice of its intent to do so, telling a federal judge in D.C. that the parties involved “have reached a settlement-in-principle” that is being finalized. — The details of the settlement have yet to be disclosed. In its initial complaint, TZAC asked for a judgment of a little over $1 million — a portion of which it would receive for filing the qui tam suit. Abrams declined to comment on the suit, and a spokesperson for MEI did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. — Eligibility criteria for the PPP, which was created in the early days of the pandemic to help small businesses stay afloat but has been racked with fraud, were tweaked in early 2021 to exclude lobbying or political firms and think tanks. In applying for its PPP loan in February of that year, MEI falsely certified that it was eligible for the loan, which was forgiven in October 2021, according to the lawsuit. — MEI isn’t the only firm facing consequences for PPP’s political prohibition. In December, PR firm MikeWorldWide, run by Democratic fundraiser Michael Kempner agreed to pay back $2.3 million in PPP loans that it was ineligible for due to being a registered foreign agent. The Institute for Policy Studies reached a deal in June to pay more than $500,000 to settle a lawsuit that was also brought by TZAC alleging fraudulent receipt of a PPP loan. — TZAC’s involvement in the two suits involving think tanks is especially interesting in light of the Gaza war. The group has historically challenged the tax exempt status or federal funding to nonprofits and other organizations that have done charitable work with Palestinians, including Doctors Without Borders. — TZAC briefly registered under FARA for work on behalf of an Israeli funded legal group submitting reports “regarding terrorist connection to financial services firms and prosecuting authorities” and investigating “various anti-Israel and anti-Semitic activity in or concerning the United States,” according to DOJ filings. — The Institute for Policy Studies has long been critical of Israel, while MEI has received funding in recent years from the governments of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Libya, according to disclosures — all of whom, with the exception of the UAE and Bahrain, still have no diplomatic relations with Israel. Happy Monday and welcome to PI. Send lobbying tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on the platform formerly known as Twitter: @caitlinoprysko. HOUSE APPROPS AIDE DECAMPS FOR K STREET: Austin Agrella is heading to the private sector after close to a decade working on the Hill and executive branch, joining the Aquia Group as a principal. Agrella most recently worked for the House Appropriations Committee, serving as the oversight director and parliamentarian under Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas) and as a senior adviser to Granger. — Before that, he held a number of roles related to telecom and cybersecurity policy, including on the House Homeland Security’s cybersecurity subcommittee, as a special assistant to former President Donald Trump, at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and with former Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), who served on a number of cyber-focused committees. THE NEW FRONTIER: “A promotional ad campaign for the U.S. dairy industry in the 1990s posed the question, ‘Got Milk?’ — and quickly entered the cultural zeitgeist. Now, industry groups promoting U.S. agriculture are trying to replicate that phenomenon, using social media platforms to woo a new generation of consumers,” our Marcia Brown and Hailey Fuchs report. — “Some of their latest ads show women marathoners boasting about chocolate milk’s recovery drink status on TikTok and cattle ranchers joyously sharing their land with rock climbers on Instagram. A young woman, dancing to pop tunes, appears shocked to hear that pork has mood-boosting powers.” — “The new wave of social media is resurfacing longstanding concerns about the organizations that created them — promotional groups managed by government-appointed boards, paid for with hundreds of millions in government-mandated fees on farmers and overseen by officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.” — “Known as ‘checkoff programs,’ they have faced criticism about accountability and efficacy, as well as doubts about the federal government’s role in promoting meat, dairy and other agricultural products to consumers.” — “Watchdog groups and some farmers argue that the programs amount to government-funded lobbying arms that prioritize industrial agriculture, and don’t really help small farmers who underwrite them. They also say the programs push messaging that run counter to the U.S. government’s nutritional and environmental goals.” — “Critics of the programs, which are authorized by Congress, are now looking to the next farm bill, due later this year, as a way to rein in these groups’ activities,” but their defenders argue that “checkoffs fulfill their mission to boost sales, fund research on their food’s benefits and combat what they see as misinformation.” DEPT. OF ODD BEDFELLOWS: “The Biden administration and the pharmaceutical industry are battling over drug prices in Washington and courthouses around the country. But in the international arena, they’re united in an effort to block developing countries from access to U.S. firms’ patented information on vaccines and drugs when the next pandemic hits,” our Carmen Paun writes. — “U.S. negotiators working on a global treaty that aims to guide the world’s response whenever a new deadly pathogen emerges have rejected proposals to loosen patent protections, a step that could enable developing countries to quickly make their own versions of the vaccines and drugs.” — “For those countries and their advocates, it’s a striking stance — given what happened after Covid arrived: They shared data about new variants only to see the rich world hoard most of the vaccines.” CONGRESS COMES TO AM RADIO’S DEFENSE: “A motley crew of AM radio advocates, including conservative talk show hosts like Hugh Hewitt and federal emergency officials, are lobbying Congress to stop carmakers from dropping the old medium from new vehicles,” The Wall Street Journal’s Julie Bykowicz and Ted Mann write. — “Lawmakers say most car companies are noncommittal about the future of AM tuners in vehicles, so they want to require them by law to keep making cars with free AM radio. … The legislation has united lawmakers who ordinarily want nothing to do with one another. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) are leading the Senate effort, and on the House side, Speaker Mike Johnson — himself a former conservative talk radio host in Louisiana — and progressive ‘squad’ member Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan are among about 200 co-sponsors.” — Meanwhile the National Association of Broadcasters “has produced ads and briefed radio personalities about the issue, and more than 400,000 listeners have emailed, called or sent social-media messages to their lawmakers,” according to Curtis LeGeyt, its president. “Hewitt, a radio host since 1990, said he talks about the bill on the air and mentions it at every event he attends, often shocking people who had no idea in-vehicle AM radio is fading away.” — “Tiffany Moore, senior vice president of political and industry affairs for the Consumer Technology Association, said automakers and tech advocacy groups have told lawmakers that an AM radio requirement would be ‘inconsistent with the principles of a free market,’” and “Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), as he blocked passage of the Senate bill in December, noted the irony of Republicans like Cruz arguing for government mandates on private business.”
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