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Presented by the American Property Owners Alliance: Delivered daily, Influence gives you a comprehensive rundown and analysis of all lobby hires and news on K Street. | | | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | Presented by |  | | | With Daniel Lippman FEC STRUGGLING TO KEEP UP WITH CAMPAIGN SPENDING SURGE WITH ‘STATIC’ BUDGET: The gush of money flowing into federal elections continues to pose an issue for the FEC, whose annual budget has failed to even keep up with inflation over the past few decades, the agency’s watchdog said in a report Friday. — “Total spending on federal election campaigns has increased from $1.6 billion in 1998 to roughly” $14 billion last year, the semiannual report from inspector general Christopher Skinner reads. “However, the FEC’s budget has remained largely static over the past decade or more (and even decreased when accounting for inflation). That dynamic has placed great strain on the FEC staff and creates significant risks to the FEC.” — Skinner also cited the lack of resources in a review of congressional Democrats’ landmark election reform bill, H.R. 1 (117) , writing that while proposals to change the agency’s oversight of inaugural committees would bring that oversight “more in line with that of political committees,” lawmakers “should also consider whether additional oversight measures warrant the appropriation of additional personnel, information technology, and other resources for the FEC in light of the strain already placed on the FEC staff” because of budget constraints and the surge in campaign spending. — Among the agency’s other challenges were its lack of a quorum for a large part of last year, which tied the agency’s hands when it came to enforcement, the pandemic and cybersecurity. FLYING IN (VIRTUALLY): The Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance, a new group formed earlier this year to help amplify the needs of the business events industry, is kicking off its first virtual fly-in today, when attendees will hear from Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Reps. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) and Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.). On Wednesday, the group will meet with even more members of Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who the coalition will push to support an industry recovery bill, S. 477 (117). Good afternoon and welcome to PI , and to JUNE! How’d that happen? Huge thanks to Theo for filling in for me so I could help my best friend get married and watch my brother become a doctor. What’d I miss in the meantime (aside from no infrastructure deal)? Fill me in: coprysko@politico.com. You can also follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko. | | | | A message from the American Property Owners Alliance: The American Property Owners Alliance is a nonpartisan organization that protects the dream of property ownership. Backed by 10 million advocates, we are committed to expanding, amending, and introducing federal policy that protects property owners and their interests. June is National Homeownership Month, and we’re celebrating the value of home all month long. Learn more about our commitment to protecting the interests of a diverse group of property owners and expanding opportunities for future homeowners. | | | GREAT NEWS: Former senator and presidential nominee turned lobbyist Bob Dole, who announced in February that he’d been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, is doing “very well,” he told CBS Sunday Morning’s Rita Braver in an interview that aired this weekend. — “But I have to keep in mind, I'm also going to be 98 in July, so I'm getting to be a senior citizen,” he quipped, adding that he doesn’t “intend to go quietly” and hopes to make it to 100. Dole was listed on Alston & Bird’s first quarter lobbying report for the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, though that encompasses time prior to Dole beginning treatment. AHIP REBRANDS: America’s Health Insurance Plans, which represents nearly every major health insurance provider in the country, unveiled a brand refresh today, its first since the 2003 merger between Health Insurance Association of America and the American Association of Health Plans. — The trade group, which dropped more than $12 million on lobbying last year according to disclosures, will now go only by AHIP and features a new tagline to represent how “the health insurance provider of today looks very different from what it looked like 20 years ago – going well beyond just insurance to fighting for health equity, addressing SDOH, and offering other health care services,” David Allen, the group’s communications director, said in an email. — “A lot has happened in health care in 20 years,” Allen wrote, noting that the Affordable Care Act “completely altered the business of health insurance providers” and prompted a shift in the industry from a business to business focus to business to consumer. | | | |   | | | WHO WAS REACHING OUT TO FAUCI LAST SPRING: Anthony Foxx, former President Barack Obama’s second Transportation secretary who now works for rideshare giant Lyft as its chief policy officer, was among those scrambling last spring for the ear of the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, Anthony Fauci, amid the chaotic federal pandemic response, according to a cache of emails obtained by The Washington Post’s Damian Paletta and Yasmeen Abutaleb. — In a message on April 27, Foxx emailed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, to ask for help “in advising the transportation community about how to manage through the present crisis,” especially as some areas were beginning to loosen public health restrictions. Foxx told Fauci a 10-15 minute Q&A could be “valuable” and “do wonders” in getting “important information out” to rideshare companies, transit agencies, airlines and the like. Neither Lyft nor Fauci’s office responded to questions from PI about whether any such briefing materialized. — Other Fauci correspondents include Bill Gates and a top executive at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as the medical director of the National Football League Players Association, a documentary filmmaker working on a Bob Iger-backed Fauci biopic, the Milken Institute’s Mike Milken and Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.). CHAMBER LAUNCHES PUSH TO FILL JOB HOLES: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Commerce Foundation kicked off a new initiative today aimed at mobilizing businesses and policymakers to address what Chamber CEO Suzanne Clark described as an "urgent" worker shortage crisis. The push will be “Operation Warp Speed for Jobs,” she said in a statement, a reference to the Trump administration’s efforts to fast track Covid-19 vaccines during the height of the pandemic. — The initiative, dubbed “America Works,” includes a suite of legislative and regulatory priorities ranging from immigration and visa reform to employer training and education programs and expanding access to childcare. | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that 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 in 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. | | | | | LOBBYISTS RACE TO PRESERVE — OR TANK — PANDEMIC-ERA RULES: “From margaritas-to-go to marijuana deliveries to virtual doctor visits, the pandemic prompted states to ease rules to make life at home more bearable,” POLITICO’s Dan Goldberg and Sam Sutton report. “But the looming end of emergency orders has teed up a lobbying frenzy in state capitals to make these Covid-era conveniences permanent fixtures in American life.” — That and “the adjournment of most state legislatures in the coming weeks” are “fueling a sense of urgency to codify pandemic rules before lawmakers skip town for the year. ‘It is becoming a race against the clock,' said Mike Whatley, vice president for state and local affairs for the National Restaurant Association, which is supporting 17 bills that allow restaurants to serve alcohol-to-go across five states. 'What happened in the last 15 months would have taken years.' — “Industry representatives and lobbyists for restaurants, telehealth providers and medical marijuana agree this year has been one of the busiest and most successful legislative sessions they’ve ever seen,” and are coming to lawmakers armed with polls showing widespread support for the laxed rules. But there are “also concerns that lawmakers are moving too quickly with little regard for the long-term repercussions.” ICYMI — WALL STREET RUNS INTO SKEPTICISM IN WASHINGTON ON EXPANDING BITCOIN ACCESS: “Major financial industry players including Fidelity Investments and Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital are pressing the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve their plans to launch funds on public stock markets that would let small investors tap into the rise of Bitcoin prices,” POLITICO’s Kellie Mejdrich reported over the weekend. — “Firms are pouring money into lobbying to shape regulation and to convince skeptical policymakers that digital currency is viable for wider adoption for the masses. But lobbyists face an uphill battle that has gotten even tougher after dramatic price swings in recent days, with Bitcoin plunging nearly 40 percent since early May. The investor risks are building on broader concerns about whether cryptocurrency fuels money laundering, aids tax evaders and could threaten the safety of the financial markets themselves if broadly adopted.” | | | — Cory Bythrow has been promoted to be chief of staff to American Federation of Government Employees. He most recently was the deputy chief of staff at the union. — PepsiCo’s Kenny Thompson has been promoted to vice president of external affairs for North America. He was most recently head of external affairs and was one of the Biden transition’s liaisons to the private sector, as well as a former Biden aide. — Dominic Carr will be vice president of communications at Lyft, Playbook reports. He is currently vice president of public affairs at Microsoft. | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO WEST WING PLAYBOOK: Add West Wing Playbook to keep up with the power players, latest policy developments and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing and across the highest levels of the Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | None. | | | America Strong and Free PAC Inc. (PAC)
Conservative Hope (Super PAC)
Democratic Action PAC, Inc. (Super PAC)
GEN NOW PAC (PAC)
Meet in the Middle for America (Super PAC)
Urban Green PAC (Hybrid PAC) | | New Lobbying Registrations | | Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz /The Daschle Group: American Health Care Association
Bell & Lindsay, Inc.: Adagio Therapeutics, Inc.
C.A.R. Consulting Services: Food Fix Campaign
Collier Collective, LLC: New Venture Fund
Delta Development Group, Inc.: Innovative Manufacturers' Center
Insight Public Affairs, Inc.: Library Futures Foundation
K&L Gates LLP: Nextdecade Corporation
Kountoupes Denham Carr & Reid, LLC: America's Health Insurance Plans Obo Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing
Liberty Partners Group, LLC: Medtronic (Cardiovascular Coalition)
Mike Williams Capitol Strategies LLC (F/K/A Mw Capitol Strategies LLC): Steptoe & Johnson LLP On Behalf Of Gas Technology Institute
Mr. Matthew Mcgovern: Maybell Quantum Industries
Reston Strategy Group, LLC: Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc.
The Cormac Group, LLC: City Of North Miami Beach | | New Lobbying Terminations | | Bastien, Goldstein, & Blackthorne Group: Bgb Group
Federal Management Strategies, Inc.: National Education Association
Frinzi & Associates: Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo
Kutak Rock LLP: City Of Cedar Rapids
Kutak Rock LLP: City Of Omaha
Kutak Rock LLP: City Of West Des Moines Iowa
Kutak Rock LLP: Ne Enterprises
Kutak Rock LLP: Sarpy County, Nebraska
Kutak Rock LLP: Satellite Communications For Learning Inc
Law Office Of Adele L. Abrams Pc: American Society Of Safety Professionals (Fka Amer Society Of Safety Engineers)
Muliufi (Mufi) Francis Hannemann: American Samoa Government
Porter Group, LLC: Nevada System Of Higher Education (Nshe) | | | | A message from the American Property Owners Alliance: Property ownership is essential for strengthening communities. At 10 million advocates strong, the American Property Owners Alliance is committed to expanding federal policies that support homeownership. We are a nonpartisan ally who provides the information you need to make informed policy decisions that protect current owners and remove barriers to homeownership.
During National Homeownership Month in June, we are empowering current and aspiring homeowners to advocate for policies that address the unique challenges faced by homeowners. Learn more about our efforts to protect the dream of property ownership. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
