| | | | | |  | | By Caitlin Oprysko | Presented by Coalition for App Fairness | With Daniel Lippman TWO LONGTIME SENATE STAFFERS DEPART FOR K STREET: Longtime staffers on the Senate Appropriations and Senate Commerce committees are leaving the Hill for K Street. Scott Nance , who's served on the Appropriations Committee's Homeland Security Subcommittee for nearly two decades, will join boutique lobbying firm A1.9 Strategies as a vice president. — Nance, who worked for current House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer prior to his time in the Senate, said in an interview he expects to work on many of the same issues under the Homeland Security spending panel's purview — such as aviation and maritime security, cybersecurity and border issues — though he said that he didn't want to pigeonhole himself. "It's been a fabulous career working for some wonderful senators," Nance told PI. "But after 21 years it was time, in my mind, for a new challenge, and I'm looking forward to it." — His appropriations expertise will be well matched at A1.9, which is led by Michael Higdon, a former chief of staff and appropriations staffer for Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), the first chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Homeland Security and current ranking member on the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee. — Meanwhile, another top Democratic aide on the Senate Commerce Committee is departing for the private sector. Shawn Bone , who's worked as a telecom attorney for the committee for almost a decade, is joining Verizon as its director of federal regulatory public policy, where he will lead its broadband efforts as Congress prepares to invest billions of dollars into broadband expansion, POLITICO's John Hendel reports for Morning Tech. — "His departure will coincide with the exit of John Branscome, who served as the top Democratic staffer on Senate Commerce's telecommunications subcommittee and will join Facebook's federal policy team next month," John writes. "Branscome and Bone frequently tag-teamed some of the biggest tech and telecom issues facing the panel, and they'll now be formidably connected advocates for two of the mightiest industry giants their bosses oversaw." Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Got some juicy K Street or reconciliation gossip? Let's hear it: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko. | | | | A message from Coalition for App Fairness: For too long, app stores have abused their power to throttle competition and innovation and stifle consumer choice and freedom in the digital marketplace. The bipartisan Open App Markets Act would rein in these gatekeepers and the unfair and anti-competitive practices running rampant in app stores today to make a freer, fairer, more competitive app economy of tomorrow. | | | U.S. TO LIFT TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS FOR VACCINATED FOREIGNERS: "The U.S. will lift air travel restrictions for foreign nationals who are fully vaccinated, with the Biden administration targeting early November for foreign travel to resume for the first time in more than a year," POLITICO's Oriana Pawlyk and Kate Day report, a move that was cheered by the travel industry, which had pushed for clawing back the restrictions for months. — "This is a major turning point in the management of the virus and will accelerate the recovery of the millions of travel-related jobs that have been lost due to international travel restrictions," Roger Dow, the head of the U.S. Travel Association, said in a statement. Dow gave a shout-out to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in particular for working with the industry on a path to resume international travel. — The decision was also hailed by other industries that have been gutted by the pandemic and the absence of international tourism over the last year and a half. Sean Kennedy, the top lobbyist at the National Restaurant Association, who said in an interview earlier this summer that the resumption of international travel was one of many policy changes the industry is pursuing, noted in a statement that the restrictions will allow "fully-vaccinated tourists to return to American soil just in time for the holidays." — He added that the trade association would like to see the changes extended to U.S. land borders, which still remain closed for all but essential travel. "Across the industry, travel and tourism makes up nearly 25% of sales dollars. For cities that attract international tourism, until global travel fully resumes, industry recovery will be hamstringed," he said. BROWNER JUMPS TO COVINGTON: Carol Browner , the former EPA administrator and top Obama White House aide, is joining law and lobbying firm Covington & Burling's ESG practice in Washington. Following her time as director of the White House's Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy, Browner joined the consulting firm Albright Stonebridge Group as a senior counselor. — "What we're seeing … is that more and more businesses [are] stepping up and providing real leadership" and working to address climate issues, Browner said in an interview. While "a lot of companies have been doing this for a while," Browner said there's "a new sense of urgency and commitment that we're seeing." — Though she registered to lobby earlier this year on Covington & Burling's behalf for the South Korean company SK Innovation, Browner said at the time the registration was out of an abundance of caution to represent that specific client on a trade issue. She told PI today that she doesn't "intend to be registered as a lobbyist writ large" as she works at the intersection of business and policy, but would register when the law requires. | | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down and who really has the president's ear in West Wing Playbook, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | ANNALS OF THE REVOLVING DOOR: "The largest U.S. accounting firms have perfected a remarkably effective behind-the-scenes system to promote their interests in Washington," report The New York Times' Jesse Drucker and Danny Hakim: "Their tax lawyers take senior jobs at the Treasury Department, where they write policies that are frequently favorable to their former corporate clients, often with the expectation that they will soon return to their old employers. The firms welcome them back with loftier titles and higher pay, according to public records reviewed by The New York Times and interviews with current and former government and industry officials." — "From their government posts, many of the industry veterans approved loopholes long exploited by their former firms, gave tax breaks to former clients and rolled back efforts to rein in tax shelters — with enormous impact. — In two instances highlighted by the Times, "after lobbying by PwC , a former PwC partner in the Trump Treasury Department helped write regulations that allowed large multinational companies to avoid tens of billions of dollars in taxes; he then returned to PwC. A senior executive at another major accounting firm, RSM , took a top job at Treasury, where his office expanded a tax break in ways sought by RSM; he then returned to the firm. Even some former industry veterans said they viewed the rapid back-and-forth arrangements as a big part of the reason that tax policy had become so skewed in favor of the wealthy, at the expense of just about everyone else. President Biden and congressional Democrats are now seeking to overhaul parts of the tax code that overwhelmingly benefit the richest Americans." DEM DRUG PRICING PLAN IN TROUBLE: "The pharmaceutical industry is on the verge of defeating a major Democratic proposal that would allow the federal government to negotiate drug prices," The Hill's Karl Evers-Hillstrom reports. "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) can afford only three defections when the House votes on a sweeping $3.5 trillion spending package, but Reps. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) and Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) last week voted to block the drug pricing bill from advancing out of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) voted against advancing the tax portion of the legislation in the House Ways and Means Committee. — "All told, the number of House Democrats who have concerns about the drug pricing bill is in the double digits, and several Democrats in the 50-50 Senate would not vote for the measure in its current form, according to industry lobbyists." (One of those, per POLITICO's Laura Barrón-López, is Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema). "You're going to see something pass, but it probably won't be H.R. 3 (117)," a lobbyist who represents pharmaceutical companies told The Hill. ARNOLD & PORTER ADDS 4: Arnold & Porter's legislative and public policy group has added four new lobbyists. Vincent Brown, a former counsel to Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on the Senate Rules Committee and a legislative staff alum for Stacy Abrams in Georgia, will be an associate. Haley Nicholson, a former Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) staffer most recently with the National Conference of State Legislatures, will be a policy adviser. Scarlett Bickerton and Peter Duyshart have also joined as policy specialists. CORRECTION: Friday's edition of Influence misstated John Wood's role on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. PI regrets the error. | | | |   | | | | | | — Mimi Braniff is now head of U.S. policy and deputy D.C. office manager for ExxonMobil. She most recently was managing director at Delta Air Lines. — The National Association of Latino Elected Officials Educational Fund has named Mario J. Beovides to be director of policy and legislative affairs. He previously served as director of policy initiatives at NALEO Educational Fund, leading the organization's work on diversity and inclusion in the federal workforce. — Jeff Murray is now a senior manager at Google, leading policy for the search ecosystem. He previously was a vice president at the Interactive Advertising Bureau, and is a Ted Cruz and Jim DeMint alum. — Jasmine Hooks is joining SKDK as deputy chief operating officer. She previously was chief operating officer in Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's office. | | | | Be a Policy Pro. POLITICO Pro has a free policy resource center filled with our best practices on building relationships with state and federal representatives, demonstrating ROI, and influencing policy through digital storytelling. Read our free guides today . | | | | | | | | EDW Hold the House Fund (Friends of Barbara Sharief for Congress, Elect Democratic Women) | | | Additive Approach (Super PAC)
Freedom Defense PAC (Super PAC)
Restore Our Freedom PAC (Hybrid PAC)
Sylvamo Corporation PAC (PAC) | | New Lobbying Registrations | | Brimley Group Inc.: American Civil Liberties Union
Ferox Strategies: Bexar County
Ferox Strategies: Intuit Inc.
Ferox Strategies: Maze Environmental
Ferox Strategies: Reynolds
Ferox Strategies: The Coalition To End Double Taxation Of Consumer Claims
Fti Government Affairs: Ocugen, Inc.
Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C.: Alabama Department Of Transportation
Miller & Chevalier, Chtd.: Jinkosolar (U.S.) Inc
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP: Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Subject Matter (Fka Elmendorf Ryan): Menlo Micro | | New Lobbying Terminations | | Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.: Intuit, Inc.
The Ob-C Group, LLC: Everytown For Gun Safety Action Fund (Formerly Mayors Against Illegal Guns)
| | | | A message from Coalition for App Fairness: Lack of Competition Hurts Security and Consumer Choice
· Consumers purchase and own their devices — they should have the right to use them as they wish.
· The Apple App Store will still exist. But with more competition, consumers will have options - they can continue to use the app store that gives them the best experience.
· Allowing alternative app stores on iOS devices or offering the same access on iPhones as Apple already does on Macs, would give users more choice and force Apple to compete to provide the best service and security.
· App store gatekeepers feel no competitive pressure to improve security — because there is no alternative.
Competition and choice would make devices more secure. #OpentheAppStore with the Open App Markets Act. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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