HOSPITALITY SECTOR PRESSES FOR RESTAURANT AID: Nearly two dozen trade groups representing various sectors of the bar and restaurant industries are continuing to keep pressure on lawmakers to include additional pandemic assistance in a forthcoming spending package, despite the White House's bearish attitude on the need for more federal help for the industry. — On Thursday the National Restaurant Association, Independent Restaurant Coalition, Distilled Spirits Council, Wine Institute, Beer Institute, American Distilling Institute, U.S. Bartenders Guild, Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, National Beer Wholesalers Association and more are promoting a #HelpHospitality day of action, urging advocates to reach out to their representatives in Congress and express support for refilling the coffers of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. — The National Restaurant Association is still pressing for help on a different front as well. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig today, the national organization along with all of its state affiliates asked for relief from enforcement of tax penalties stemming from the IRS' paperwork backlog. — According to the association, 83 percent of restaurant operators who applied for the Covid-era Employee Retention Tax Credit "more than six months ago say they have not received any funds," an issue "compounded by a loss of their normal tax deduction for payroll in their 2021 tax filing. This creates a cash flow crisis as the restaurant will owe more in taxes due to a refund it has not received." EVERYONE'S GOT A PODCAST THESE DAYS: Campaign finance nerds itching for some new content to add to the Spotify queue can rejoice, because Jan Baran, the so-called "dean of campaign finance" and a partner at Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky has launched a podcast. The show, called "Early Returns," will "spotlight players on the field, including political professionals, activists, election officials and lawyers, eliciting their insights and personal experiences, as well as tackling current controversies in law and politics." The first episode, available now, features no better inaugural guest to chat about campaign finance: FEC Chair Allen Dickerson. TECH ALLIES LEAN ON NATIONAL SECURITY IN OPPOSING ANTITRUST BILLS: "Big Tech's numerous allies in Washington are repeating a similar message as they lobby lawmakers to abandon antitrust legislation: The U.S. needs tech giants at full strength to counter China, Russia and other threats to national security," The Hill's Karl Evers-Hillstrom and Chris Mills Rodrigo report. — "The last-ditch effort comes as the Senate gears up to consider the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, a bipartisan bill that would prevent dominant digital platforms from favoring their own services and empower antitrust enforcers to scrutinize the largest tech firms. Despite making it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a bipartisan 16-6 vote, the legislation targeting America's largest tech companies faces an uphill battle." — But several lawmakers who've expressed concerns about voting to pass the bill on the floor as-is "specifically expressed concern that stopping tech giants from self-preferencing could unintentionally advantage America's adversaries. Russian aggression in Ukraine has only reinforced those industry talking points among lawmakers who are fearful of impending cyber conflicts with Russia and China, according to tech allies." — "'When you're talking about a geopolitical conflict, all of a sudden the terms of the debate change, both for the Democrats and the Republicans. There's an ongoing shift as people grapple with the magnitude of the global tensions,' said Michael Mandel, chief economist at the Amazon- and Meta-backed Progressive Policy Institute , which opposes the antitrust bill. 'You don't want to be in a position of disassembling your strongest tech companies at the same time you're fighting a tech war.'" WHAT FEC FILINGS CAN TELL US ABOUT 2024: "Most politicians with national ambitions are playing coy about running for president in 2024," POLITICO's Elena Schneider and Scott Bland report. "But behind the scenes, Republicans are on a quiet and unprecedented spending spree to build the foundations for potential national campaigns." — "A half-dozen potential GOP candidates, most of whom won't be on the ballot in 2022, still spent more than $1.4 million each on email list rentals, digital consulting and online fundraising in 2021, according to a POLITICO analysis of campaign finance disclosures. Some were building an online base from scratch, while others were expanding on existing programs. But all of them are already running a race to build the type of fundraising base that can sustain a national campaign and test their appeal to a national audience." — "The prime example is Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), whose campaign committee spent a whopping $13.6 million overall in 2021 — more than almost every senator running for reelection in 2022, even though Cruz's seat isn't up for two more years. At least $3.3 million of that went into digital services, while Sen. Josh Hawley's (R-Mo.) campaign spent $1.7 million online last year. Two PACs started by contenders currently out of office, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, spent $2.4 million and $1.4 million online, respectively." DEMS REJECT FOX NEWS CASH: "Something must be screwy when politicians — some of whom will beg, plead, and even mislead in a quest for money — reject campaign contributions," Insider's Dave Levinthal writes. But that appears to be exactly what's happened — "five Democratic congressional committees appear to have together rejected $12,500 in donations from Fox PAC, the political action committee run by Fox News' parent company, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission." — "Fox PAC reported 'void' a $5,000 contribution it made on December 20 to Democratic Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont, who's running for an open US Senate seat in his home state. It likewise reported that a $1,500 contribution it made three days later to Democratic Rep. Lizzie Fletcher of Texas was 'void' — although it told federal regulators that it 'reissued' the contribution on February 9." — "Three other Fox PAC campaign contributions from late 2020 — $2,500 to Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York, $2,500 to Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, and $1,000 to former Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, who's now a senior advisor to President Joe Biden — also fell fallow. The reason offered for each: 'expired check.'" — "Representatives for Fox PAC and the Democratic political committees did not respond to Insider's inquiries. Despite Fox News' reputation for catering to conservatives, Fox PAC's contributions of late are decidedly bipartisan." CHASING EQUITY: The top lobbying group for the drone industry announced a rebrand today as the trade association seeks to promote gender inclusivity. The formerly named Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International is dropping the "unmanned" and other gender-specific terms in its name, governing documents, and association language, the group said, and will now go by the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International. — It's also launching a diversity, equity and inclusion advisory group that will be led by Mignonne Hollis. "In this groundbreaking industry, we know that inclusivity accelerates innovation," Hollis said in a statement. This isn't the first name change for AUVSI. When the trade group was first formed, it went by the National Association for Remotely Piloted Vehicles before switching to its previous name in 1978.
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