With Daniel Lippman FORMER AG CHAIR REGISTERS TO LOBBY: Mike Conaway, the former chair of the House Agriculture Committee, has registered to lobby for the first time since leaving office last year, according to lobbying disclosures filed this week. He, former chief of staff Scott Graves and Matt Valesko will lobby for the Association for Digital Asset Markets, a crypto industry group that bills itself as devising standards for digital market participants, on "legislative framework and regulatory issues" surrounding cryptocurrencies, according to the disclosures. — Conaway and Graves stood up their lobbying firm, Conaway Graves Group , shortly after the Texas Republican left Congress last year, and his registration, effective Feb. 7, comes after Graves' required one-year "cooling off" period that ended in January. The hire by ADAM, its first, comes as Ag committees on the Hill have sought a larger role in oversight of the burgeoning crypto sector for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees the derivatives market that encompasses some digital assets and which the Ag committees have jurisdiction over. — Conaway is not the only former lawmaker on K Street to register for the first time in recent lobbying disclosures. Lobbying filings from late last week show that former Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.) has registered to lobby as part of a team from Bradley Arant Boult Cummings for Enviva, a company that produces wood pellets to be burned as fuel and bills itself as an alternative to coal. Happy Friday and welcome to PI. Have a lobbying tip? Get in touch: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.
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THEGROUP RAISING CASH FOR DEMOCRATS: TheGROUP D.C., the lobbying firm that's seen its business boom thanks to its ties with Democratic leaders in Washington, is planning to host several fundraisers this spring for Democratic lawmakers, including some of the top leaders of Democrats' endangered House majority, according to invitations for the events obtained by PI. — Later this month the firm is set to raise money at a breakfast for Sen. Chris Van Hollen(D-Md.) and a lunch benefiting Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) at its Pennsylvania Ave. headquarters. The firm is also planning fundraisers for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) later in the spring, it said. CARLISLE TO STEP DOWN AS NDIA CHIEF: "Herbert 'Hawk' Carlisle, the president and CEO of the National Defense Industrial Association, is resigning amid a clash with the organization's board over the direction of the group," he told POLITICO's Lee Hudson in an exclusive interview. "Carlisle announced to staff on Friday that he was stepping down, and plans to leave April 1. A special committee is being formed to identify his successor." — "In a statement on his departure, Carlisle thanked the organization and said it had been 'an honor and a privilege' to lead the group. He did not give a reason for his resignation. But in a follow-up interview with POLITICO, Carlisle said he's leaving due to disagreements with Board Chair Arnold Punaro and Vice Chair Michael Bayer over how the organization should be run. Carlisle declined to specify what those differences were. 'For the good of the organization and the membership' it was time to bow out, Carlisle said." — As Lee notes, Carlisle's "resignation comes amid a time of unusual upheaval among defense trade associations. One week ago, POLITICO reported that some members of the Aerospace Industries Association are frustrated with the leadership of President and CEO Eric Fanning, following a series of policy losses in the first year of the Biden administration."
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ROYCE, BEGICH PUSH FOR EXPANDED ACCESS TO SEIZED AFGHAN MONEY: Former House Foreign Affairs Chair Ed Royce and former Sen. Mark Begich are lobbying lawmakers to turn up the pressure on the White House to revise a recent executive order from President Joe Biden so that more victims of terrorism and their families will have access to billions of dollars in seized money from Afghanistan's central bank during its takeover by the Taliban. — Biden's executive order last month would allow for a federal judge in Manhattan to distribute $3.5 billion in seized funds to victims who had sued the Taliban for damages after the 9/11 attacks. In a letter to the Hill this week, Royce and Begich, now lobbyists at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, argued that Biden's order means that the money only be available "to a small, select group of victims" and in doing so the order "ignored the will of Congress," in creating the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund to compensate both non-9/11 and 9/11 victims of state-sponosored terrorist attacks at home and abroad, and which has guardrails that seek to ensure compensation is awarded equitably. — The result is that "you could have two victims on the same floor [on] 9/11, sitting with desks next to each other, and because of because of the way that this is being handled, because there wasn't reference in the executive order of this going through … the Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund … you now have a free for all, basically" Royce argued in an interview. Royce and Begich warned their former colleagues that a judgment on the money could come as soon as Monday. SILICON VALLEY CATCHES A BREAK... SORTA: "The U.S. tech giants are in an easier position than many other global businesses as pressure intensifies for corporations to sever ties with Russia over the war in Ukraine — and there's a simple reason why," POLITICO's Emily Birnbaum reports: "When it comes to money, Apple, Amazon, Meta and Google have relatively little on the line." — "The Russian market amounts to only a tiny fraction of the tech companies' overall annual revenue, in contrast to oil, defense and financial services companies that stand to lose huge revenue streams and vital partners as they ax projects in Russia this week. Apple, Google, Meta and Netflix combined would lose between 1 percent to 2 percent of their multibillion-dollar revenues if they were to remove all of their services from Russia, according to an analyst estimate. Amazon's presence in Russia involves limited use of its cloud services." — "That's not to say that it would be a simple decision for them to leave Russia entirely. Many of the tech companies face complex ethical and reputational questions about free expression as they deliberate pulling powerful communication platforms that are used as much by dissidents and news outlets as by the Russian state. While many of the companies have cut off Russian state media and advertising, so far Apple is the only one to shut down major operations in Russia. — "Still, the financial dynamics provide a rare opportunity for the American tech companies to appease policymakers around the world, including in the U.S. and Europe, without seriously hurting their bottom lines." ANNALS OF LOBBYING FOR LOBBYING: "After two years of pandemic- and insurrection-related security restrictions, some lobbyists are putting their advocacy skills toward an effort to reopen the legislative buildings widely to tour groups and lobbying coalitions," Roll Call's Kate Ackley reports. — "The National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics , which represents lobbyists, is putting together a letter to House and Senate letters to be delivered Wednesday, said the group's founder, Paul Miller. He declined to say how many lobbyists or lobbying groups had signed but said: 'It's a good number.' — "'The country has reopened, and businesses have employees back in the office,' a draft of the letter states. 'Sporting and concert venues have opened for live events. And, with restaurants trying to make a comeback, we would urge Congress to do the same and reopen to the people without appointments starting July 11, 2022. What better message to send to the public that we are turning the corner on two years of very difficult and challenging times for this country than by announcing that Capitol Hill is again open to the public.'" — The timing could be ripe, as Ackley notes, with President Joe Biden calling for "a greater return to normalcy, including among federal workers, in his State of the Union address this week," the same week the House lifted its mask requirement that has been in place for the better part of two years. "Currently, lobbyists may conduct in-person meetings on Capitol Hill, so long as a congressional aide signs them in and escorts them around the buildings. Rules are especially strict on the House side, said Miller, a partner with the firm Miller Wenhold Capitol Strategies." SPOTTED at a fundraiser this week for Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), who could be the next House Ways and Means chair if Republicans retake the House, hosted by Ballard Partners, per a tipster: Ballard's Brian Ballard, Syl Lukis, Pam Bondi, Dan McFaul, Justin Sayfie, Dave Karvelas, Tola Thompson, Rebecca Benn and John O'Hanlon; Ryan Weston of the Florida Sugar Cane League, Todd Neville and Carlton Devooght of Flagler Health +, Sean Pugh of Amazon, Phil Musser of Nextera, Rich Haselwood of Reynolds, Joe Wall of Goldman Sachs, Tara Engel of Pernod Ricard, David Winter and David Millstone of Standard Industries, Patrick Kilcur of Motion Picture Association of America, Kent McClure of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Hunter Moorhead of Crossroads Strategies, Jordan Karem of AppHarvest , Ryan McCormick of Real Estate Roundtable, Rob Gabbert of Space PAC, Ananth Prasad of ARTBA.
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— Shipt is adding Chasseny Lewis as director of federal affairs and Justin Hyer as head of the state and local government affairs for the Western region. Lewis most recently was chief of staff for Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). Hyer previously was senior vice president of government relations for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. — Lot Sixteen has added Geof Koss and Alissa Ohl Koay as vice presidents, Ayla O'Scannell Solorio as a director, and Maggie Delaney, Kate Chuirazzi and Olivia Medina as associates. — Noah Hammes has joined CRD Associates as a policy associate, advising clients in the public health, patient advocacy, and technology spaces. He joins from behavioral health consulting firm Advocates for Human Potential. — Jessica Brousseau is now chief of staff to Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist. She most recently was senior deputy director of federal affairs for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. — Michael Gruber is joining the Household & Commercial Products Association's executive leadership team as senior vice president of government relations and public policy, Playbook reports. He previously was vice president of public policy at the Consumer Brands Association, and is a Hill alum. — Scott Farnin will be legal counsel at Better Markets. He previously was financial services counsel for Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio).
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