Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Limo owners fly in

Delivered daily, Influence gives you a comprehensive rundown and analysis of all lobby hires and news on K Street.
Apr 26, 2023 View in browser
 
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By Caitlin Oprysko

With Daniel Lippman 

LIMO OWNERS FLY IN: The trade group representing the limousine industry hit the Hill today to rally opposition against New York’s congestion pricing proposal to increase tolls on drivers entering central Manhattan at peak times and urge lawmakers to require fairer treatment from airports for limo drivers and chauffeurs.

— The National Limousine Association said it was slated to meet with more than two dozen offices on the Hill today, including that of New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, to discuss the New York proposal and future congestion pricing plans, in addition to tax issues impacting “the small businesses that power the chauffeured transportation industry.”

— Members of the trade group are also calling for new grant assurances in the upcoming FAA reauthorization to protect ground transportation providers from being charged what the industry says are disproportionate fees by airports for access or being relegated to “less convenient curb real estate for arbitrary reasons.”

— The association’s fly-in kicked off with a fundraiser last night at the Wharf and a speech from Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), a vocal opponent of congestion pricing who last month launched a bipartisan congressional caucus to urge the Biden administration to reject the proposed tolling system, which would fund capital improvements for the MTA.

ALSO FLYING IN: The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the union that represents American Airlines flight attendants, was also on the Hill this week to raise a number of workforce issues with lawmakers, including providing a debrief on ongoing contract negotiations and understaffing issues associated with the post-Covid air travel rebound.

— Flight attendants met with Senate offices in the 10 states where American Airlines is based, in addition to House offices for members in districts with more than 200 members, and also urged the passage of legislation that would establish a federal no-fly list for people convicted of assaulting flight crews.

— The International Franchise Association, meanwhile, was on the Hill today with McDonald’s mascots Ronald McDonald and Grimace to mark the relaunch of the Congressional Franchise Caucus. Caucus co-chairs Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), a former McDonald’s franchisee, Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.), Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) and Gottheimer cohosted the event — which included food from McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Dunkin’ and also featured representatives from The Little Gym and GymGuyzand lit up Twitter.

Happy Wednesday and welcome to PI. Send any hot lobbying gossip you pick up during parties this week: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

 

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 our West Wing Playbook newsletter, 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.

 
 

KING, MURKOWSKI TEAM UP ON SCOTUS ETHICS BILL: “Sens. Angus King (I., Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) introduced a bipartisan bill Wednesday that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to create its own code of conduct within a year, following media reports that raise questions about whether Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch properly disclosed their financial activities,” The Wall Street Journal’s Lindsay Wise and Jess Bravin report.

— “The King-Murkowski bill is more modest than legislation introduced in February by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I.) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D., Ga.), which in addition to requiring the court to adopt a code of conduct would tighten disclosure and recusal requirements for justices and for interest groups that file briefs with the court. It also would establish an investigative board made up of the chief judges of each circuit to review complaints against justices.”

— “With Mr. Whitehouse’s bill having no Republican co-sponsors, Sens. King and Murkowski said their more targeted legislation might have greater chances of passage in a deeply divided Congress, where few issues can attract bipartisan support. ‘How are we going to make sure that, to the fullest extent possible, this is not viewed as a partisan hit?’ Ms. Murkowski said. ‘I think that a more narrow approach … is one that will garner more bipartisan support for this.’”

WALL STREET NEEDLES WHITE HOUSE OVER M&A SLUMP: “Wall Street dealmakers have dialed up their complaints to the White House over the last year as the administration's top antitrust enforcers — FTC Chair Lina Khan and DOJ antitrust head Jonathan Kanter — knuckle down on merger activity they say would damage the economy,” Biden officials and financial industry executives tell our Josh Sisco and Sam Sutton.

— “One senior administration official — who was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations with business leaders — told POLITICO that they view the objections as a sign that Biden’s competition policy and staffing choices are working.”

— “The volume of M&A activity has fallen sharply over the last year and dealmakers say the effect of President Joe Biden’s antitrust crackdown has also been felt in ways that won’t show up in the data. It’s not just the deals they attempt to stop — it’s the deals that never get proposed to a corporate board, for fear of having to subject their transactions to combative regulators.”

— “In the last two years, a string of high profile transactions have been abandoned after being challenged by the government. … And some companies are sometimes willing to sell at a lower price if they believe a higher offer will raise a deal’s profile and generate greater regulatory risk, according to one banker focused on the technology sector, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.”

— Recent years’ low interest rates and federal stimulus made for cheap financing that fueled scores of deals. But that “critical lubricant to deal pipelines for large corporations and private equity shops … dried up as Khan and Kanter began cracking down.”

WHAT HOUSE REPUBLICANS ARE READING: “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce pitches itself as representing the interests of millions of businesses of all shapes and sizes. But lately its funding has been largely fueled by donors who have given at least $1 million to the lobbying giant,” CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reports.

— “The chamber’s 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization raised just over $93 million in 2021 from donors who gave $1 million or more,” according to a new study from the watchdog group Public Citizen. “Just 1.4% of the donations that year ‘provided more than a quarter of the Chamber’s itemized contributions,’ according to the study. The business lobby group raised $197 million in 2021.”

— According to the group’s analysis of the Chamber’s 2021 tax returns, the Chamber “brought in 18 contributions from those who donated anywhere from $2 million to over $4 million. The report says that the group raised around $54 million from those big-money contributors alone. … The data proves the chamber focuses more of its advocacy on big business and not necessarily small businesses, said Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president at Public Citizen.”

— “Kasper Zeuthen, a spokesman for the group, told CNBC the vast majority of the organization’s members are small businesses. ‘The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s governing board consists of small business owners, the heads of state and local chambers of commerce, mid-size businesses, and representatives of some of the nation’s most successful companies,’ Zeuthen said in an email.

— “‘As we have for over a century, the Chamber represents the depth and breadth of the American business community. And like America, the vast majority of our members — 90% — are small businesses and state and local chambers of commerce,’” Zeuthen continued, calling small businesses “strongly engaged” with the business lobby.

BIDEN’S BUNDLERS' BIND: Puck’s Teddy Schleifer gamed out the state of Biden’s fundraising operation as the president formally jumps into his reelection bid, writing that in addition to fretting that the 2024 election won’t feel as urgent as the last time around, Biden’s team faces several other hurdles.

— “A recession looms, key donors still feel like they haven’t been thanked for 2020, and some of Biden’s biggest fundraisers have been scattered to diplomatic postings around the world, taking them off the bundling chessboard.”

— Meanwhile, he reports, at a recent DNC donor retreat, “bundlers were told to expect the need for Biden and his allies to raise at least $2 billion, all told and across all groups, to win in 2024. That figure struck several people as a lowball. Biden, of course, has never been a particularly energetic fundraiser himself, raising the stakes for whomever will be tasked with overseeing the necessary campaign infrastructure.”

Jobs Report

Jeffrey Himstreet joined the Managed Funds Association as vice president and senior counsel for regulatory affairs. He previously was vice president and corporate counsel for PGIM Fixed Income.

Meredith Happy is now press assistant for Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). She previously was an account associate at Subject Matter.

— The Diesel Technology Forum has added Kara Gundel as senior director of public policy. She was most recently owner of the Gundel Group.

CURA Strategies has hired Stephanie Wight and Preston Knowles as vice presidents of media relations and digital marketing, respectively. Wight most recently led media efforts for JPA Health and Knowles served as vice president of paid media at Weber Shandwick’s Resolute Digital.

Chris Cox and Chasen Bullock have launched Caliber Contact, a direct mail and comms firm for Republican candidates, GOP-aligned groups and corporations. Cox is currently president of Capitol 6 Advisors and is a former executive director of the NRA, and Bullock will be the political director for Capitol 6 Advisors and is a Rand Paul alum.

Emily Benavides is joining P2 Public Affairs as senior vice president. She most recently was communications director for former Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

Jake Brennan is now associate director of congressional affairs at the American Osteopathic Association. He previously was a senior associate at Avalere Health.

Joe Reilly has joined Troutman Pepper’s consumer financial services practice group as a partner. He most recently practiced at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.

Jamie Simpson is now chief policy officer and counsel at the Council for Innovation Promotion. She previously was chief counsel for the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet.

Monica Venzke is now deputy press secretary at American Bridge 21st Century PAC. She previously was deputy communications director at the New Hampshire Democratic Party and is a Biden 2020 alum.

Elizabeth Busby has joined Twitch as senior communications manager of trust and safety, per Morning Tech. She formerly worked in communications at Twitter.

 

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New Joint Fundraisers

Biden Action Fund (President Joe Biden, DNC SERVICES CORP / DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE)
FREEDOMWORKS VICTORY 2023 (FREEDOMWORKS PAC, Reps. Byron Donalds, Mark Green, Kevin Hern, Nancy Mace, Thomas Massie, Chip Roy, David Schweikert, Michael Hoover for Senate, Joe Kent for Congress, Vote Greg Wheeler)
Gaetz Kent Joint Victory Committee (Rep. Matt Gaetz, Joe Kent for Congress)
Schiff Victory Fund (Rep. Adam Schiff, Frontline USA)

New PACs

Overair, Inc. Political Action Committee (Overair PAC) (PAC)

New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: People Center Inc.
Andreae & Associates: Reusable Packaging Association
Avenue Solutions: Letsgetchecked Inc.
Butler Snow LLP: Chambers County Development Authority
Daniel Consulting: B.S.D. Capital, Inc. Dba Lendistry
Federal Hall Policy Advisors, LLC: Vantagescore Solutions, LLC
O'Keeffe Shahmoradi Strategies, LLC: Charleston County Aviation Authority
O'Keeffe Shahmoradi Strategies, LLC: Iontra
Squire Patton Boggs: Cma Cgm (America) LLC/Advocacy
Subject Matter: Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Inc.
Summit Strategies Government Affairs LLC: Metropolitan Youth Symphony

New Lobbying Terminations

Acg Advocacy: Delaware County Community College
Capitol Hill Consulting Group: Hp, Inc.
Capitol Hill Consulting Group: The St. Joe Company
Ms. Marilyn Park: Afge National Va Council
O'Keeffe Shahmoradi Strategies, LLC: Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport
O'Keeffe Shahmoradi Strategies, LLC: U.S. Chamber Of Commerce
Summit Strategies Government Affairs LLC: Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Pc On Behalf Of The The Ritescreen Company
Venn Strategies: Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner LLP

 

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