With Daniel Lippman
FIRST IN PI – MEHLMAN CASTAGNETTI ADDS LONG-TERM SENATE HAND: Rosemary Gutierrez, who left the hill last year after two decades, is joining Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas as headmistress. Gutierrez was most recently director of government affairs at health insurer Humana. She previously served as Assistant Chief of Staff and Legislative Director of Senate Commerce Chairwoman Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., For six years after serving for former Iowa Senator Tom Harkin for 19 years. Gutierrez said in an interview that she looks forward to working again on a wide range of topics and reuniting with former Senate colleagues including Steve Haro and Nichole Distefano. Harkin, who has known Gutierrez for decades, praised her in an interview and credits Gutierrez for legalizing several means and trade matters that continue to apply to this day. "I would say they'll have a great catch if they get Rosemary," he said.
BUSINESS AND WORK GROUPS CALL FOR TWO PARTISAN INFRASTRUKTURDEAL: More than two dozen corporate and worker groups today formed a new coalition aimed at helping the bipartisan group of infrastructure negotiators get their White House-endorsed framework across the finish line. "Upgrading infrastructure is a critical component of long-term economic growth and improved quality of life for every American," the aptly named coalition for bipartisan infrastructure investment said in a statement. The group called on the legislature to specify the framework with legal texts "in order to convert these promises into projects" and committed itself to "contribute to this crossing the finish line". The coalition also warned lawmakers, who could vote on the package in the Senate in just two weeks, "not to let non-partisan differences get in the way".
– Groups involved in the initiative include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, National Association of Manufacturers, AFL-CIO, National Retail Federation, North America's Building Trades Unions, American Society of Civil Engineers, No Labels, the non-partisan Policy Center, the American Trucking Associations, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, and the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, with the group expected to continue to grow. The group will focus solely on advancing the bipartisan framework for now – rather than passing a reconciliation bill that the Democrats want to pass together that could include trillions of dollars in additional spending and corporate tax hikes that many coalition members individually oppose.
Hello and welcome to PI. Send K Street Tips: (Email protected). And follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.
HUAWEI ADDS 2 FURTHER NEW OUTSIDE COMPANIES: Blacklisted Chinese telecommunications maker Huawei is continuing its lobbying work, with the company adding two more external lobbying firms for a total of four new companies since the beginning of June. The company has hired former Rep. Lee Terry and a former member of Special Counsel Ken Starr's Whitewater team, but two new records show that over the past three weeks the company has also hired Glenn LeMunyon, a former advisor to the former House GOP Whip Tom DeLay, and JS Helds Frank Holder and William Marquardt, who specialize in crisis management and investigations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. A source familiar with the matter said the company wants to have a strong initial relationship with Washington's new leaders.
The hiring comes as the device manufacturer's business has suffered a major slump as the Trump administration has banned US companies from working with Huawei and pressured other countries to take action against the company as well. The Biden administration is reviewing its predecessor's China policy, but named Huawei in an executive order last month that expanded the Trump administration's actions. In addition to the company's problems, its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou is fighting in the midst of the fight against extradition from Canada to the US on allegations of bank fraud and allegations that Huawei violated US sanctions against Iran.
AMAZON LOBBIES TO MAINTAIN R&D TAX MANAGEMENT: “When Amazon publicly welcomed President Joe Biden's plan to raise the corporate tax rate across the board, it campaigned for Congress to get a valuable tax break to help has to lower its corporate income tax, ”our Theo Meyer reports. Retail giant Jeff Bezos' founder, Jeff Bezos, earned acclaim earlier this year when he announced that Amazon would support a 'corporate tax hike' to pay for Biden's infrastructure package. His comments broke with most other American companies – the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable vehemently opposed such tax increases – and served as a rebuttal for critics who attacked Amazon for paying little to no federal income tax. Biden himself criticized Amazon's tax rate in the election campaign as too low.
– “But behind the scenes, Amazon and other companies have taken steps to keep their taxes from rising. And their efforts illustrate some of the invisible hurdles the Biden government faces in its efforts to generate more corporate tax revenues as it calls for a rise in the total corporate tax rate to fund its ambitious domestic agenda. "
– Last month, Amazon hired tax lobbyist Joshua Odintz, a former Democratic congressman and alum of the Obama administration, "to lobby for the section of tax law dealing with research and development tax deduction," aimed at corporations Incentives to shell out research and development through tax breaks for these expenses. A coalition of companies that are benefiting from the withdrawal, including Amazon, hired a team of "seasoned tax lobbyists at PricewaterhouseCoopers" earlier this year. The staff included a former senior advisor to the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell. The prints themselves are not at risk, but could "lose value over the next year if Congress does not act, which may explain why Amazon has chosen to step up its lobbying campaign."
DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK: "The collapse of Tony Podesta's $ 42 million lobbying and public relations firm in 2017 amid a federal investigation shook and poisoned K Street – a rare Democratic victim of the Trump scandals. Era. ”Podesta,“ long-standing oversized figure in the influence industry and Democratic fundraising, turned to his vast collection of modern art for comfort and income. But when the pandemic rocked the art market, he sold the Washington penthouse where he displayed and sold his collection and secured a loan from the government's paycheck protection program for troubled small businesses. And now he's playing with a return to the world of influence, he told Ken Vogel of the New York Times.
– "I don't want to restore what I had, but somehow I miss working, and art alone doesn't keep me going because I love politics," he told the newspaper. Podesta is now free from the investigation of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller into his lobbying activities in Ukraine, an investigation whose motives Podesta questioned, “claiming that he was at least partially targeted because the Special Counsel considered it a good idea held to have a Democrat, clearly. & # 39; "
– He "noted approvingly that the Biden Campaign and Democratic National Committee accepted a total of $ 2,750 in donations from him last year and that he was welcomed to a virtual fundraiser hosted by long-time campaign chairman Steve Ricchetti Friend, who once sold his lobby company to Mr Podesta was held. Mr. Ricchetti is now an advisor to Mr. Biden in the White House, while his brother Jeff Ricchetti, a former employee of Mr. Podesta's lobbying firm, has increased his lobbying income significantly. "
WHAT THE SAUDI ARE MOVING: "Saudi Arabia is funding an unannounced digital news platform that will have a studio in Washington, DC as the kingdom begins new lobbying for the White House and Congress," CNBC's Brian Schwartz reports. The project "is supported by a subsidiary of Saudi Technology Development and Investment Co. or Taqnia, as new foreign lobbying disclosures with the Justice Department show," and includes journalists who have worked with Fox News, Al., Jazeera, NBC and in the past SiriusXM radio.
– “The subsidiary supporting the initiative is Taqnia ETS, a company focused on engineering and technology services for Saudi Arabia. According to PitchBook, Taqnia is based in Saudi Arabia, which "prefers to invest in the life sciences and health, security and defense, information and communication technology, materials science, energy and environment, and water technology sectors." Taqnia's website says it is owned by the kingdom's $ 400 billion sovereign wealth fund, and documents filed with the DOJ say it is "monitored and funded by the Saudi Ministry of Information."
– Ryan Guthrie joined Chipotle after an 11 year career at Coca-Cola as Senior Director of Government Affairs, working with federal, state and local governments.
– Emily Tisch Sussman is now Senior Advisor to PL + US (Paid Leave US). She is a longtime Democratic strategist, host of the Your Political Playlist podcast, and is the Center for American Progress Action Fund and Swing Left alum.
– Ross Wallenstein founded Wall to Wall Communications where he is CEO. Most recently, he was Director of Communications for David Weprin's campaign for the NYC Comptroller and is also an alum of J Strategies and Marino.
– Matt Herrick joins the International Dairy Foods Association as Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications and Executive Director of the IDFA Foundation. Most recently he was communications director in the Ministry of Agriculture.
– Matt Cameron is now Head of Financial Services Policy at Notarize. Most recently, he was Deputy Director of Stakeholder Management for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
United Public Affairs has hired Erick Sanchez to lead mentoring and management for the NCAA NIL, a new role created in light of last week's new NCAA policy for student athletes. He previously advised the NCAA and was the traveling press secretary for Andrew Yang's presidential campaign.
– Emily Kilcrease has been named a Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy, Economic and Security Programs at the Center for a New American Security. Most recently, she was Deputy Deputy US Trade Representative.
– Karen Onaran joined the Electricity Consumers Resource Council as Vice President earlier this month. She was previously the director of federal affairs at the Edison Electric Institute.
None.
Coalition for America's Future (Super PAC)
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld: Attentive Mobile, Inc.
Altrius Group, LLC: Instituto Invertir Libertad
Atlantic Strategies Group: Neural Propulsion Systems Inc.
Bracewell LLP: The Renewable Natural Gas Coalition
Capitol Decisions, Inc .: Third Horizon Strategies
Capitol Tax Partners, LLP: Downtown Detroit Inc
Dla Piper LLP (USA): Illumina, Inc.
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Forethought Advisors, LLC: Clark Hill, Plc on behalf of the City of Baltimore
Greenberg Sad, LLP: Celdara Medical, LLC
Hartwell Capitol Consulting: Medical Care of Sli
Hobart Hallaway & Quayle Ventures, LLC: Exxon Mobil Corporation
Holland & Knight LLP: K&L Gates on behalf of Clark Street Associates Obo Lattice Semiconductor
Holland & Knight LLP: K&L Gates on behalf of Clark Street Associates on behalf of Kepler Computing
Holland & Knight LLP: K&L Gates on behalf of Clark Street Associates on behalf of Qorvo, Inc.
Jacqueline S Gillan: Truck Safety Coalition
J. S. Held, LLC: Huawei Technology USA, Inc.
King & Spalding LLP: Becton, Dickinson and Company
Lemunyon Group, LLC: Huawei Technologies USA Inc.
Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, Inc .: Anduril Industries, Inc
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP: National Association of Wholesalers and Dealers
Platinum Advisors Dc, LLC: Beta Technologies, Inc.
Prime Policy Group: Cobalt Institute
Proventure Consultants LLC: Cerfe Labs
Putala Strategies: Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
Sb Strategic Consulting, Inc .: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
The Bennett Consulting Group: Metalcraft
The Bennett Consulting Group: Port Passport
The Bennett Consulting Group: Texas Water Trade
The Madison Group: Vive Concierge
The Raben Group: Roberts Enterprise Development Fund
The Raben Group: campaign by the women's donor network
Ward And Smith, P.A .: Brunswick County
Wynne Health Group: Cohere Health
Wynne Health Group: Phreesia, Inc.
Bernstein Strategy Group: International Society for Technology in Education
Cartemcclean LLC: Blackberry (formerly known as Athoc)
Cassidy & Associates, Inc .: Excela Health
Cassidy & Associates, Inc .: Northern Arizona University Foundation
Clark Street Associates: Western Digital
Croissance International Consulting: Augustin Saint Clou
Dentons US LLP: Alcoa Corporation
Dentons US LLP: Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum
Holland & Knight LLP: Ashland Inc.
Holland & Knight LLP: East-West Bank
Madison Associates, LLC: Psychological Science Association
Madison Associates, LLC: Hepatitis B Foundation
Madison Associates, LLC: Institute for Hepatitis and Virus Research
Madison Associates, LLC: National Peace Corps Association
Madison Associates, LLC: Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center of Bucks County
Madison Associates, LLC: Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System
Pace, LLP: Advanced Telesensors, Inc.
Prime Policy Group: Avista Universal Environmental Services
Smith Dawson & Andrews: Re-Synth International
South River Advocacy: Oops
The Prenda Group LLC: American cleaning company