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July 12th, 2010 by Elise
Robert Burley has been named executive vice president for Direct Impact. Burley previously served as a senior external affairs adviser and practice leader for government and media relations for Royal Dutch Shell.
Eric Eikenberg, Gov. Charlie Crist’s (I-Fl.) former chief of staff and Senate campaign manager, has joined Holland & Knight’s public policy and regulation practice.
Fred Humphries, Microsoft Corp.’s top federal lobbyist, was named vice president of U.S. government affairs for the software giant.
Lindsay A. Punzenberger has been hired as an assistant vice president at Venn Strategies LLC.
Alex Slater has left The Glover Park Group after 10 years to join the communications firm SKDKnickerbocker as managing director of its expanded corporate, advocacy and crisis communications practice.
Jordan Stoick has been hired as vice president of Direct Impact. He was communications director for Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).
Tags: Alex Slater, Direct Impact, Eric Eikenberg, Fred Humphries, Holland & Knight, Jordan Stoick, Lindsay Punzenberger, Microsoft Corp., Robert Burley, SKDKnickerbocker, The Glover Park Group, Venn Strategies
Posted in Industry Moves & Changes | Comments Off
July 12th, 2010 by Elise
Mark Clack is a new senior vice president at Cassidy & Associates. He was a senior adviser assisting foreign countries with U.S. relations at KRL International.
Gordon Johndroe, former deputy White House press secretary has joined APCO Worldwide as a vice president of government relations in Washington.
Marne Levine, former White House economic adviser, was hired by Facebook to be its new vice president of global public policy. Tim Sparapani will remain as director of Facebook’s DC office in charge of outreach to Congress and the federal government.
Singleton McAllister, Weldon Rougeau and Ronald Thomas II have joined Blank Rome’s government relations group as well as its subsidiary, Blank Rome Government Relations. The trio joins from LeClairRyan.
Jim Ray has been hired as a senior adviser at Venn Strategies LLC.
James P. Moore Jr. has been hired as a senior counselor at APCO Worldwide, where he will also be a member of the company’s international advisory council.
Tags: APCO Worldwide, Blank Rome, Cassidy & Associates, Facebook, Gordon Johndroe, James P. Moore, Jim Ray, Mark Clack, Marne Levine, Ronald Thomas II, Singleton McAllister, timothy sparapani, Weldon Rougeau
Posted in Industry Moves & Changes | Comments Off
July 12th, 2010 by Elise
Matthew Berger has been appointed vice president of tax for the National Multi Housing Council. He had been economist and press secretary for the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
Timothy Cost is the new global chairman of health care and executive vice president of APCO Worldwide. Most recently, he had been senior vice president of corporate affairs for Wyeth, a global health care company.
Mary Langowski is now with the health care group at DLA Piper. Langowski was formerly a senior public policy adviser at Alston & Bird.
Stephanie Lundberg has joined Burson-Marsteller as manager of its issues and crisis group. Lundberg was House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s (D-Md.) former press secretary.
Jason Meath is now president of advocacy and advertising for Xenophon Strategies. Meath spent the past eight years with the Stevens & Schriefer Group.
Chelsie Redalen has been promoted to director of government relations for the National Pork Producers Council. Redalen was deputy director of government relations.
Brian Vanderbloemen is now vice president of federal public affairs at McGuire Woods Consulting.
Tags: APCO Worldwide, Brian Vanderbloemen, Burson-Marsteller, Chelsie Redalen, DLA Piper, Mary Langowski, McGuire Woods Consulting, National Pork Producers Council, Stephanie Lundberg, Timothy Cost, Xenophon Strategies
Posted in Government Relations Alert, Industry Moves & Changes | Comments Off
July 12th, 2010 by Elise
The public corruption statute, which has been used by the federal government to prosecute lobbyists in the Jack Abramoff case (among myriad other bribery and kickback cases), was narrowed in definition by the Supreme Court on June 24.
The decision, according to Roll Call, “limit[s] the use of a public corruption statute known as the ‘honest services’ law to only those cases involving bribery or kickback schemes.” The Court decided on three separate cases: Skilling v. United States, Black v. United States, and Weyhrauch v. United States. According to Covington & Burling, a DC law firm, the fraud statute is now “co-extensive with existing bribery and kickback statutes, meaning that the Government will need to prove that gifts, political contributions, or other things of value were provided to federal officials as a quid pro quo for specific official acts.”
Judge Ellen Huvelle, US District Court for the District of Columbia, ordered the re-trial of former Abramoff associate Kevin Ring to be delayed until October, citing the Supreme Court decision in Skilling as narrowing the scope of the applicable statute under which Ring was charged. But the Department of Justice isn’t changing their approach to prosecuting Ring, who was mis-tried in the fall and re-scheduled for trial this summer. Ring’s prosecution is for a bribery scheme. Federal prosecutor Peter Koski said the high court’s ruling in Skilling v. United States has “no impact whatsoever” on Ring’s prosecution.
Because the prosecutor must now prove specific quid pro quo actions in order to correctly use the Honest Services Fraud statute, Huvelle told prosecutors that they must outline specific official actions and their intended outcomes in the next few weeks; she also ordered Ring’s attorneys to file a new motion to acquit.
Roll Call article is here; Covington & Burling update is here. (PDF) See our previous post on Skilling, et. al, here.
Tags: bribery, Bruce Weyhrauch, Conrad Black, Covington & Burling, honest services, Jeffrey Skilling, Kevin Ring, kickbacks, lobbyists
Posted in Government Relations Alert | Comments Off
July 9th, 2010 by Elise
 UFO Lobbyist seeks to bring extra-terrestrial issues to the forefront of Congress’s legislative schedule.
How sweet it is: honey lobbyists ask the FDA for national purity standards as a method of trade protection. (Washington Post)
Publicly-financed elections come to the fore-front. The Washington Post reports on Common Cause and Public Campaign’s effect to pass the Fair Elections Now Act.
People seem to be endlessly fascinated by the fact that Facebook has a DC lobbying presence. Maybe it’s because they’re spending all day on Farmville? (The Hill, subscription required).
DISCLOSE Soldiers On. The Democrats are hopeful that they’ll get their pet campaign finance issue through the Senate within a reasonable time-frame. (Roll Call, subscription required).
Lobbyists take advantage of World Cup fever by lobbying for the world’s biggest sporting event to be held in the US in 2022. (The Hill, subscription required).
LD-2 filings are due in less than two weeks. Are you prepared? And it’s July, meaning a double-whammy of filing: LD-203 Forms are due on July 30.
Quote of the week:
“Lobby disclosure enforcement is notoriously lax.” – Meredith McGehee, Campaign Legal Center, Politico, July 4.
Tags: DISCLOSE Act, Facebook, Fair Elections Now Act, honey, LD-2, LD-203, lobbyists, world cup
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off
July 9th, 2010 by Elise
Do you remember how we kept telling you to be specific in filing your LD-2 forms?
Someone didn’t take our advice, and for their pains, they got a nice little write-up by Politico and the Center for Public Integrity.
The screenshot below is not acceptable filing, because on Line 16, they entered “health issues” as their “specific” lobbying issue. “Health issues” is not specific. Stating specific bill numbers and titles is specific. (E.g. “HR 1234, a bill to modify the appropriations process for Medicare/Medicaid, provisions regarding funding for federal employees”…). You don’t even have to state which side of the issue you fall on.
Unfortunately, their LDA filing is full of these under-disclosures.
While we tend to find these incorrect filings mildly humorous over here at Lobby Blog, the fact remains that this is not funny. The law requires that you file completely and correctly. Even a cursory glance at the requirements can solve these problems.
Don’t open yourself up for embarrassing and costly investigations. Follow the law. Everyone will be happier.
Tags: accuracy, filing, LD-2
Posted in Ethics Tip, Lobbying News | Comments Off
July 8th, 2010 by Elise
 Even NFL players need a lobbyist… except this lobbyist is really more of an “educator.” Since he’s not currently registered under the LDA, Joe Briggs, whose title is “Public Policy Counsel,” says he’s not pushing legislation, but he is advocating on behalf of NFL Players.
He’s more of a go-between for football players and Members of Congress – who often share interest in the same issues, and are looking for mutual help in pushing pet projects. Since DC is all about who you know, and how you can get to those people, having a non-lobbyist Congressional liaison such as Briggs makes sense in a member-based organization such as the NFL Players Association.
According to Lobbyists.info, the NFLPA is registered as a “lobbying client” under the LDA, represented by Patton Boggs, under the issue “Sports/Athletics.”
The NFL is also listed as having outside lobbying help, with representation by Capitol Hill Strategies, Covington & Burling, Elmendorf Strategies, The Glover Park Group, and Dudinsky, Lisker, & Associates. Issues that the NFL is interested in include (among others): Labor/Antitrust/Workplace, Alcohol/Drug Abuse, Communications/Broadcasting/Radio/TV.
Story: The Football Fixer.
Tags: Joe Briggs, NFL lobbyists
Posted in Celebrity Lobbyists | Comments Off
July 7th, 2010 by Elise
On June 24, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal honest services fraud statute only covers bribery and kickback schemes. What does this mean for lobbyists? Covington & Burling has the (qualified) answer:
“With respect to federal officials and federal lobbyists, Skilling essentially renders the honest services fraud statute co-extensive with existing bribery and kickback statutes, meaning that the Government will need to prove that gifts, political contributions, or other things of value were provided to federal officials as a quid pro quo for specific official acts.” (From Covington & Burling’s Client Alert)
According to the political law team over at Covington, this is a more narrow interpretation of the statute than has recently been used by prosecutors.
But the Blog of Legal Times reports that the Department of Justice isn’t changing their approach to prosecuting Abramoff associate Kevin Ring, who was mis-tried in the fall and re-scheduled for trial this summer. Ring’s prosecution is for a bribery scheme. The blog reports that: “At a hearing today in Washington federal district court, Public Integrity Section trial attorney Peter Koski said the high court’s June 24 ruling in Skilling v. United States has “no impact whatsoever” on the prosecution of Ring.” (Read the full story on Ring’s trial here).
Tags: Blog of Legal Times, bribery, Bruce Weyhrauch, Conrad Black, Covington & Burling, honest services, Jeffrey Skilling, kickbacks, lobbyists
Posted in Lobbying News, Regulations | Comments Off
July 7th, 2010 by Brittany
 Photo credit: www.photos8.com Join ALL’s Young Leadership Network (YLN) for an evening of wine tasting and networking at Screwtop Wine Bar in Clarendon, VA. A sommelier will be there to guide us through a tasting of Italian wines, and light appetizers will be served. This is a great way to meet other industry professionals and learn a thing or two about wine!
While the event is hosted by the YLN, we enourage government relations professionals of all ages to join the fun. We look forward to seeing you there!
Click here to register.
Date: July 21, 2010
Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Place: Screwtop Wine Bar
1025 North Fillmore Street
Arlington, VA 22201
Map It
Closest Metro: Clarendon (Orange Line)
Cost: $10/ALL Members; $15/Nonmembers Click here to register!
SPACE IS LIMITED. Deadline for Registration is 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 20
Tags: ALL, Lobbying, lobbyists, networking
Posted in Training & Events | Comments Off
July 6th, 2010 by Elise
So you’re a lobbyist, you just moved to your brand-new Capitol Hill rowhouse, and you want to invite friends – including Members and staffers – over for a house-warming party. Who can you invite? Do you have to get it approved by the ethics committee? What should you serve?
We can’t help you with the menu in this case (although take a look at our Meal Definition Edition ethics tip for tips on what constitutes a “meal”). But here’s does and don’ts for entertaining people at your home.
A lobbyist may entertain a Member or staffer in his/her home if that person is a personal friend of the lobbyist and the situation meets the test for the personal friendship exceptions. This means that the personal hospitality being offered under the personal frienship exception is reciprocal in that the Member or staffer similarly provides meals and personal hospitality to the lobbyist.
A lobbyist is not permitted to offer his / her home as an entertainment venue to a Member or staffer, nor to issue an invitation to visit or use a lobbyist’s beach house or mountain condo, even if those are owned by the lobbyist personally. The exception for personal hospitality does not extend to individuals who are lobbyists. Inviting Members or staffers to your home must fall under the personal friendship exception, meaning that all the factors of personal friendship must be in place for the exception to be appropriate.
Again – the key word is “reciprocal.” There must be a history of gift-giving or reciprocal dinner invitations, at the same level of giving.
The information in this post is from the Lobbying Compliance Handbook, a comprehensive guide to ethics, LDA filing, and life as a federal lobbyist. New edition coming soon! Details on the Lobbying Compliance Handbook are available here.
Tags: entertaining, Ethics, lobbyists, lobbyists entertaining Members of Congress
Posted in Ethics Tip | Comments Off
July 2nd, 2010 by Elise
Eric Brown tips us off to an LDA amendment: originally the bill sought to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act, but now amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act to “prohibit any registered lobbyist whose clients include foreign governments which are found to be sponsors of international terrorism or include other foreign nationals from making contributions and other campaign-related disbursements in elections for public office”; bill text is now available from the GPO here (H.R. 5609).
Big acquisition by Patton Boggs reported: Breaux Lott Leadership Group will now be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Patton Boggs; former Senators John Breaux (D-La.) and Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and their small but “effective” boutique lobbying firm will join the large team at Patton Boggs, starting immediately. Bonus (because it’s Friday): did you know Trent Lott’s given name is Chester Trent Lott? His son (also a member of the lobbying group) bears the same name. Now you know. Read about the “strategic coup” at the Blog of Legal Times.
Time profiles Lobbyists and their Return on Investment, in a series of short lobbyist/issue/payoff profiles.
Ex-Rep. John Campbell was taken down by the Jack Abramoff affair; Roll Call profiles Campbell’s life since 2005.
House Ethics Clears Rep. Richardson. The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct released its report in the matter of Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.) and cleared her of any wrongdoing in the mortgage matter. (link is a PDF)
Two great compliance / political law resources to take to the beach with you over your long holiday weekend:
Quote of the week:
“The irony of it is that every time the president says we lobbyists have all this influence, people who don’t have a lobbyist want one… He exaggerates our power, but he increases demand for our services.” – Tony Podesta, Podesta Group, NYTimes article on the “Superlobbyist,” July 1.
Happy 4th of July Holiday Weekend from all of us at Lobby Blog!
Tags: Breaux Lott, Covington & Burling, Ethics, FECA, John Campbell, Laura Richardson, LDA, lobbyists, Patton Boggs, Podesta Group, State and Federal Communications, Tony Podesta
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off
July 2nd, 2010 by Elise
Eric Brown at Political Activity Law reports on big pay to play news from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to a press release from the SEC – “The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted unanimously to approve new rules to significantly curtail the corrupting influence of “pay to play” practices by investment advisers.”
The decision is in three main parts:
- It prohibits an investment adviser from providing advisory services for compensation — either directly or through a pooled investment vehicle — for two years, if the adviser or certain of its executives or employees make a political contribution to an elected official who is in a position to influence the selection of the adviser.
- It prohibits an advisory firm and certain executives and employees from soliciting or coordinating campaign contributions from others — a practice referred to as “bundling” — for an elected official who is in a position to influence the selection of the adviser. It also prohibits solicitation and coordination of payments to political parties in the state or locality where the adviser is seeking business.
- It prohibits an adviser from paying a third party, such as a solicitor or placement agent, to solicit a government client on behalf of the investment adviser, unless that third party is an SEC-registered investment adviser or broker-dealer subject to similar pay to play restrictions.
Watch SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro’s discussion of the new prohibition here.
The rules come into effect 60 days after their publication in the Federal Register.
Tags: financial reform, Pay to Play, SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission
Posted in Ethics Tip, Lobbying News, Regulations | Comments Off
July 2nd, 2010 by Elise
1. As a lobbyist listed on an LD-2, you must file an LD-203. The LD-203 has civil and criminal penalties attached to it. If you fill out a legally binding document incorrectly, you run the risk of opening yourself (and your company) up to damaging PR and DOJ investigations. Learn exactly what you’re signing and why, at the audioconference.
2. Cleta Mitchell. Cleta is one of the nation’s leading political lawyers and an expert on the LD-203 and related issues. Take advantage of the situation to ask your own specific questions, before you have to answer questions from DOJ lawyers.
3. Learn how to record-keep properly. The statute requires a certain number of years’ worth of record-keeping. Learn how to properly retain what you’ll need in the event of an audit or internal investigation.
4. Get proof of your good-faith effort to understand the law. A quick but detailed survey after the conference tests your knowledge of the topics and provides you with proof of training – particularly useful in the event of a GAO audit.
Register today at www.lobbyists.info.
Tags: cleta mitchell, LD-203, lobbyist training
Posted in Training & Events | Comments Off
July 1st, 2010 by Madiha
Federal lobbyists can now officially raise their glasses to the White House nomination of Norm Eisen, special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform, as ambassador to the Czech Republic.
Eisen successfully became the bane of lobbyists’ existence with his very first act after joining the White House: leading the charge for an executive order banning lobbyists from serving in the administration (which Obama signed on his first day in office). Eisen has followed that up with successfully convincing the President and his administration to bar lobbyists from federal advisory boards, and making thousands of White House visitor names public. (He also posts fairly prolifically on the White House blog about ethics).
Lobbyists have since criticized the Eisen-led Obama policy of shutting out lobbyists as causing “de-registrations,” or even just discouraging registration in the first place, and fostering underground lobbying. Prague’s gain is a potential loss for watchdog groups, who fear Eisen may not be replaced. Already, the NY Times story about White House staffers meeting lobbyists in coffee shops to keep things off the record (see Drew’s post on that here) has groups like Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (which Eisen co-founded) losing plenty of sleep.
As for Eisen, he’s probably too busy dreaming of the largest ancient castle in the world right now to worry about bickering lobbyists and hawk-eyed ethics groups!
Tags: Norm Eisen, White House
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off
July 1st, 2010 by Elise
Interesting lobbying news from across the pond: according to Australian newspapers, two European lobbyists scored major money – up to 11.37 million dollars (Australian) in contracts, based on their ability to bring the 2022 World Cup successfully to Australia. But they may have overstepped the line in offering gifts or bribes to FIFA officials.
According to the news reports, the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) “also handed out pearl cufflinks, offered a free trip to Australia to a [FIFA] committee member for his birthday, and paid for a football team linked to FIFA vice president Jack Warner to visit Cyprus last year.”
FIFA is investigating whether there was any wrongdoing on the part of the FFA. The U.S. is also considered a strong contender as host for the world’s most popular sporting event.
Tags: australia, Lobbying, world cup
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off
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