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Posts Tagged ‘Harry Reid’
Thursday, February 27th, 2014 by Vbhotla
PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS called the proposed federal minimum wage hike “giving America a raise,” but whether the legislation succeeds or not, lobbyists are likely to enjoy a windfall. Raising the minimum wage from its current rate of $7.25/hr to $10.10/hr is a centerpiece of congressional Democrats’ 2014 legislative agenda, and groups on both sides of the issue have already spent millions of lobbying dollars to influence lawmakers on the fence. With recent news that a vote on the legislation will be put off, lobbying campaigns for both sides are heating up.
The Hill reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has delayed a vote on the legislation as support for the hike has waned among vulnerable congressional Democrats. A coalition of labor unions and liberal advocacy groups has hailed the move, saying that it gives them time to mount a national grassroots lobbying campaign to drum up support for the legislation.
Vowing to fight the bill are numerous retail, restaurant, and service organizations. The American Hotel & Lodging Association, which overhauled its lobbying team last year, strongly opposes a minimum wage hike, claiming that it would inhibit companies’ ability to hire more workers.
Complicating the issue is the difficulty of sifting through a myriad of reports from disparate sources to piece together an accurate picture of the hike’s potential impact. Although it seems likely that the Congressional Budget Office’s recent report that the hike could cost as many as 500,000 minimum wage jobs but increase earnings for more than 16.5 million workers is accurate and nonpartisan, data from other sources may be suspect. The New York Times reports that some nonprofits and think tanks that publish economic reports on legislation are in fact funded (often secretly) by groups with a significant stake in the legislation. The Employment Policies Institute, for example, has published academic reports warning that raising the minimum wage would adversely impact poverty, unemployment, and the economy. But the Times also notes that the group is run by a PR firm that also represents the restaurant industry, which strongly opposes the wage hike. Just as lobbying has gradually moved underground and become more opaque, so too are groups attempting to influence policy in nebulous and indirect ways, as the current fight over the minimum wage illustrates.
Although the Congressional battle over “America’s raise” has been delayed for now, the lobbying fight over the wage hike has just begun. With heavy hitters like Wal-Mart still out of the fray, the battle is likely to get even more intense before it’s over.
Tags: Congressional Budget Office, congressional Democrats, Employment Policies Institute, federal minimum wage, Harry Reid, Obama, The American Hotel & Lodging Association, the hill, the new york times, Wal-Mart
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off on Wage War
Thursday, August 8th, 2013 by Vbhotla
ACCORDING TO The Washington Times, this year’s Congress is set to be one of the least productive in history. But that doesn’t mean it’s set to be the least active.
Far from it, argue Roll Call’s Meredith Shiner and Emma Dumain, who write on how members are milking every spare moment of August recess to reconnect with constituents at town halls, issue summits, and state fairs. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is hosting several summits, including the annual Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is focusing his schedule on smaller constituent meetings, likely in preparation for his re-election bid.
Lawmakers are also using their time off to plan for what is sure to be a contentious fall session. To this end, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) has drafted a recess “playbook,” a 31-page PDF distributed to GOP lawmakers to keep them on-message. There’s no evidence that Democrats have drafted a similar document, but they’re certain to have an equally collaborative strategy for August.
It’s no surprise that McMorris’s playbook substitutes “Recess” for “District Work Period.” For wherever Members of Congress may be, whether in D.C. or elsewhere, they’re guaranteed to be working.
Tags: Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Harry Reid, Mitch MCConnell, The Washington Times; Roll Call
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off on Summer is No Vacation for Members of Congress
Friday, February 8th, 2013 by Geoffrey Lyons
LOBBYISTS ARE CLAMORING for a mention in the President’s big speech next Wednesday. According to Bob Deans of the Natural Resources Defense Council:“A lot of people compete for space in the State of the Union, and it’s weeks, months in the works….Every single priority lobbies hard for inclusion. We understand space is tight, time is limited and time is valuable.” – Roll Call
James Pinkerton, co-chair of the RATE Coalition: “Everybody hangs on every word the president says in the State of the Union, looking for their word, their sentence, their phrase, with fingers crossed,” said James Pinkerton, who co-chairs the RATE Coalition, which lobbies for a lower corporate tax rate.
Year-end disclosure reports reveal that the energy drink business is beefing up its lobbying efforts: “Since November, Monster Energy has spent $100,000 to lobby on ‘legislation and oversight regarding energy drinks.’….[Since] Nov. 26, Red Bull has spent $20,000 on lobbying.” – The Washington Post
This comes in the wake of FDA investigations into “adverse events” linked to the drinks. According to a November press release published just weeks before Red Bull and Monster began their lobbying crusade:
So-called “energy” products are relatively new to the market, and manufacturers of these products have labeled some as dietary supplements and others as conventional foods….FDA cautions consumers that products marketed as “energy shots” or “energy drinks” are not alternatives to rest or sleep….If you are thinking about taking one of these products, please consult your health care provider…
(Imagine hearing “ask your doctor if Red Bull is right for you.”)
The Post article continues: “Between 2004 and October 2012, 17 people died and more than 100 had chest pains, cardiac arrest and other health problems after consuming 5-Hour Energy, Monster and Rockstar beverages, according to FDA data. The FDA noted that the reports do not mean the drinks necessarily caused those ailments.”
Jake Perry, aide to Harry Reid since ’98, has set up lobby firm Jake Perry + Partners: “Jake Perry + Partners is currently based in downtown Washington and is aiming to sign on a broad range of clients, including those in the financial services sector. Perry, who still has family in Nevada, says he plans to one day widen his company’s base of operation to his home state as well.” – POLITICO
The Medical Marijuana PAC slashed “Medical” from its name: “The move came in the aftermath of two members of Congress introducing a bill to legalize and regulate marijuana at the federal level. And it’s a sign that pot advocacy groups are moving away from the ‘medical’ argument – which was always seen as a first step towards full legalization – and embracing the argument for full-on recreational usage.” – POLITICO
Tags: Harry Reid, jake perry, lobby, Lobbying, lobbyists, medical marijuana PAC, monster energy, red bull, rockstar, state of the union
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off on Lobbying at a Glance
Thursday, November 8th, 2012 by Geoffrey Lyons
As election night sulking and celebrating slowly ebbs outside the beltway, here’s a flavor of what the lobbying insiders are talking about:
On the “status quo election”
Republican lobbying firm Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford in a memo to clients: “Leader Reid will have a tenuous majority from a policy perspective as several Democratic senators are philosophically closer to Republicans than many of their more progressive elected leaders.”
Lobbyist Bruce Mehlman of Mehlman, Vogel, Castagnetti: “The overwhelmingly high reelection rate of incumbents means Congress can attack the big issue logjam immediately. 2013 promises to be busier, more intense and more bipartisan than any year since 1997, with huge issues such as tax and fiscal reform actually starting to move. Our Senate Democrats and House Republicans are already running full-speed.”
On lame ducks moving to K St.
Ivan Adler, principal at the McCormick Group:
- “Those members who are seen [as] friendlier to business will have a much easier time getting hired by these firms than others. The game is to get clients. You’re going to have to find people who can reach across the aisle in order to service them.”
- “If [Scott Brown] wanted to go lobby, I think he’s gold-plated. Someone with Massachusetts interests should be looking at him.”
- “The election has solidified the job prospects of the people working on the regulatory side, especially when it comes to ObamaCare and Dodd-Frank. Those laws are here to stay. K Street is going to hire people who can play goalie. They are going to have to be able to stop a lot of pucks.”
Chris Jones, managing partner at CapitolWorks: “Democrats that have come from a red state and Blue Dogs will continue to be a prized commodity.”
The Hill: “Though a number of lawmakers who lost their election bids will likely enter the lobbyist pool, several senators who were already known to be leaving Capitol Hill next year — including Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) — remain the most coveted prospects for K Street.”
On the lobbying agenda
Tim Ryan, chief executive of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association: “With the election now over, it is vital that we return to the work at hand, namely, the continued implementation of Dodd-Frank and addressing the fiscal cliff.”
Tony Podesta, founder and chairman of Podesta Group: “If the [House] Speaker and the [Senate] majority leader are for it, you have got a shot at it. There won’t be any markup where you can add a few extraneous items to the bill. … The lobbying will be very narrow. The odds of a passionate member of the leadership adding something to the bill may be low. The odds of the rank-and-file membership getting something into the bill are zero.”
Bob Van Heuvelen, founder of VH Strategies: “We are not going to be adding things to this Christmas tree. We are going to be clarifying what programs should and should not be cut. There are cuts that are going to be made, and that leads to winners and losers, which leads to the need for advocacy. It’s going to be hard, but it’s not going to be impossible.”
Former Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), now special counsel to Alston & Bird: “If gridlock is a drought season for our kind of work, we’re going to enter the rainy season.”
Tags: alston & bird, billy tauzin, bob van heuvelen, bruce mehlman, capitolworks, chris jones, clark lytle geduldig & cranford, election, election commentary, election night, Harry Reid, hill, Ivan Adler, k st., lame duck, Lobbying, lobbyist, mccormick group, mehlman vogel castagnetti, presidential election, status quo election, the hill, tim ryan, Tony Podesta
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off on What K St. is Saying About the Election
Monday, August 23rd, 2010 by Vbhotla
Will Washington once again see action on a signature piece of Democratic legislation? According to National Journal’s Hotline On Call, Senate Democrats are planning to reopen the campaign finance issue after the August recess – in the hope that the delay will mitigate some moderate Republicans’ objections to the hurried legislation.
Although the process from conception of the legislation to passage in the House took more than 4 months, Sen. Harry Reid chose to bring up the issue for a cloture vote on July 27 in the Senate. It ultimately failed, with Sen. Reid voting no ultimately to preserve his right of cloture. Moderate Republican Senators Scott Brown (Mass.), Olympia Snowe (Maine), and Susan Collins (Maine) are the swing votes on this issue – all have expressed reservations about what they view as the majority’s unseemly haste – seemingly in order to influence the November elections.
Since passing the bill in September or October would mean that it would not impact this year’s pivotal elections, Democrats hope that the moderate Senators, who may have supported campaign finance reform in a different format, will be able to overcome their skepticism. Express Advocacy’s William McGinley reports that Sens. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Leahy (D-Vermont) sent a campaign email specifically mentioning the DISCLOSE Act.
Story from Hotline on Call is here: “DISCLOSE Act will get second look.”
Tags: Chuck Schumer, DISCLOSE Act, Harry Reid
Posted in Campaign Finance, Government Relations Alert | Comments Off on Is DISCLOSE On Its Way Back?
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What K St. is Saying About the Election
Thursday, November 8th, 2012 by Geoffrey LyonsAs election night sulking and celebrating slowly ebbs outside the beltway, here’s a flavor of what the lobbying insiders are talking about:
On the “status quo election”
Republican lobbying firm Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford in a memo to clients: “Leader Reid will have a tenuous majority from a policy perspective as several Democratic senators are philosophically closer to Republicans than many of their more progressive elected leaders.”
Lobbyist Bruce Mehlman of Mehlman, Vogel, Castagnetti: “The overwhelmingly high reelection rate of incumbents means Congress can attack the big issue logjam immediately. 2013 promises to be busier, more intense and more bipartisan than any year since 1997, with huge issues such as tax and fiscal reform actually starting to move. Our Senate Democrats and House Republicans are already running full-speed.”
On lame ducks moving to K St.
Ivan Adler, principal at the McCormick Group:
Chris Jones, managing partner at CapitolWorks: “Democrats that have come from a red state and Blue Dogs will continue to be a prized commodity.”
The Hill: “Though a number of lawmakers who lost their election bids will likely enter the lobbyist pool, several senators who were already known to be leaving Capitol Hill next year — including Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) — remain the most coveted prospects for K Street.”
On the lobbying agenda
Tim Ryan, chief executive of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association: “With the election now over, it is vital that we return to the work at hand, namely, the continued implementation of Dodd-Frank and addressing the fiscal cliff.”
Tony Podesta, founder and chairman of Podesta Group: “If the [House] Speaker and the [Senate] majority leader are for it, you have got a shot at it. There won’t be any markup where you can add a few extraneous items to the bill. … The lobbying will be very narrow. The odds of a passionate member of the leadership adding something to the bill may be low. The odds of the rank-and-file membership getting something into the bill are zero.”
Bob Van Heuvelen, founder of VH Strategies: “We are not going to be adding things to this Christmas tree. We are going to be clarifying what programs should and should not be cut. There are cuts that are going to be made, and that leads to winners and losers, which leads to the need for advocacy. It’s going to be hard, but it’s not going to be impossible.”
Former Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), now special counsel to Alston & Bird: “If gridlock is a drought season for our kind of work, we’re going to enter the rainy season.”
Tags: alston & bird, billy tauzin, bob van heuvelen, bruce mehlman, capitolworks, chris jones, clark lytle geduldig & cranford, election, election commentary, election night, Harry Reid, hill, Ivan Adler, k st., lame duck, Lobbying, lobbyist, mccormick group, mehlman vogel castagnetti, presidential election, status quo election, the hill, tim ryan, Tony Podesta
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off on What K St. is Saying About the Election