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Posts Tagged ‘john boehner’
Tuesday, July 8th, 2014 by Geoffrey Lyons
“IT IS HEREBY DECLARED,” wrote President Roosevelt on a chilly February day in 1934, “that an agency, to wit, a banking corporation, be created….” Thus emerged, by virtue of Executive Order 6581, the Export-Import Bank of Washington. Eighty years later, the Ex-Im Bank is facing mounting opposition by conservative groups who claim it’s nothing more than a benefactor of corporate welfare.
They have a point: over 80% of the bank’s loan guarantees go to Boeing, which is no wonder competitors like Delta are irked by the bank’s favoritism. On the other hand, supporters say the bank is needed to compete internationally on an “uneven playing field.” Countries like China, they claim, have no qualms pumping government subsidies into the coffers of leading companies, so voluntarily terminating similar practices at home would amount to “unilateral disarmament.”
Both sides of the debate face a similar challenge: August recess. In order to build a solid, bipartisan coalition to either pass or block a new charter before Congress goes home, policymakers need to move quickly. According to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), there’s enough support in the Senate to reauthorize the bank. Yet there are singular obstacles in the House, not least of which is House Financial Services Committee chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), a strident opponent of the Ex-Im bank who could single-handedly squash any efforts at the committee level.
While on the surface it seems Congress is on track to renew the Ex-Im bank’s charter (with some key reforms to satiate conservatives), it’s not entirely certain how things will play out. Many policymakers, including John Boehner and John McCain, appear undecided. And even if they did come out in favor of the bank, there would be precious little time on their side.
Tags: boeing, Chuck Schumer, Delta, Executive Order 6581, Export-Import Bank of Washington, Franklin Roosevelt, House Financial Services Commitee, jeb hensarling, john boehner, John McCain
Posted in Lobbying News | Comments Off on The Coming “Corporate Welfare” Vote
Monday, November 8th, 2010 by Vbhotla
Proponents (and dissenters) of building new domestic oil refineries, small government, and “winning the global war on terror” should take note: the newly-elected Speaker of the House, whose platform is built around these issues, has been named “one of the most lobby-friendly politicians in Washington.”
The New York Times reports that Boehner has proposed “teaming up” with lobbyists to impact key legislation in the House. Aides suggest Boehner’s lobbying alliances “reflect the pro-business, antiregulatory philosophy that he has espoused for more than three decades, dating back to when Mr. Boehner, the son of a tavern owner, ran a small plastics company in Ohio,” according to the same story.
Some insiders suggest that K Streeters may be able to find new careers as Hill staffers with the recent Republican power surge. Boehner, for one, is expected to continue to “lean on his industry allies” in his new role as Speaker of the House. Indeed, Republicans are generally friendlier towards the lobbying profession, and the 112th Congress is expected to bring more opportunities, on and off the Hill, to government relations personnel.
Boehner is also “leading the charge” – along with Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va) and the National Republican Congressional Committee – to fill chief of staff and other top positions with experienced personnel, including lobbyists, Politico reports. Top Republicans are leery of relying on “newbies” to be expert Congressmen, or to select the best staffs for the job, and are compiling lists of individuals they deem more qualified to assist the freshman senators and representatives.
Tags: Congress, congressional staffers, john boehner, Lobbying
Posted in Government Relations Alert | Comments Off on Boehner most “lobby-friendly” in 112th Congress
Tuesday, October 12th, 2010 by Vbhotla
The special interests are at it again. At least, that seems to be the story from the campaign trail, as candidates of all political stripes seek to portray opponents as part of the “Washington problem.” Stories relating to the campaign contributions that lobbyists are spending to help elect or re-elect ideological friends in Congress have proliferated in the past two months.
Very few lawmakers will defend their working relationships with lobbyists, although Minority Leader John Boehner has never apologized working with them, even after an uncomplimentary New York Times article portrayed him as “tightly bound” to lobbyists.
Linda McMahon was recently in the news when she claimed that she “[had] not spent lobbying dollars in Washington,” a claim that was subsequently proved wrong, when her company WWE was reported to have spent more than a million dollars on federal lobbying in the past ten years.
The Washington Post makes the point that both President Obama and then-candidate John McCain made a point of attacking the lobbying industry. Post writers also call out former Senator Dan Coats, who is attempting a comeback Senate run, as being hit by his opponent for his post-Senate career as a lobbyist, and Senate candidate Sharron Angle in Nevada, who is blasting her opponent, Harry Reid, for being the top recipient of lobbyist campaign contributions.
The Washington Post article is here; an Open Secrets blog post on the topic is here.
Tags: john boehner, linda mcmahon, lobbyist campaign contributions, midterms
Posted in Government Relations Alert | Comments Off on Candidates Seek to Distance Themselves from Lobbyists
Friday, September 24th, 2010 by Vbhotla
The Hill reports on Kenya’s lobbying expenditures. According to the article, “Lobbyists for the Kenyan government have focused on strengthening security ties, as well as increasing trade, between the two countries. They have also worked to secure a direct flight route between Atlanta and Nairobi.” The article further reports that the African nation has retained Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter and Associates (CLS) for PR services and the Moffett Group to provide lobbying services.
Round-up of some articles on the DISCLOSE vote, from Eric Brown.
Need a quick look at the House ethics process? Ethics lawyer Stan Brand takes you through some of the steps. (Video).
Open Secrets notes this study on the “revolving door” from the London School of Economics, which found that ex-staffers turned lobbyists benefit financially from being in influential offices.
Eliza Newlin Carney of National Journal writes on Rep. John Boehner and Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lobbyist / special interest ties will matter to voters. “Will Boehner’s Bucks Rankle Voters?”
Quote of the week:
“The recession has actually created a map where all roads now lead to Washington.” – Kevin O’Neill, Patton Boggs, Washington Post, 9/20/2010
“It is true that my fights against powerful special interests have not made me popular with the Washington crowd… I take the fact that I’m considered the lobbyists’ number one enemy as a compliment, because my job is to fight for the people of Wisconsin, not the special interests in Washington.” – Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), Politico, 9/20/2010
“Democrats don’t like to go to K Street as much as Republicans do… Republicans ‘don’t care. They will work for oil, energy, gas, PhRMA, insurance, cigarette companies, gambling. It’d take something pretty damn bad for them not to do it.’” – “K Street recruiter,” Roll Call, 9/20/2010
Tags: DISCLOSE Act, House ethics, john boehner, Kenya lobbyists, Nancy Pelosi, Revolving Door
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Friday, September 17th, 2010 by Vbhotla
After last week’s surprise upset in Alaska (Joe Miller over Lisa Murkowski in the GOP Senate primary), Roll Callreports that lobbyists were quick to shift their financial and fundraising support from Murkowski to Miller. Article here.
The New York Times‘ report on John Boehner’s lobbyist ties is examined a little more fully in our post, here. Boehner also responded via the Washington Examiner.
Pepsi and Coke both have new lobbyists in DC… maybe this will spark the huge Pepsi v. Coke epic battle we’ve all been waiting for. (Although I won’t lie, as a Michigander, I prefer Faygo).
John Doolittle, who earlier this year complained that the (cleared) ethics investigations against him were making supporting work difficult, has found a job lobbying for Colfax City, California.
Lots of ethical dilemmas and strong words being traded back and forth regarding House ethics.. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), one of the Ethics Committee members, faces his own ethics and disclosure issues. Various public interest groups try to get Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner to publicly agree to support the OCE in the next Congress.
Ross Garber comments on Public Corruption charges post Skilling (discussion of Kevin Ring case included). See our posts about Kevin Ring and Skilling.
Following up on our report earlier this week that lobby shops are looking to up their GOP quotient ahead of the midterms, Roll Call reports on the Democratic job prospects on K St.
We anxiously await word on the fate of DISCLOSE.
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-District of Columbia) was recorded leaving a voicemail on an unnamed lobbyist’s phone, asking for campaign contributions, and doing it in a manner that implied a reminder of Holmes Norton’s power status in the lobbyist’s “sector.” More on this story in our Monday post on lobbyist campaign contributions.
From the Canadian Society of Association Executives, a post on “Enhancing Grassroots Advocacy Through Social Media.” Worth a read.
The LA Times has an article on Kevin Spacey’s role as Jack Abramoff in the upcoming “Casino Jack.”
Reports abound that Paul Magliocchetti is changing his “not guilty” plea in his 11-count indictment.
Three Obama administration employees never deregistered as lobbyists before taking their new jobs, according to OpenSecrets blog.
Quote(s) of the week:
“There may be a new gang in town after November,” said Hellmann, a former aide to then-Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). “The climate will be better for the business community on taxes.” (Roll Call, 9/13/2010)
“A lot of people want to have coffee now.” – Gordon Taylor, Ogilvy Government Relations, about staffers seeking advice on how to navigate the job market (Roll Call, 9/14/2010)
“Once he’s done with his house arrest, he may decide to speak out about the lobbying industry… He’d be credible if he takes responsibility for what he did, which he has, and exposes the hypocrisy he was a part of.” Kevin Spacey on Jack Abramoff (LA Times, 9/14/2010)
Tags: Casino Jack, Coca-Cola, DISCLOSE Act, Grassroots advocacy, Joe Miller, john boehner, John Doolittle, Kevin Spacey, Lisa Murkowski, Paul Magliocchetti, PepsiCo, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Rep. Michael McCaul, Revolving Door, Skilling
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Thursday, September 16th, 2010 by Vbhotla
The New York Times published an article last Sunday detailing the connections Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) has with
 John Boehner and aides (Source: New York Times. Photo credit: David Lassman/ Post-Standard) lobbyists in Washington. This article is by no means an isolated event. Various other news articles have been questioning Boehner’s corporate, “special interest” ties.
At a speech in Ohio, President Obama mentioned Boehner’s name eight times. As of now the only source of information that hasn’t commented on Boehner is my network of 14 uncles who tend to send me long-winded chain emails. But I’m sure those will start to come in any day now.
The New York Times article did much more than detail Boehner’s golfing and smoking habits while tossing in an obvious joke about his complexion (we get it, he’s tan … new joke, please.) The article listed some of Boehner’s former aides and “longtime associates and friends” who are lobbyists.
Given the tone of the article, this information seemed to belong on the editorial page; it should not have been presented as just basic information. In response, The Washington Examiner released an article which stated that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has raised twice the amount of money from lobbyists as her GOP counterpart.
To take all of this one step further, a search of Lobbyists.info showed more lobbyists who previously worked for Pelosi than for Boehner. Given the rhetoric (which comes from both sides of the aisle) about the evils of the “revolving door,” perhaps members of Congress would be wise to run a quick check on what their own former staffers are doing.
Pelosi’s lobbying ties include former staffers who are now registered lobbyists at The Podesta Group, Akin Gump, Amgen Inc., and King & Spalding. Not all of Pelosi’s former staffers are registered lobbyists, despite working for registered organizations and coalitions. Individuals fitting this bill include persons at Planned Parenthood of America and United for Medical Research.
In addition to the individuals listed already by the NYT, Boehner has connections through former employees to lobbyists at Marriot International Inc., Boeing, and the lobbying firm Arent Fox.
Now I’m no political strategist, but it seems that crying wolf over lobbying ties might not be the best course of action for Speaker Pelosi. Perhaps it’s time for both parties to call a lobbyist-as-the-bad-guy truce.
Tags: john boehner, lobbyist political contributions, lobbyist-lawmaker ties, Nancy Pelosi
Posted in From the Eyes of the Editors, Lobbying Research | Comments Off on Boehner and Pelosi’s Lobbying Ties
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