From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Unions are pushing state lawmakers to pass legislation that would make organizing workers easier, as efforts to rewrite federal organizing laws remain stalled in Congress," the Wall Street Journal (subscription) reports. "Oregon passed the Worker Freedom Act, which prohibits companies from holding mandatory employee meetings to talk about organizing. Employers say mandatory meetings, known as 'captive audience meetings,' are necessary to counter misleading information disseminated by union organizers. Unions say employers use the meetings to gauge worker sympathies and pressure workers not to join the union."
• "President Obama's nominee for a top weapons-buying job at the Pentagon recently served as a paid adviser for a big defense contractor and is declining to disclose whom else he has worked for on a government ethics form designed to help the public guard against potential conflicts of interest," the Washington Times reports. "Frank Kendall III, Mr. Obama's pick for principal deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, received $75,000 in consulting fees last year from defense contractor SAIC Inc., according to his recently filed disclosure form. He also reported fees totaling $8,500 from Centra Technology, another defense contractor."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Credit unions and associations representing military members are urging lawmakers to oppose a provision in a broad financial services bill that they argue amounts to a tax on troops and their families," The Hill reports. "The bill, currently being marked up in the House Financial Services Committee, would impose a fee on financial institutions with more than $10 billion in assets to pay for the costs if the government is forced to take over a failing financial firm."
• "Major union groups are spending $1 million this week to thank endangered Democratic Members whose yea health care votes over the weekend may complicate their 2010 re-election chances," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "The labor-backed Health Care for America Now and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees on Monday announced a $650,000 television ad buy to thank 20 Members who voted for the Affordable Health Care for America Act."
• "The traditional pecking order of Washington's top trade and business groups has been thrown into disarray by the Obama administration's far-reaching domestic agenda and its tough tactics against opponents," Politico reports. "It's the Independent Community Bankers of America and the Consumer Federation of America that are seeing their ideas prevail in the current debate over rewriting the regulatory framework for the financial industry, not the once-invincible, big New York investment banks."
• "The House ethics committee has not approached Reps. Jim Moran (D-Va.) or Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) about the PMA Group, a now-defunct lobbying firm under FBI investigation," The Hill reports. "The two lawmakers, both of whom sit on the Appropriations Defense subcommittee that provided earmarks to the group's clients, said they are cooperating with the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), a new quasi-independent board that initiates investigations and makes recommendations to the full panel."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Despite apparent tensions in the House's two-tiered ethics process -- notably, recent spats between the ethics committee and an outside review office -- House officials and ethics observers say a formal evaluation of the system is unlikely anytime soon," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "In recent weeks, both the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, as the ethics panel is officially known, and the Office of Congressional Ethics have feuded publicly over process issues -- from how to calculate deadlines to the interpretation of House rules -- suggesting friction in the reformed ethics process lawmakers approved less than two years ago."
• "After contentious Senate committee action on climate change legislation last week, industry and environmental interests are focusing on a select group of Senators who are trying to forge consensus on the heated issue," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Much of the attention will be aimed at Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.), who are seeking common ground between those who want to curb greenhouse gas emissions and others who fret about the economic consequences."
• "Northrop Grumman, the third-largest U.S. defense contractor, agreed to sell a government-consulting unit to a group of investors led by General Atlantic and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts affiliates for $1.65 billion," the Washington Post reports. "The sale of TASC, to comply with new rules designed to prevent conflicts of interest, will generate about $1.1 billion in cash after taxes, Northrop said Sunday in a statement. The deal requires regulatory approval, and Northrop said it may be completed by the end of the year."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Seven major American and foreign banks have hired a prominent financial lawyer to lobby on legislation that would restrict how banks do business in the multitrillion-dollar derivatives market," The Hill Reports. "Edward Rosen, a partner at Cleary Gottlieb, registered as a lobbyist for the banks at the end of October and received at least $200,000 in the third quarter, according to congressional lobbying records.... Rosen has been a central player on derivatives legislation throughout the financial regulatory overhaul debate this year. "
• "The American Petroleum Institute plans to announce Thursday that Martin J. Durbin has been named its new Executive Vice President of Government Affairs," Politico reports."Durbin will join API in December from the American Chemistry Council (ACC), He replaces Jim Ford, who has worked at API for the past 10 years."
• "The House ethics committee declared in a letter issued late Wednesday that Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) did not violate the chamber's rules through his involvement in a Tennessee land-swap deal in 2007," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "The ethics committee's review focused on the Cove at Blackberry Ridge LLC, a real estate development company in Loudon, Tenn., in which Shuler is an investor."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "In a coup for House Democrats, AARP will endorse sweeping health care overhaul legislation headed for a history-making floor vote, officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday," the AP reports. "An endorsement from the seniors' lobby was critical when then-President George W. Bush pushed the Medicare prescription drug benefit through a closely divided Congress in 2003...An announcement from the 40-million member group is expected Thursday, said officials with knowledge of the group's decision."
• "The House ethics committee is likely to exonerate five members of the Congressional Black Caucus who were accused of taking an improper trip to the Caribbean, according to sources familiar with the case," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "The committee may also renew its complaint that the Office of Congressional Ethics is mishandling investigations."
• "With a White House decision on the direction of the war in Afghanistan still up in the air, and President Barack Obama considering whether to send as many as 40,000 additional U.S. troops, veterans groups on opposite sides of the debate are storming Capitol Hill this week to sway congressional opinion," Politico reports.
• "Business groups and unions are battling over a decision by a federal board that eases the rules for employees at airlines and railways to form unions," The Hill reports. "Though many airline and railroad employees covered by the Railway Labor Act are already unionized, the change could have a big impact on companies like Delta, JetBlue and Federal Express that have non-union workers."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Two years after Congress toughened ethics laws that prevent lobbyists and corporations from paying for members' trips, lawmakers are still seeing the world courtesy of other outside groups," Politico reports. "Although the trips are permissible because the money doesn't come directly from lobbyists or corporations, the walls can be very thin. Some of the nonprofit groups that sponsor member travel are themselves funded by corporate sponsors, and the conferences that members attend on the groups' dime often put them in direct contact with representatives of the corporate sponsors."
• "When a confidential document leaked into the public sphere last week, it revealed the Justice Department is seeking to trump a House ethics investigation of Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.)," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "While the request offered no new insight into the Mollohan inquiry, it did shine light on the often murky relationship between House ethics officials and federal prosecutors."
• "The banking lobby is splitting with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over a key battle to revamp the nation's financial regulatory structure, with the two sides differing over whether a council to monitor systemic risk throughout the financial markets should also oversee accounting rules," CongressDailyAM (subscription) reports.
• "As the House prepares to vote on massive health care legislation as early as Friday, outside groups on the left and right with deep pockets are going into overdrive to make sure their opinions are heard," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Some lawmakers, however, questioned the effectiveness of last-minute lobbying efforts, complaining they tie up office phones and are coming at a point when Members are already well-versed in the legislation and their constituents' views."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "The disclosure that seven House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee members are being scrutinized for their ties to PMA Group, a now-defunct lobbying firm that raised money for lawmakers and won earmarks for clients, is not expected to have a chilling effect on negotiations to reach agreement on a final FY10 Defense spending bill," CongressDaily AM (subscription) reports. "According to analysts for watchdog groups that monitor the appropriations process, House-Senate discussions are probably too far along for negotiators to start weeding out earmarks."
• "As the House Financial Services Committee begins its final push today in drafting legislation that will overhaul the banking system, lobbyists are scrambling to get Members of Congress to address specific provisions that would harm their clients' bottom lines," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Republicans have been pushing the committee's chairman, Barney Frank (D-Mass.), to delay the hearing, citing the need to take more time to review the draft bill that was released late last week."
• "A liberal advocacy group is launching a new Web site" today "that aims to document the financial and political ties of conservative groups, many of which have emerged as major political forces this year in fomenting opposition to President Obama's policies," the Washington Post reports. "The Conservative Transparency Web site... which will be run by the Media Matters Action Network, uses Internal Revenue Service filings to track the major financial backers and beneficiaries of conservative activist groups."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "A recent leak that an ethics panel is investigating seven defense appropriators is expected to shut down Members' fundraising prospects from the industry, which is typically a reliable source of campaign cash for their re-election campaigns," Roll Call (subscription) reports.
• "Two former high-level managers at IBM and Microsoft are playing key roles in the Obama administration's patent reform efforts, leading critics to question whether their involvement constitutes a breach of the administration's ethics policy," Politico reports.
• "House lawmakers this week will attempt to alter legislation creating a new federal insurance office after lobbying interests clashed over its proposed powers," The Hill reports. "The insurance industry is divided over whether the new office under the Treasury Department should negotiate international insurance agreements on prudential matters."
Top advocacy and lobbying stories from this week's National Journal: (subscription)
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "House ethics investigators have been scrutinizing the activities of more than 30 lawmakers and several aides in inquiries about issues including defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling, according to a confidential House ethics committee report prepared in July," the Washington Post reports. "The report appears to have been inadvertently placed on a publicly accessible computer network, and it was provided to The Washington Post by a source not connected to the congressional investigations. The committee said Thursday night that the document was released by a low-level staffer."
• "Nearly half the members of a powerful House subcommittee in control of Pentagon spending are under scrutiny by ethics investigators in Congress, who have trained their lens on the relationships between seven panel members and an influential lobbying firm founded by a former Capitol Hill aide," the Post also reports.
• The House Ethics Committee Thursday "again slammed the year-old Office of Congressional Ethics -- declaring the OCE's earlier review of the" case of Rep. Sam Graves, D-Mo., "case and recommendation that it merited further consideration by the Ethics Committee was procedurally 'deficient,'" CongressDailyAM (subscription) reports. "Immediately firing back were the OCE's co-chairmen, former Reps. David Skaggs, D-Colo., and Porter Goss, R-Fla., declaring there were no procedural problems."
• "Business groups blasted the House healthcare bill released Thursday, and a key trade association for doctors declined to endorse it," The Hill reports. "Health insurance and pharmaceutical industries that take hard hits from the bill also took shots, saying it would drive up costs for seniors and companies alike."
• "Democratic Rep. Laura Richardson, embarrassed by a foreclosure dispute back home in California, may soon find herself the subject of a House ethics committee investigation," Politico reports. "Sources tell POLITICO that the Office of Congressional Ethics has referred Richardson's case to the House ethics committee, which will be required to announce within days whether it's going to pursue a full investigation. Richardson's case is one of three OCE referrals the committee will consider Thursday. The others -- both previously reported -- involve Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Sam Graves (R-Mo.)."
• "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is facing mounting pressure to intervene in an intense dispute between an outside ethics office she pushed through the House and the full ethics committee," The Hill reports. "Board members and senior staff of the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) are threatening to resign if the ethics committee doesn't meet a deadline the OCE believes is critical to its role, according to several sources within the ethics community."
• "Dozens of lobbyists were invited to a Democratic National Committee (DNC) fundraiser Tuesday night with a Cabinet member even though President Barack Obama has sworn off taking money from lobbyists," The Hill reports. "A DNC official said it was a mistake that lobbyists were invited to a small gathering with Lisa Jackson, Obama's administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The official said a review of attendees indicates that no lobbyists attended the event."
• The affair of Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., "has had a devastating effect on his political fortunes, but it's also taking a huge toll on the coterie of Senate aides, K Street lobbyists and political operatives who hitched their star to a man once thought to be a future leader of the Republican Party," Politico reports.
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Not yet a year since the lobbying shop PMA Group abruptly shut its doors, castaways from Paul Magliocchetti's once-vast appropriations empire are continuing to divvy up his former clients among themselves. And they appear to be generating a handsome profit," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Four new lobbying firms emerged from the demise of PMA, which closed last spring in the wake of an apparent federal investigation reportedly exploring its possible ties to Reps. John Murtha (D-Pa.) and Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.) and other House appropriators."
• "Unions converged on Chicago on Tuesday to protest lobbying by major banks against proposed reforms of the financial system," The Hill reports. "The AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and other labor groups were leading a rally expected to draw 5,000 participants outside the annual conference for the American Bankers Association (ABA)."
• "While much of Washington, D.C., has been focused solely on health care reform, the technology industry has been quietly undergoing a massive shuffling of the decks on the personnel front," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Since the beginning of the year, more than half a dozen tech companies have installed new government relations office heads."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Lobbyists for farm and small-business groups are pushing for a broader exemption to the estate tax bill that would benefit most of their members," The Hill reports. "The American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), two powerful trade associations, were both quick to endorse legislation introduced by Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) on Thursday that would increase the exemption under the estate tax as well as lower the tax rate."
• "Advertising and marketing industry lobbyists are urging the House Energy and Commerce Committee to slow fast-moving legislation that would create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency out of concern that the measure would create confusion among regulators and harm business interests," CongressDailyAM (subscription) reports.
• "The nation's preeminent seniors group, AARP, has put the weight of its 40 million members behind health-care reform, saying many of the proposals will lower costs and increase the quality of care for older Americans," the Washington Post reports. "But not advertised in this lobbying campaign have been the group's substantial earnings from insurance royalties and the potential benefits that could come its way from many of the reform proposals."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "In preparation for his sentencing in an Alaska bribery scheme, former oil executive Bill Allen released a tantalizing tidbit about the long-running legal allegations swirling around Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska): Allen told the Justice Department in 2007 that he had provided Young with more than $100,000 worth of gifts that the Congressman never reported," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "It was the first official mention of Young in connection with the Alaska corruption probe that has led to indictments against several public officials, including former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)."
• "Not content with shaping education directly through schools, the biggest player in the school reform movement has an eye on moving education policy," AP reports. "The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has spent around $200 million a year on grants to elementary and secondary education."
• "U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue says a campaign by the White House and its allies to undermine his $200-million-a-year association has largely failed -- and actually has helped raise even more money for its pro-business efforts," Politico reports. "In a 75-minute interview with POLITICO, Donohue dismissed recent defections by Apple and at least four other companies, which quit over the Chamber's opposition to Democratic climate change legislation -- as essentially meaningless."
• "It takes a while for most start-up companies to gain the confidence of a U.S. congressman and the promise of federal funds. But last year, a small Illinois company accomplished its goal in 16 days with the help of Rep. Peter J. Visclosky, a little-known Indiana Democrat who sits on the House committee that funds the Pentagon," the Washington Post reports. "The congressman sponsored or supported at least $44 million in earmarks in fiscal years 2008 and 2009 for more than 15 technology firms that had hired K&L Gates as lobbyists."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "In a move with potentially major implications for the 2010 and 2012 elections and the future of campaign finance rules, the Federal Election Commission on Thursday voted not to challenge an appeals court panel's ruling that could free outside groups to spend huge sums of cash unburdened by contribution limits," Politico reports. "The vote, a 3 - 3 partisan split that had the effect of rejecting a recommendation by commission staff to appeal the ruling to the full court of appeals, spotlighted the commission's increasing partisan divide, and also put pressure on President Barack Obama to override the commission's decision."
• "The White House's top ethics cop on Thursday defended the Obama administration's lobbying restrictions that have much of K Street up in arms," The Hill reports. "Norm Eisen, counsel to the president on ethics and government reform, told attendees of the American Bar Association's (ABA) fall conference that" Obama "was trying to fundamentally change how Washington works, which gives an outsized influence to lobbyists."
• "The White House and environmental groups are turning up the heat on the Chamber of Commerce, and some of its member companies are feeling the burn," Politico reports. "The Chamber is pushing back, sending top officials out to make its case on TV and in print interviews and blaming Democrats and liberal interest groups for trying to coerce it into changing its position."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "A former U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said a White House effort to remove lobbyists from influential advisory committees could hurt the United States in its trade negotiations," The Hill reports. "But a White House official defended the guidance on Wednesday, saying that lobbyists shouldn't be offered a government platform to try to influence public policy."
• "Facing a major regulatory issue that could be worth a fortune in future business, AT&T has unleashed the kind of lobbying blitz that makes it one of the grand corporate players of the great Washington game," the Washington Post reports. "And yet, for all the money AT&T and other old-line telecom and cable companies have spent pushing their cause, they are poised to lose a key vote to a bunch of younger technology companies that never had anything to do with Washington until recently."
• "Restaurants, retailers and other businesses with high rates of employee turnover are pushing lawmakers to revisit how 'full-time' workers are defined in a healthcare overhaul measure to avoid being slapped with hefty fees for failing to insure their temporary or short-term workforces," CongressDailyAM (subscription) reports.
• "K Street looks like a winner if healthcare reform reaches President Barack Obama's desk," The Hill reports. "If healthcare reform passes, lobbyists for healthcare industries will be plenty busy trying to influence the implementation of the bill, both in Congress and in the Obama administration. Sectors targeted for cuts in the bill will immediately begin trying to claw back the money they stand to lose. And lobbyists representing smaller interests will try to band together to get their perennial issues handled."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Fresh off their congressional retirements, former Reps. Bud Cramer and Jim McCrery are prohibited from lobbying for a year -- a ban reinforced by a sweeping crackdown under the Democratic Congress," Politico reports. "But you wouldn't know it from their day jobs and their political donations, which give them a heavy hand in the Washington influence game, advising clients with interests before Congress while donating tens of thousands of dollars from their old campaign war chests to candidates."
• "Facing an Oct. 30 deadline for relinquishing their lobbyist stripes under a new White House decree, the heads of all industry trade advisory boards have written to President Obama and top administration and congressional officials imploring them to reconsider," CongressDaily AM (subscription) reports. "The letter from the 16 ITAC chiefs, dated Monday, requests a meeting with the president and his top aides to discuss the matter."
• "The August recess did little to slow the Washington lobbying frenzy over health-care reform, as insurers, drugmakers and hospitals continued to spend millions to attempt to sway the emerging legislation, according to new disclosure reports filed with Congress," the Washington Post reports. The top spender so far is "the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the drugmakers' main trade group," which "shattered records again by spending nearly $7 million on lobbying from July through September, the quarterly disclosure records show."
• "Locked in a bitter legislative battle, package delivery giants FedEx and United Parcel Service" boosted their lobbying in the third quarter, Roll Call (subscription) reports. "From July through September, UPS shelled out $4.4 million to influence federal lawmakers, a whopping $3 million increase from the previous three-month period. FedEx, meanwhile, doled out $5.6 million on lobbying during the same period, up almost $2 million from the prior quarter."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce... reported spending a record amount on federal lobbying in the third quarter of this year," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "The group's lobbying disclosure report... showed the chamber shelled out a record $34.7 million on lobbying. The business group sought to influence a wide gamut of issues from climate change, financial regulation and health care reform to more obscure legislation involving pythons."
• "Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) pressed the federal government at the height of the financial crisis for bailout money for a bank with which he has a long political and personal relationship," The Hill reports. "Left unmentioned was the Illinois Democrat's long affiliation with the bank and its U.S. operations in particular. Bank executives had contributed tens of thousands of dollars until 2004 to Gutierrez's political campaigns. The congressman's wife, Soraida, was a senior vice president at the firm from 2005 to 2007, before being fired."
• "Embattled House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) was the top recipient of bundled campaign contributions from lobbyists during the third fundraising quarter of this year, new reports show," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "According to Federal Election Commission reports filed after Thursday's deadline, Rangel received roughly $125,000 in combined campaign contributions from the McPherson Group's John Kelly, New York-based Constantinople & Vallone Consulting and trade group Employee-Owned S Corporations of America."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "The 2008 collapse of the financial sector also spawned a contraction in the number of banking lobbyists on K Street, leaving the industry with a smaller bench as Congress begins rewriting the rules for Wall Street," Politico reports. "In 2007, the last boom year, 3,002 lobbyists were registered to represent the finance, insurance and real estate sector, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Today, 2,370 financial services lobbyists are registered -- a loss of more than 600 jobs or contracts."
• "Lobbyists and political action committees delivered more than $330,000 worth of bundled campaign contributions to House Members during the third fundraising quarter this year, according to Federal Election Commission disclosures filed last week," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) was the quarter's big winner, raking in nearly $120,000 combined from J.C. Watts Cos. lobbyist Tripp Baird, Phillip Holt of the National Installment Lenders, and Geoffrey Gradler of Roberts, Raheb & Gradler. House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) also made out handsomely this summer, bringing in nearly $70,000 from the Managed Funds Association and John Pappas of the Poker Players Alliance."
• "The healthcare negotiator for one of nation's most powerful unions made clear that it opposes a tax on high-cost-insurance plans, despite abstaining from an multi-union campaign objecting to the plan," The Hill reports. "The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was not among the 27 unions to sign on to an ad criticizing a proposed tax on 'Cadillac' insurance plans that was included in the Senate Finance Committee healthcare bill."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.), caught up in the scandal surrounding a now defunct lobbying firm, shelled out $100,000 this summer for 'legal representation,' according to his latest campaign-disclosure report," Politico reports. "Visclosky's campaign report for the July 1-Sept. 30 period, released on Thursday, showed two $50,000 payments to the firm Steptoe & Johnson, made in July and August, with no checks cut to the firm in September."
• "At a meeting last April with corporate lobbyists, aides to President Barack Obama and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) helped set in motion a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign, primarily financed by industry groups, that has played a key role in bolstering public support for health care reform," Politico also reports. "The role Baucus's chief of staff, Jon Selib, and deputy White House chief of staff Jim Messina played in launching the groups was part of a successful effort by Democrats to enlist traditional enemies of health care reform to their side."
• "Lobbyists have met with officials at the Office of Management and Budget to discuss and in some cases moderate regulations regarding a greenhouse gas registry, the so-called Buy American purchasing requirement and an ethanol production mandate. OMB has final say on how proposed federal rules are ultimately written," The Hill reports. "Representatives for the oil-and-gas industry flocked to a half-dozen meetings held by OMB starting in August this year to discuss a controversial rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions."
• "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Wall Street firms have the big bucks and the hired-gun lobbyists, but they've got nothing on local banks and credit unions in the raging battle over financial reform," Politico reports. "Thanks to an effective, parochial lobbying campaign, credit unions and community banks have won a major exemption in their effort to escape scrutiny by Democrats' proposed consumer financial protection agency."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "A prominent coal industry association spent nearly $10 million over the past 18 months on lobbying efforts supervised by a public affairs firm currently under congressional investigation for its involvement in sending forged letters opposing the climate bill," Politico reports.
• "Kicking off the latest chapter of this year's Full Employment Act for K Street Lobbyists, representatives from a surfeit of industries descended on an influential Congressional committee on Wednesday as it began writing a law overhauling the nation's regulatory system," the New York Times reports.
• "As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce rolled out its multimillion-dollar Campaign for Free Enterprise on Wednesday with all the pomp and circumstance of a political campaign rally, the business group was still dogged by questions surrounding its position on climate change legislation," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Chamber President Tom Donohue defended his group's position and said companies are being pressured by environmental activists to withdraw from the chamber."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "The generic drug industry, outmanned and outspent on the lobbying front compared to its name-brand counterparts, has been struggling to be heard on Capitol Hill throughout the health care debate," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "The generic industry will be zeroing in on provisions adapted by key committees in both chambers that would shut it out of the biologic drug market for at least 12 years."
• "Former Bush administration official and lobbyist Tommy Thompson is the latest Republican to lash out at the Democratic National Committee for apparently misusing his stance on health care reform. The DNC over the weekend reportedly pulled a television advertisement featuring Thompson, former Sen. Bob Dole (Kan.) and other Republicans who apparently supported a White House-led charge to fix the nation's insurance woes," Roll Call (subscription) reports.
• "Even after Tuesday's Senate Finance Committee vote brought sighs of relief and dismay up and down K Street, lobbyists for many narrowly focused interest groups are still holding their breaths, waiting to see if their proposals will become part of any final healthcare bill," CongressDaily AM (subscription) reports.
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "A series of court decisions expected this fall could put the nation on track to return to turn-of-the-century campaign finance laws," Politico reports. Among the several cases that have been taken up, "This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear arguments in a case that opponents say could pave the way for political parties to raise unlimited amounts of money from corporations, individuals, unions and anything else with a bank account."
• "Powerful health industry groups that have held back in their criticisms of specific reform proposals will soon have to choose whether to endorse, or formally oppose, President Barack Obama's top domestic priority," The Hill reports. "The result could be a flurry of associations embracing Democratic efforts to reform the nation's healthcare system, which would likely push the legislation to Obama's desk. Or it could mirror the battle of the 1990s, when an array of healthcare groups crushed President Bill Clinton's plan, subsequently leading to the GOP takeover of Congress in 1994."
• "After months of research and groundwork, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will launch its Campaign for Free Enterprise on Wednesday, with the goal of spurring the creation of 20 million jobs in the next decade," Politico reports. "Organizers say the multimillion-dollar program will include grass-roots advertising, national advertising, public education, outreach to opinion leaders and extensive involvement by young people."
Advocacy and lobbying stories from this week's National Journal: (subscription)
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Several of the biggest departments in the federal government plan to adhere to the White House prohibition on lobbyists serving on their advisory boards and committees," The Hill reports. "The Hill contacted all 20 Cabinet-level agencies to see if they intend to follow the guidance issued two weeks ago by the White House. Twelve agencies returned messages before press time and all said they would adhere to the guidelines."
• "A coalition of business groups is worried that Senate Democratic leaders will not hold a confirmation hearing on President Barack Obama's nominee for a key post at the Labor Department," The Hill reports. "Concerned that the nomination of David Michaels to head the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will go straight to the floor, industry groups are lobbying for a committee hearing. The business associations want senators to grill Michaels on how he would address 'ergonomic' workplace injuries, including carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive-motion ailments."
• "In almost any other congressional debate," Thursday "would have been when powerful special interests open fire on a bill that violates the handshake deals they'd reached with lawmakers," Politico reports. "But as Democrats in both chambers advanced proposals... that conflict with agreements struck with the pharmaceutical and hospital industries, the business groups are calmly riding the wave of reform."
• "Nearly a year after former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested and accused of running state government as a criminal enterprise, legislators have reached a stalemate with a powerful reform-advocacy group regarding limits on political-campaign contributions," the Wall Street Journal (subscription) reports.
• "The Federal Election Commission" today "is expected to vote on whether the agency will begin rewriting long-awaited rules involving provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "A spokesman on Wednesday said the agency's six commissioners are tentatively scheduled to decide at today's 2 p.m. meeting whether to restart the rule-making process to comply with a court order in a case brought by former Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.)."
• "In the months since soldiers ousted the Honduran president, Manuel Zelaya, the de facto government and its supporters have resisted demands from the United States that he be restored to power. Arguing that the left-leaning Mr. Zelaya posed a threat to their country's fragile democracy by trying to extend his time in office illegally, they have made their case in Washington in the customary way: by starting a high-profile lobbying campaign," the New York Times reports.
• "As the lobbying battle over net neutrality is reaching a fever pitch, opponents are crying foul after a top staffer to Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) announced her departure for Google," Roll Call (subscription) also reports. "The Internet search giant has been aggressively supporting enactment of net neutrality rules, which would prevent phone and cable companies from discriminating against some types of online content."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Even as health care continues to dominate Capitol Hill, lobbyists are ramping up their efforts behind the scenes to add legislative sweeteners to a tax bill Congress is expected to take up before the end of the year," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Lobbyists say they believe Congress will be forced to act because the estate tax and a popular tax credit for companies doing research and development are set to expire at the end of the year."
• "Lobbyists are redoubling efforts to advance tax and spending provisions as President Barack Obama considers additional options to bolster the economy," The Hill reports. "The renewed focus on fiscal stimulus measures comes as unemployment numbers have worsened."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk on "Monday defended a new White House policy that would trim federally registered lobbyists from the ranks of agency advisory boards and commissions, a move that has drawn a rebuke from the trade community," CongressDaily AM (subscription) reports. "The Obama administration policy, first announced Sept. 23 by Norm Eisen, special counsel for ethics and government reform, on the White House blog, is part of the administration's efforts to clamp down on lobbyists' influence in Washington."
• SEIU "is coming under fire from conservatives because of its long-standing financial and leadership ties to ACORN, a liberal organizing group recently embarrassed by videos filmed covertly," the Washington Post reports. "Some Republicans say federal agencies that recently cut ties with ACORN -- the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now -- should also consider severing their relationship with the Service Employees International Union. The SEIU and ACORN have long worked closely together, with the union paying the association more than $3.6 million in the past three years and sharing some office locations and leaders with the group."
• "A mining company owned by Goldman Sachs and two private equity funds is in line to get a $3 million earmark for work at a rare earth elements mine in Mountain Pass, Calif. -- raising questions as to why Congress would take on some of the risk for a bailed-out investment giant that's already making a profit," Politico reports. "Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) inserted the earmark for the mine into the House Defense appropriations bill, and backers say it's a legitimate national security concern. The military needs rare earth elements, and China -- which is rich in them -- has threatened to cut off exports. But some government watchdogs question whether taxpayers should be asked to prop up a project that is already funded by wealthy investors who expect to make a profit."
• "The political committees of Louisiana Sen. David Vitter, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and former Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.) have been accused of scheming to conceal a contribution from Pickering to Vitter in violation of federal campaign finance laws," Politico reports. "The Louisiana Democratic Party plans to file a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission today, charging that Barbour's PAC essentially filtered a $5,000 campaign donation from Pickering's PAC to Louisiana Vitter's 2010 reelection committee to make it look like the contribution didn't come directly from Pickering."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "A tide of anger and dismay is rippling down K Street as the Obama administration implements a new policy limiting the roles of lobbyists on federal advisory committees," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "The policy change, described by the White House as the next step in President Barack Obama's drive to limit influence-peddling in Washington, could affect hundreds of lobbyists who serve on the panels, which were created by Congress in the 1970s to provide private-sector advice to the government."
• "Charlie Black, one of the best-known names in Washington consulting and lobbying over the past 29 years, told POLITICO that his lobbying shop will announce a merger Monday with Timmons and Co., one of the city's first stand-alone lobbying firms," Politico reports. "Black's firm, BKSH & Associates Worldwide, has about 30 people, and Timmons and Co. has about 10. The combined firm, to be called Prime Policy Group, will have 24 senior lobbyists: 13 Democrats and 11 Republicans."
• "The Democratic takeover on Capitol Hill happened more than two years ago, but K Street lobby shops are still feeling the pressure to turn left," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "While the number of all-Republican lobby shops has dwindled, firms that have made the switch to become bipartisan are still working to bring up the numbers of Democrats on their books. Navigators Global is the most recent example of a shop switching course. Navigators shed four senior Republican employees in recent weeks as the firm has focused its efforts to become more bipartisan."
• "Lobbyists are bracing themselves for the impending political fallout surrounding Sen. John Ensign, following allegations that the once-powerful Nevada Republican may have violated ethics rules in helping a former aide-turned-lobbyist secure business," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Republicans on K Street quickly tried to tamp down any speculation that the recent accusations will lead Ensign to resign... Still, Ensign's near-pariah status on Capitol Hill has limited his usefulness to lobbyists, despite his positions on the powerful Finance Committee and Commerce, Science and Transportation panel. As Senate Republicans have largely benched Ensign, K Streeters have taken that as a cue to distance themselves from him, according to one veteran Republican lobbyist."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., arranged for Douglas Hampton, husband of his mistress, "to join a political consulting firm and lined up several donors as his lobbying clients, according to interviews, e-mail messages and other records. Mr. Ensign and his staff then repeatedly intervened on the companies' behalf with federal agencies, often after urging from Mr. Hampton," the New York Times reports. "Several experts say those activities may have violated an ethics law that bars senior aides from lobbying the Senate for a year after leaving their posts."
• "Organized labor is turning to House Democrats to oppose a tax on high-cost insurance plans that is under consideration to help pay for healthcare reform," The Hill reports. "Unions are blasting the idea in the Senate Finance Committee bill, as many union members would be affected because they either have expensive insurance to cover dangerous professions or negotiated for better benefits instead of higher wages."
• "Still jittery that lawmakers might revive a proposal to tax sugary beverages to help offset costs of a healthcare overhaul, a coalition of beverage and food makers vows to continue a multimillion-dollar anti-tax advertising campaign until the bitter end," CongressDailyAM (subscription) reports. "None of the current House or Senate drafts of healthcare legislation contain language that would impose a surcharge on sodas or alcohol to pay for major healthcare initiatives, but an industry alliance, Americans Against Food Taxes, continues to devote resources to maintain public awareness of its opposition."
• "Leaders at smaller trade groups worry they could be particularly hurt by a new White House ban on lobbyists serving on advisory committees," The Hill reports. "They argue that their organizations do not have the staff or the money to hire more employees to get around the new rule. Executives at these associations often do double duty, managing the trade group and lobbying on their industry's behalf."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Activist shareholders are pressuring companies such as Nike to pull out of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, arguing that the trade group's stance against climate change legislation is incompatible with the companies' own positions," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Green Century Funds, Newground Social Investment and others sent letters to Nike CEO Mark Parker, urging the company to go beyond its decision Wednesday to step down from the chamber's board of directors."
• "A key Senate negotiator trying to advance a contentious union-organizing bill said a modified version could pass the upper chamber this year, despite his reservations with the changes," The Hill reports. "Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is one of a half-dozen senators trying to craft a compromise on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which if passed would make union organizing much easier. The labor movement considers the measure one of its top legislative priorities this Congress, but business associations have mounted an all-out lobbying offensive against the bill."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "A coalition of 46 industry groups ranging from the American Farm Bureau Federation to the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America is weighing in with lawmakers to support a permanent extension of the estate tax at a reduced rate," CongressDaily AM (subscription) reports. "The tax expires at the end of this year and otherwise would be repealed next year -- but come back in 2011 at a higher rate -- unless Congress acts."
• "J Street, the year-old pro-Israel lobby that advocates for Palestinian statehood, will announce today that more than 160 Members of Congress, including 29 Senators, are serving on the honorary host committee for the group's first conference and gala dinner next month," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, will be the keynote speaker at the dinner."
• "With plenty of political good will in the bank, Ford got to work," today "spending it, pushing for legislation that would punish states for not penalizing drivers for text messaging while they're at the wheel," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Ford and its affiliates are the lone distributors of Sync, a Microsoft technology that converts a driver's voice into a text message."
• "A former U.S. Democratic Party fundraiser whose 2007 arrest prompted Hillary Clinton to return $850,000 in campaign contributions was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison on Tuesday," Reuters reports. "Hong Kong-born Norman Hsu, 58, was convicted in May by a jury in federal court in New York of violating election laws by making donations to political campaigns in other people's names. Hsu had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of mail fraud and wire fraud in running a Ponzi scheme of up to $60 million."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "The Federal Election Commission on Monday decided that limited liability companies are not political committees when they team up with political consultants to run television advertisements and other independent expenditures," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "The decision may provide cover for wealthy Democrats and Republicans to team up with like-minded donors to target candidates in the 2010 election."
• "A major lobbying battle has heated up over legislation that would establish new security standards for facilities across the country that store or process chemicals, pitting some of the nation's largest business groups against environmental and labor organizations," CongressDaily AM (subscription) reports. "Nearly 30 industry groups sent House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman and ranking member Joe Barton a strongly worded letter Monday opposing certain provisions in a chemical security bill making its way through Congress."
• "Nearly 50 companies, trade associations and nongovernmental organizations urged lawmakers Monday to act soon to extend trade preferences for about 130 developing countries that expire Dec. 31.," CongressDaily AM (subscription) reports. "Lawmakers in both chambers want to update the 35-year old Generalized System of Preferences program, which allows duty-free access for nearly 4,900 products. Given the dwindling legislative calendar, advocates wrote to leaders of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance panels that a simple extension was preferable to letting the program lapse due to differences on a broader reform approach."
• Filmmaker Michael Moore "is in town to promote his film 'Capitalism: A Love Story,' and while his movie is already being mocked by Republicans, Moore's real targets are Democrats," Politico reports. "...The group will call for a single-payer, government-run health care system -- something that isn't even on the table in the current health care debate. Moore is expected to directly target moderate Blue Dog Democrats in his press conference, which he'll co-host with Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, and Fred Redmond, vice president of United Steelworkers."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Wall Street has showered nearly $11 million on the Senate since the beginning of the year, and more than 15 percent of it has gone to a single senator: Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York," Politico reports. "Schumer's $1.65 million take from the financial services industry is nearly twice that of any other senator's -- and more than five times what the industry gave to any single Republican senator."
• "The trial lawyers lobby has been awash in debt and bleeding members - just as it embarks on a national campaign to block any clampdown on medical malpractice lawsuits as part of President Obama's health care overhaul," the Washington Times reports.
• "Lobbying over a proposed federal agency to regulate consumer financial products will get more intense now that lawmakers have scaled back the Obama administration's proposal," The Hill reports. "Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) released a new draft of the proposal for a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) that limits the scope and breadth of the industries that are covered. Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, restricted several provisions to dampen criticism from the non-financial lobbyists opposed to the bill and to win over centrist Democrats... Frank and the Obama administration believe the new agency should set a floor for regulation and allow state officials to pursue additional or stricter regulations."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "More lobbyists are expected to terminate their registrations because of the White House's announcement this week that federal agencies should not appoint them to advisory boards," The Hill reports. "It is unclear how many people will be affected by the decision, but at least 1,000 federal advisory committees report to the General Services Administration under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, and many of them now include registered lobbyists."
• "When Florida Republican Mel Martinez this week accepted a position with the mega-lobbying and law firm DLA Piper -- less than two weeks after resigning from the Senate -- it brought to five the number of former lawmakers since 2007 who have abandoned their constituents midterm and almost immediately resurfaced with lobbying firms, according to data provided by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics," Politico reports.
• "The army of industry lobbyists in the health-care battle is fighting on familiar terrain: More than half of them used to work for the government they're trying to influence," Bloomberg reports. "Of 2,737 lobbyists hired to promote the interests of drug companies, insurers, hospitals, health professionals, industry groups and business organizations, 1,418 -- or 52 percent -- have worked for Congress, the White House or federal agencies. That includes 55 former members of Congress."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Despite hints to the contrary by the drug industry's top executive, pharmaceutical lobbyists are warning that a health care amendment by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) threatens to unravel an $80 billion deal the industry struck with Senate Democrats and the White House," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "At a Wednesday health care panel, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America President Billy Tauzin suggested that his organization will continue negotiating with lawmakers on health care reform legislation and reserve judgment until a final bill emerges."
• "A top-ranking SEIU official says that the powerful union could support a health care bill that doesn't include a public option -- a striking contrast to the more hard-line stance on the issue taken by the new president of the AFL-CIO," Politico reports. "But pressed as to what Service Employees International Union will do if -- as some suggest is inevitable -- a public option is not included in the final version of the legislation, [Secretary-Treasuer Anna] Burger said even getting an imperfect bill is preferable to passing nothing at all. And, she said, this year's efforts may be just a first step."
• "Changes Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus has made to his healthcare overhaul mark sparked 'serious concerns' from major health insurance lobbying groups that wrote Baucus Wednesday warning the modifications could 'undermine the shared goals of the broader reform effort,'" CongressDaily AM (subscription) reports. "The joint letter from America's Health Insurance Plans and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association relayed some of the harshest language insurers have used to date as they have attempted to remain actively involved in negotiations around Baucus' mark."
• "Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who has supported the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) on low-income housing issues, said he would have voted to strip federal funding for the group last week if he had been present. Frank was attending a White House Medal of Honor ceremony for a soldier from his state killed in action when the House approved the funding cuts," The Hill reports. "Frank in a lengthy memo said his support and Judiciary Chairman John Conyers's (D-Mich.) backing of an inquiry by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) into ACORN did not constitute support for the group, and may have been shortsighted."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual legislative conference kicks off today, but don't expect to see the CBC Political Action Committee taking an active role in the events that bring together hundreds of people to discuss issues of particular interest to African-Americans," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "The CBC PAC, which raises personal and corporate hard dollars, and the CBC Foundation, which attracts corporate soft dollars, are separate organizations. The CBC PAC didn't schedule any events because it didn't want to have even the appearance of trying to use the legislative conference to its fundraising advantage, according to the group's executive director, Jessica Knight."
• "A law designed to shine a bright light on big political campaign contributors on K Street has in practice not been particularly illuminating, watchdogs charge," The Hill reports. "On its Party Time! Database, the Sunlight Foundation, a watchdog group, lists dozens of fundraisers hosted by lobbyists. But political campaigns have not filed bundler reports to the FEC, which tracks campaign spending, for all of those invitations, according to an analysis by The Hill."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "In what would be a dramatic next step in its drive to insulate itself from K Street, the White House is strongly considering limiting the ability of lobbyists to serve on federal advisory panels designed to bring the voices of outside interests into the halls of the administration," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "According to sources familiar with the deliberations, the White House is likely to either tell agencies to ban lobbyists from the panels or to provide the agencies guidance -- which would be hard to resist, considering the source -- suggesting they avoid having lobbyists serve on the committees."
• "A federal grand jury charged Hassan Nemazee, a New York businessman who has ties to prominent politicians, with defrauding banks of $292 million in part to benefit the Democratic Party," the Wall Street Journal reports. Nemazee "used the proceeds of his scheme to donate to campaigns and political-action committees, according to an indictment made public Monday, though the amount allegedly spent on these efforts wasn't specified. The donations helped him rise to become finance chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, among other major roles."
• "General Electric and Pratt & Whitney are both known for making heavy war machinery. But it's their K Street desk jockeys who are now on the front lines in a fierce clash over Pentagon billions," Politico reports. "GE is accusing Pratt & Whitney and its allies of using twisted Congressional Budget Office numbers to make their case. Meanwhile, Pratt & Whitney's team is smearing GE's allies by accusing them -- including House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) -- of being desperate enough to employ an earmark to get their way."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Watchdog groups are seizing on the recent edict by House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) to extend the one-year lobbying ban for a former top staffer as a way to push Congress to revise lobbying rules to expand the cooling-off period for Members of Congress and senior staffers headed to K Street," Roll Call (subscription) reports.
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "A former government official facing corruption charges for accepting improper gifts from Jack Abramoff is taking an unusually aggressive approach in fighting the Justice Department's case," The Hill reports. "Horace Cooper, a legal commentator and conservative writer who was a senior aide in then-Rep. Dick Armey's (R-Texas) office, is accusing prosecutors of dozens of mistakes and has invoked the prosecutorial abuse investigation that overturned the conviction of former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) in an attempt to undermine the government's case."
• "The cost of preparing, filing and arguing the complaint the United Steelworkers union filed against China is relatively inexpensive, according to experts in the field," The Hill also reports. "Legal fees for most cases will run well under $1 million, according to a K Street source with experience on the filings. The safeguard case could cost as little as $750,000."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Some of the most influential aides in the closed-door Senate Finance Committee negotiations over health care reform have ties to interests that would be directly affected by the legislation," Politico reports. "There's no evidence that the aides' ties have shaped the bill that" Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., "hopes to release" today, "and the ultimate decisions over its provisions rest with the senators themselves. But critics say the involvement of such well-connected insiders could lead to dangerous conflicts."
• "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce planned to launch the first phase of its $100 million Campaign for Free Enterprise" today, "which includes an effort to get the White House to spell out its trade agenda," CongressDailyAM (subscription) reports. "Activists opposed to existing trade pacts are ramping up their efforts, urging" President Obama "to remember his 'reform' campaign rhetoric when he attends the Group of 20 meeting next week."
• "For more than a decade, trial lawyers used their deep lobbying bench and fundraising muscle to beat back Republican efforts to curb medical malpractice lawsuits," Politico reports. "Given that their political donations went overwhelmingly to Democrats -- generally, by a 3-to-1 ratio -- this should be a period of respite. But it won't be, now that" Obama "has injected tort reform into the health care reform debate."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• Former aides to Sens. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, "are finding a new crop of prospective business sprouting up" as Lincoln takes over the Senate Agriculture Committee and Harkin moves to Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Roll Call (subscription) reports.
• "President Barack Obama's new special interest rules are having unexpected consequences with some lobbyists giving up their formal registrations and finding other ways to influence policy as they try to maintain access to key agencies or hope for future government jobs," Reuters reports. "Congressional aides, industry executives and watchdog groups say the rules have also slowed Obama's ability to fill key government jobs, eliminated some highly qualified candidates and kept away some others who worry tougher 'revolving door' rules could tie their hands in the future."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Congressional investigators on Thursday uncovered yet another forged letter sent to a House Democrat purportedly from a local nonprofit -- but actually from a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm -- urging opposition to controversial climate change legislation," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "The discovery means that at least 14 fraudulent letters were sent by Bonner & Associates, a subcontractor for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, to at least three different House Members in an effort to sway their votes on the climate change bill before it narrowly passed the House in June."
• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., "has come down on the side of a labor-backed petition for relief from a surge in Chinese tire imports this decade, making good on a pledge to United Steelworkers union president Leo Gerard," CongressDailyAM (subscription) reports. "'Such relief is important to the tire industry, and the workers and communities it supports throughout America,' Reid wrote" to President Obama "in a letter dated Sept. 2."
• "Six of Washington's biggest business lobbies are urging lawmakers to boost the nation's debt limit above $12.1 trillion as the economy confronts historic mountains of red ink," The Hill reports. "The associations said in a letter on Thursday that it is 'critical to ensuring global investors' confidence in the creditworthiness of the United States, that Congress approve the administration's request for a higher debt limit.'"
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Conservative members of the Supreme Court indicated Wednesday that they could not reconcile government restrictions on corporate spending in elections with constitutional protections of free speech and may rule broadly to strike what has been a long-standing fixture of campaign finance law," the Washington Post reports. "A majority of the court seemed impatient with an increasingly complicated federal scheme intended to curb the role of corporations, unions and special interest groups in elections."
• "The campaign finance reform community was expecting the worst Wednesday after a Supreme Court hearing that could significantly loosen spending restrictions on corporations, trade association and unions in federal elections," Roll Call (subscription) reports. After the oral arguments "at least one campaign finance reform group said it did not like what it heard."
• "Sparked by complaints at town hall meetings last month about the impact of medical malpractice suits on healthcare costs, a battle is brewing between business advocates and lawyers over whether to limit damages in lawsuits against physicians and other medical professionals as part of a healthcare overhaul," CongressDailyAM (subscription) reports. "In advance of President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, the American Association for Justice -- formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America -- has been mounting a public relations effort to dispel what it calls the 'myth' that the fear of malpractice lawsuits accounts for astronomical healthcare costs."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Months after the Obama administration announced billions of federal dollars for a U.S. high-speed rail system, a new trade association has emerged to help firms get their foot in the door of a potentially lucrative new market," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "'We saw this as the perfect opportunity to go ahead and turn this into an official association and start to bring together some of the experts,' Andy Kunz, president of the newly minted U.S. High-Speed Rail Association, said in an interview last month."
• "The trial of one of Jack Abramoff's close associates -- a case that will test how far lobbyists may push influence and access -- began Tuesday under the watchful eye of K Street," The Hill reports. The associate, Kevin Ring, "says the expensive tickets and meals he gave government officials and congressional aides were normal tools of the lobbying trade. Prosecutors argue they were part of a pay-to-play conspiracy that involved illegal gratuities intended to curry access and influence government action in favor of clients."
• "Lobbyists for banks big and small expect Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and other panel members to offer measures that would go further than the Obama administration in overhauling the existing regulatory scheme," The Hill reports. "Community banks that think their regulatory system works well fear Congress will push them under a single regulator with big banks."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Financial services lobbyists are quietly pushing for Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) to give up his chairmanship of the Banking Committee and take up the gavel of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, where he is next in line following the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.)," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Such a move, they say, would remove a thorn from the banking industry, since Dodd has upped his anti-industry rhetoric ahead of his tough 2010 re-election bid."
• "The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a case that challenges decades of restrictions on corporations and unions spending unlimited cash on just those sorts of ads. Even more broadly, the case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, gives the court's conservative majority a chance to fundamentally redefine the role of corporations and unions in American politics," Politico reports. "Campaign finance experts predict the court, which has demonstrated an inclination towards incremental loosening of rules restricting the flow of money into politics, will expand the types of ads corporations and unions can pay for."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "The liberal Progressive Change Campaign Committee is launching a petition drive to rally President Barack Obama's own campaign supporters to pressure him to stand up for a public insurance option as part of a sweeping health care overhaul," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "The push comes as White House aides are signaling that Obama will not throw his support behind such a provision when he makes a critical public pitch for reform Wednesday in an address to a joint session of Congress."
• "Environmental-, civil- and women's-rights groups have set up a new hotline for tips on faked letters or other suspect lobbying efforts to undermine cap-and-trade legislation," The Hill reports. "The hotline follows the discovery more than two months ago of forged letters a grassroots group working on behalf of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) sent to three House Democrats."
• "The National Association of Manufacturers is ramping up its lobbying effort against pro-labor legislation as Congress heads back to work," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "NAM is launching a direct mail and advertising campaign through its Labor Policy Institute opposing the Employee Free Choice Act."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "A coalition of business groups, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, filed for an emergency court order" Wednesday "to prevent a rule from going into effect that would require federal contractors to verify the legal status of their workers," CongressDaily (subscription) reports. The group "asked the U.S. District Court for Maryland for an emergency injunction to stop the Homeland Security Department from requiring contractors to use the so-called E-Verify system."
• "The incoming president of the AFL-CIO signaled Wednesday his union could accept a card-check bill that preserves an employer's right to demand a secret-ballot election," The Hill reports. "Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka hedged on whether a card-check bill must include the provision that gives it its name."
• "Thousands gathered Wednesday night at events held across the nation, including at least four in the Washington area, to urge Congress and the Obama Administration to approve a bill soon," the Washington Post reports. "'These vigils are to remind decision makers that the debate around health-care is not about politics but about people who are being crushed under the current health-care system,' said Nita Chaudhary, the national campaigns and organizing director of MoveOn.org, a liberal group that helped organize the 'We Can't Afford to Wait' vigils."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "A new Web site has compiled a list of hard-to-get e-mail addresses -- including addresses for Members of Congress and top Congressional staff -- and is allowing the general public access to the list to send messages to this select group about the Democratic health care bill," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Over the August recess, top House Republican and Democratic aides confirmed receiving hundreds of e-mails with the subject line 'HR 3200' -- the bill number assigned to the House Democratic health care reform bill -- and the greeting 'To the House of Representatives' from people around the country. The messages were apparently facilitated by houseofbills.com."
• "Former Gen. Wesley Clark, chairman of the pro-ethanol group Growth Energy," launched a campaign Tuesday "urging lawmakers to establish mandatory country of origin labeling for gasoline," CongressDaily (subscription) reports. Clark announced "the 'Label My Fuel' campaign in Decatur, Ill., at the Farm Progress Show, an exhibition of advanced technology, business practices and manufacturing for agricultural producers."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Reynolds American Inc., Lorillard Inc. and several other tobacco companies filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block various provisions of a new federal tobacco law on the grounds that the provisions violate the companies' First Amendment rights," the Wall Street Journal reports. "The tobacco companies said the recently enacted law, which placed the industry under the oversight of the Food and Drug Administration, sharply restricts the companies' right to advertise their products to adult tobacco users."
• "Union leaders are launching a new offensive around Labor Day to provide fresh momentum for legislation aimed at making it easier to organize new locals," Politico reports. "The events begin" today, "when AFL-CIO President John Sweeney plans to release a new survey of young workers that sheds light on their experiences and expectations. Among its findings: 31 percent of young workers don't have health insurance -- up from 24 percent 10 years ago."
• "American Civil Liberties Union lobbyist Larry Frankel was found dead in Rock Creek Park late last week, the organization confirmed on Monday. Frankel, who worked at the organization for 15 years, was the state legislative director at the ACLU's Washington, D.C., office," Roll Call (subscription) reports.
• "A former aide to Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) has filed suit against the company for whom he helped secure a controversial $1.6 million earmark for a blimp project last year," Politico reports. "In his lawsuit, Adrian Plesha says that James Ferguson IV -- the son of the owner of the company that got the blimp funding -- owes him more than $262,000 in unpaid lobbying fees and expenses."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "President Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee on Thursday joined the growing group of politicians and committees pledging to return or donate to charity campaign contributions from Democratic moneyman Hassan Nemazee, who was arrested and charged Tuesday with trying to defraud Citibank of $74 million by offering fake collateral for a loan," Politico reports. "But a DNC official stopped short of promising that Obama would give back or give away contributions from other donors that came through Nemazee through a process known as bundling that brought in more than $500,000 for Obama's campaign."
• "The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has been lobbying for three decades for the federal government to provide universal health insurance, especially for the poor," the New York Times reports. "Now, as President Obama tries to rally Roman Catholics and other religious voters around his proposals to do just that, a growing number of bishops are speaking out against it."
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., "has launched an urgent effort to raise $100,000 by Monday to help combat what she calls GOP 'smears' about health care reform," Politico reports. "'Republican opponents of reform are coming out with one outrageous smear after the next, all aimed at derailing our progress. We must be able to counter their special interest-funded attacks and set the record straight,' Pelosi wrote in a letter to Democratic supporters."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "A new report by the group Public Citizen says that representatives of the banks that received the most money in a federal bailout have ponied up millions of dollars in campaign donations to Members of Congress," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "Lobbyists, political action committees and trade associations connected to the industry have scheduled 70 fundraisers for Members since Election Day 2008 and have made $6 million in contributions," the report found.
• "Opponents of a health care overhaul have been stoking fears that a government health plan would entail 'death panels' that deny treatment to sick people. Now, a liberal group financed by two large labor unions is turning the tables with an attack ad that portrays health insurance companies denying medical care to patients as the 'real death panels in America,'" the New York Times reports.
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Vice President Joe Biden, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday evening they plan to return or donate to charity campaign contributions from Democratic financier Hassan Nemazee, who was arrested and charged Tuesday with trying to defraud Citibank of $74 million by offering fake collateral on a loan," Politico reports.
• "New financial disclosure reports filed by Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) show that the veteran lawmaker failed to report more than $660,000 in assets during 2007, a potential violation of House ethics rules," Politico reports. "The latest revelations on Rangel's personal finances may prove problematic for the New York Democrat, who is already the target of a wide-ranging ethics investigation."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Four independent groups are launching more than $1 million in attack ads" today "targeting five House Republicans who voted against energy legislation in June, spokespeople for the groups said," Politico reports. "The ads from the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, MoveOn and Americans United for Change, will target Reps. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.), Denny Rehberg (R- Mont.), Roy Blunt (R- Mo.) and two Virginia Republicans, Frank Wolf and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor."
• "Faced with a souring public mood on health care reform, Democrats and their supporters are launching a national grassroots push Wednesday to show lawmakers that the majority of Americans still support overhauling the system," Politico reports. The Democratic National Committee, Organizing for America and Health Care for America Now "are planning to hold more than 500 events between Wednesday and when lawmakers return to Washington Sept. 8, ranging from neighborhood organized phone banks to professionally staffed rallies with hundreds of people."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "AARP thinks U.S. health care needs a sweeping overhaul. Problem is, a lot of its members don't agree," the Wall Street Journal reports. "That is putting the 40-million-strong organization of older Americans in a tight spot. It is fielding a flood of calls from worried seniors and battling rumors about" President Obama's "health push, which it supports."
• "The United Health Group, a major insurer seen as playing the politics of reform better than most, is denying a report that it directed its employees to attend tea parties opposing the Democratic plans," Politico reports. "The insurance giant, with about 75,000 employees, confirmed another element of the report, however: That its employees' talking points include opposition to a public option for health insurance."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "Liberal bloggers say they have helped raise more than $160,000 in the past 24 hours for about 60 progressive House Democrats who have pledged to vote against any health care plan that does not include a public insurance option," Roll Call (subscription) reports.
• "House Democrats are probing the nation's largest insurance companies for lavish spending, demanding reams of compensation data and schedules of retreats and conferences," Politico reports. "Letters sent to 52 insurance companies by Democratic leaders demand extensive documents for an examination of 'extensive compensation and other business practices in the health insurance industry.' The letters set a deadline of Sept. 14 for the documents."
From this morning's Earlybird:
• "A lobbying firm working for a pro-coal industry group sent lawmakers a total of 13 fraudulent letters opposing the House climate bill -- five more than initially believed, the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming said Tuesday," Politico reports. The letters "purported to be from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, senior citizens groups and Creciendo Juntos, a Hispanic advocacy organization."
• "The prescription drug industry's lobbying arm is defending its deal with President Barack Obama in the wake of criticism from House Minority Leader John Boehner, who charged it with "appeasing" the Obama administration," The Hill reports. "'At the end of the day, comprehensive healthcare reform is good for patients, the economy and the future of our country,' Ken Johnson, senior vice president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), said in an interview with The Hill."
• "Critics of President Obama's health-care overhaul are zeroing in on his senior adviser David Axelrod, whose former partners at a Chicago-based firm are the beneficiaries of huge ad buys -- now at $24 million and counting -- by White House allies in the reform fight," Politico reports. The scrutiny "revolves around two separate $12 million ad campaigns advocating Obama's health care plan that were produced and placed partly by AKPD Message and Media, a firm founded by Axelrod that employs his son and still owes Axelrod $2 million."
• "With just over 100 days until the expiration of a tax credit for roughly a third of U.S. homebuyers, building and Realtors' groups are spending August trying to sell lawmakers on a broad expansion of the incentive program," CongressDaily (subscription) reports.
From this morning's Earlybird:
