Single-family rentals group hires TheGROUP

Presented by Electronic Payments Coalition: Delivered daily, Influence gives you a comprehensive rundown and analysis of all lobby hires and news on K Street.
Dec 13, 2023 View in browser
 
POLITICO Influence newsletter logo

By Caitlin Oprysko

Presented by

Electronic Payments Coalition

With Sam Sutton, Daniel Lippman

SINGLE-FAMILY RENTERS GROUP RETAINS THEGROUP: The trade association representing the single family rental industry has picked up new lobbying help amid the Biden administration's push on so-called junk fees in the rental sector and scrutiny over an influx of private equity investment in rental markets.

— The National Rental Home Council last month retained former Joe Biden aide Sudafi Henry and Saul Hernandez of theGROUP D.C. to work on issues related to the single-family rental home marketplace and industry, according to a disclosure.

— The trade group, whose members include rental companies owned by private equity firms or other institutional investors, also retains Venable, Bockorny Group and Fed Hall Policy Advisors, but their latest hire came just as new legislation in Congress took aim at Wall Street’s role in the housing market following years of heat from Democrats over the role that institutional investors’ purchases of single-family homes plays in exacerbating housing affordability.

— Last week, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) introduced legislation that would force hedge funds to gradually sell off their inventory of single-family homes and ban them from buying more. The bill came months after a New York Times report examining large investors’ infiltration of the rental market in Charlotte, North Carolina, in particular, beating out first-time buyers with all-cash purchases, taking homes off the market and driving up housing prices.

— Congressional committees in the House and Senate held hearings focused on private equity investors and the housing market last year and the year before — though the NRHC argues that a key driver of the housing crisis is the lack of supply, and has touted the rise of new homes built for renters.

— The NRHC slammed Merkley and Smith’s bill, accusing its authors of drawing on “out of context and unsubstantiated claims about the single-family rental home market and the role of housing providers within that market.” The bill itself, the group said, “targets the legitimate development, investment, and ownership activities of America’s leading providers and builders of professionally-managed single-family rental homes and communities” and would reduce housing options for renters.

— The rental industry more broadly has also become one of the many targets of the Biden administration’s junk fees push. The White House praised several online rental platforms over the summer for committing to disclosing various fees like security deposits and application or amenity fees up front, while HUD issued research on different policies to address rental fees.

— The NRHC said in response to the White House push that “transparency is always a priority” and that “any fees associated with the rental experience are disclosed in the lease documents and are based on the cost of the underlying service and/or amenity necessary to meet the standard of care expectation of residents and communities,” while calling on policymakers to work with its members to “reduce — not impose — regulatory barriers” to housing.

Happy Wednesday and welcome to PI. Send K Street tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

 

A message from Electronic Payments Coalition:

Home for the Holidays? Hill staffers may be ready to dash home for the holidays, but the Durbin-Marshall bill would eliminate the airline credit card reward programs used to book 15 million flights last year and points programs used to get discounts on gas for the drive. Learn how you can take action: handsoffmyrewards.com/travel

 


THE (LOBBYING) BATTLE FOR NAGORNO-KARABAKH: The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft’s latest look at the advocacy fights unfolding in Washington around a major international conflict focuses on the South Caucasus, where Azerbaijan’s sudden invasion in September of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh prompted the flight of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians living there.

— Last month, Senate Foreign Relations Chair Ben Cardin (D-Md.) urged the Biden administration to take a tougher stance against Azerbaijan in the wake of the incursion, which he described as a “brazen campaign of ethnic cleansing,” but Cardin’s push is going up against the more than $7 million Azerbaijan’s government on lobbying and PR firms registered under FARA, the Quincy analysis found.

— While that’s a pittance in comparison to other foreign lobbying heavyweights, “Azerbaijan’s agents — like BGR Government Affairs — have conducted vigorous advocacy for Baku’s interests, including continued military assistance to Azerbaijan following the Second Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020,” the report says. BGR lobbyists working on the account contacted “congressional offices more than a thousand times on Azerbaijan’s behalf in just the first half of 2023,” according to the report. Baku also benefits from close ties to Turkey and Israel.

— Armenia, on the other hand, flexes most of its political power in the U.S. by way of its extensive diaspora and groups like the Armenian Assembly and the Armenian National Committee of America. Those groups spearheaded a boycott of K Street firms working for Baku during the last Nagorno-Karabakh war, and have targeted Republicans since this last invasion.

— In fact, the report notes, Armenia had no registered foreign agents on its payroll from 2020 until earlier this year, when the National Democratic Alliance of Armenia hired former Rep. Bob Livingston’s firm Livingston Group.


AG LAWMAKERS, LOBBIES SOFTENED CHINA TRADE REPORT: “Congress’ China hawks are meeting rare pushback in their campaign to crack down on Beijing — farm district Republicans and agriculture lobbies increasingly alarmed that Congress might just blow up American farmers’ largest export market,” POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill and Gavin Bade report.

— “Lawmakers and influential agriculture lobby groups led a campaign to soften the language in a high-profile new report this week from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, prompting the panel’s leaders to pull back from an explicit call to revoke normal trade status for China — a move that would likely mean significantly higher tariffs on a wide swath of Chinese products.”

— “As word began to circulate that the Select Committee might recommend a repeal of China’s Permanent Normal Trade Relations designation, enacted more than two decades ago to lower American tariffs on China, concerned Republicans quietly joined together with several Democrats who voiced their own reasons to push for revisions. They argued such a drastic step would have catastrophic consequences, especially for U.S. farmers and rural communities.”

— And while groups that have complained about China’s trade practices for decades applauded lawmakers’ crackdown, “many agriculture groups and key retail and business groups remained alarmed, even as they reiterated their criticism of China’s trade practices and unfulfilled promises of reform.”

THE INFLUENCE(R) GAME: Nothing sets social media algorithms ablaze like interchange fees. That was the arena of the latest chapter in the endless fight between merchant groups and the payments industry over a credit card swipe fee bill led by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Marshall’s (R-Kan.).

— The Merchants Payments Coalition, which represents retailers, published a memo that the Electronic Payments Coalition distributed to influencers with talking points on how the bill would kill credit card reward programs. It also included rules for receiving payment in exchange for their posts.

— “I suppose they were also shocked when they found out there was gambling in Casablanca,” said EPC spokesman Nick Simpson, who confirmed the memo had been distributed by an EPC vendor. “It’s no different than the similar memo I am sure MPC sent out to the influencers they are working with.”

— The MPC denied that it’s paying influencers to support the legislation, which would force banks to make credit cards usable across at least two networks — one of which can’t be Visa or Mastercard.

— “If any influencers are working on our side of this, it’s totally organic,” said Stephanie Martz, chief administrative officer and general counsel at the National Retail Federation (an MPC member). “We are not paying anyone. We work with grassroots organizations, and those are people who have skin in the game. It’s not made-up astroturf.”

FOODIE CORNER: The New Republic’s Ken Silverstein dove into embattled Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-N.J.) campaign spending on lavish food and drinks over the years, writing that “when it comes to the art of living well on political contributions … Menendez operates at masterclass level.”

— “During the past two decades, he dished out about $4.3 million from his campaign treasuries and New Millennium Leadership PAC for food, drink, catering, travel, and other lifestyle enhancers.”

— “Menendez’s combined career fundraising haul to date comes to almost exactly $100 million,” though he’s needed to spend little of that on tough campaigns. “His top contributors, unsurprisingly, are disproportionately members of the one percent demographic. At the pinnacle are PACs and executives affiliated with Goldman Sachs and Blackstone, the law and lobbying giant Greenberg Traurig, and AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups.”

— Some stats: “Menendez has charged his leadership PAC enormous sums for steakhouse meals, including about $200,000 of his historic Morton’s tab of $374,000. The senator’s single-day spending record at Morton’s was $3,387.95 back in 2010, but he’s enjoyed dozens of $1,000-and-up meals there. … New Millennium’s treasury has covered the costs for dozens of Menendez’s outings to other Washington prime beef purveyors as well: The Palm, Capital Grille, and Charlie Palmer to name only a few.”

 

POLITICO AT CES® 2024: We are going ALL On at CES 2024 with a special edition of the POLITICO Digital Future Daily newsletter. The CES-focused newsletter will take you inside the most powerful tech event in the world, featuring revolutionary products that cut across verticals, and insights from industry leaders that are shaping the future of innovation. The newsletter runs from Jan. 9-12 and will focus on the public policy-related aspects of the gathering. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of the show.

 
 

SPOTTED last night at a Booking Holdings reception at Union Station that featured a panel with Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel and Reps. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.), and Dina Titus (D-Nev.): Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Greg Walden of Alpine Advisors, Norm Coleman of Hogan Lovells, Maryam Mujica of Global Women's Innovation Network, Heather Podesta, Kate Bennett of Invariant, Susan Farkas of Washingtonian Magazine, Elizabeth Baker Keffer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Nu Wexler of Four Corners Public Affairs, Patrick Mellody, Erik Hansen of the U.S. Travel Association, and Puru Trivedi of Meridian International Center.

— And at a meatballs and bourbon-themed holiday reception hosted by former staff and Michigan delegation alumni for Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), at the Associated General Contractors of America’s townhouse, per a tipster: Jonathan Hirte of DTE Energy, Evan Armstrong of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, Mike Telliga of Amway and Sage Eastman of Mehlman Consulting.

 

A message from Electronic Payments Coalition:

Advertisement Image

 
Jobs Report

— Former Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) has been promoted to partner at Mercury Public Affairs.

Giulia Balentine has joined J Strategies as a vice president on the public affairs team. She was previously a senior associate at SKDK.

Melanie Hinton is joining the Transportation Intermediaries Association as vice president of marketing and communications. She served most recently as the vice president of communications and marketing at the American Bus Association.

— The Natural Resources Defense Council named Christy Goldfuss executive director. She was previously NRDC’s chief policy impact officer.

Adam Broder has joined the Federation of American Hospitals as senior vice president of external affairs. He was most recently managing director at FTI Consulting.

Jennifer Nord Mallard has joined the Better Medicare Alliance as the vice president of government affairs. She was most recently head of government affairs at Tempus and is a Mayo Clinic, American Hospital Association and Vogel Group alum.

Bharat Ramamurti is joining the American Economic Liberties Project as senior adviser for economic strategy. He previously was deputy director of the National Economic Council and is an Elizabeth Warren alum.

Rodericka Applewhaite is now director of Black media at the White House. She most recently was at SKDK, and has worked on campaigns including Gretchen Whitmer’s reelect in Michigan and Pete Buttigieg’s presidential bid.

Daniel Beck is joining National Public Affairs as a digital account manager. He most recently was an associate at PLUS Communications.

AeroVironment named Paul “Church” Hutton as its vice president for government relations. Hutton led government relations for Mercury Systems and served on the staffs of the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations committees.

 

SUBSCRIBE TO CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes.

 
 
New Joint Fundraisers

None.

New PACs

Citizens for Truth and Justice Inc (Super PAC)

DEFEND DEMOCRACY USA (Super PAC)

GOVERNING FOR GOOD (Super PAC)

Reform California Voter Guide (PAC)

New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS

9th Street Strategies: Forbright Bank

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld: Lightmatter, Inc.

Alpine Group Partners, LLC.: Systems Innovation Engineering LLC

Banner Public Affairs, LLC: Windward Fund

Diroma Eck & Co. LLP: Chicago Atlantic Advisors, LLC

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP: Choice Hotels, International, Inc.

Ice Miller LLP: Golden Beam Metals, LLC

Mason Street Consulting, LLC: Emd Serono, Inc.

Mason Street Consulting, LLC: Perimeter Medical Imaging

Swenson Strategies, Inc.: Burning Man Project

The Madison Group: Special Needs Network Inc.

Thorn Run Partners: Ifp Action

New Lobbying Terminations

Mehlman Consulting, Inc.: Scribeamerica

Swenson Strategies, Inc.: Specialty Equipment Market Association (Sema)

 

A message from Electronic Payments Coalition:

Congress: Don’t Make it Harder for Americans to Travel Home for the Holidays: The Durbin-Marshall credit card bill would eliminate funding for popular rewards programs, which help you go home for the holidays or take a much-needed vacation. Last year, credit card airline rewards were responsible for 15 million flights and generate nearly $44 billion in spending with travel-related businesses. In fact, 79% of U.S. cardholders will use rewards for gifts, travel or hosting family this holiday season. Learn how you can take action: handsoffmyrewards.com/travel

 
 

Follow us

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Listen on Apple Podcast
 

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings

This email was sent to salenamartine360.news1@blogger.com by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA

Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service

Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post