| | | | |  | | By Hailey Fuchs | | Presented by |  | | | With Daniel Lippman PRIZEPICKS TAKES WASHINGTON: The daily fantasy sports company PrizePicks has added another lobbying firm to its roster. — The addition makes the firm, Hannegan Landau Poersch & Rosenbaum Advocacy, the third that is now registered to lobby for the fantasy sports platform. PrizePicks began formally lobbying Washington in spring 2023, a few years after the Supreme Court overturned a law that curbed sports betting and, in the process, allowed states to legalize the activity. — The filing, posted on April 10, notes that Timothy Hannegan, former assistant director of the Government Accountability Office, and Jay Sulzmann, former legislative director to the late Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), will “Provide advice and counsel on matters impacting the daily fantasy sports platform.” — PrizePicks has already hired Polaris Government Relations and The Cormac Group and spent $80,000 on federal lobbying, per the latest filings under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. The company declined to comment. — As sports gambling grows nationwide, some members of Congress have taken aim at the industry. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) has introduced legislation called the “Betting on our Future Act,” which would prohibit sports gambling advertising online. Happy Thursday, and Welcome to PI. My name is Hailey Fuchs, and I cover money and influence for Politico. I’m filling in for Caitlin today, and our health care influence reporter Megan Wilson will be filling in tomorrow. Send us tips at hfuchs@politico.com and mwilson@politico.com, and follow us on the platform formerly known as Twitter: @Hailey_Fuchs and @MissWilson.
| | | | Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more. | | | | | FIRST IN PI: A number of nonprofits have launched the site USvApple.org to rally behind the Department of Justice in its recent antitrust lawsuit against Apple. — The watchdog groups involved in the campaign include Accountable Tech, The Tech Oversight Project, the Revolving Door Project and Demand Progress, among others. The aim of the project, according to a coalition spokesperson, is to foster public support for the DOJ as it fights Apple’s vast resources in Washington. Apple spent $2.95 million lobbying in the last quarter of 2023, per a federal disclosure. — “Apple and other Big Tech companies’ anti-competitive behavior has robbed consumers of choice, undermined our democratic institutions, and harmed America’s national security,” the coalition’s website says. “As non-profit organizations that want to ensure a fair, competitive, innovative economy, we commend the DOJ for taking on Apple.” NUCLEAR-POWERED REVOLVING DOOR: “A retired lawmaker who was one of Congress’ most outspoken nuclear energy supporters is now lobbying for one of the nation’s leading nuclear power equipment manufacturing companies,” E&E News’ Timothy Cama reports. — “Former Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), now a lobbyist with K&L Gates, has been advocating on behalf of Westinghouse Electric since February, the firm said in a disclosure filing made public this week.” — “Doyle and his colleagues are advocating on, ‘Advanced reactor and micoreactor [sic] technology and nuclear fuels,’ K&L Gates said in the filing.” CONSUMER BRANDS ADDS BIG NAME: Nestlé has joined the Consumer Brands Association, a trade association of consumer packaged goods companies (along with some retailers and suppliers). — Faribault Foods, whose brands include S&W Beans and Sun Vista, is also joining the association, per an announcement from Consumer Brands. The companies are the latest additions to the group, after Consumer Brands announced earlier this year that other giants like The Kraft Heinz Company and WK Kellogg Co had joined its roster. — ”The addition of these two companies is a testament to our growing success and will further strengthen our advocacy efforts for an industry whose products consumers depend on every day,” Consumer Brands CEO David Chavern said in the release. — Nestlé will also assume a seat on the association’s board of directors. SPOTTED AT THE STATE DINNER: A number of high-profile business leaders attended the White House’s state dinner on Wednesday honoring Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. — The guest list included Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Blackstone COO Jonathan Gray, Blackrock CEO Laurence Fink and Microsoft president Brad Smith. — Neither Bezos nor Cook said whether he would donate to the Biden campaign, The New York Times reported.
| | | | A message from the Small Business Payments Alliance: THE DURBIN-MARSHALL CREDIT CARD BILL IS A WINDFALL FOR MEGA-STORES: Small business owners oppose the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Bill because new credit card mandates would deliver billions of dollars to the 5 biggest mega-stores and cost $1 billion in lost rewards. Read the new study here: https://smallbusinesspaymentsalliance.com/2024/02/07/small-business-owners-oppose-durbin-marshall-windfall-for-mega-retailers/ | | | | | — The DNC is adding Hannah Muldavin and Marcus Robinson as senior spokespeople. Muldavin most recently was a senior comms adviser for the Congressional Integrity Project. Robinson previously was public affairs director at SKDK. — R. Latane Montague is joining Morgan Lewis as a partner to co-lead its global automotive and mobility practice. He previously was a global leader of Hogan Lovells’ transportation practice. — Eason Jordan will be SVP of the Connected Leaders platform at the Rockefeller Foundation. He currently is CEO of Oryx Strategies and is a CNN and NowThis alum. — Nick Mikula joined DARPA as its chief of legislative affairs. He was a senior director at Invariant. — Mae Stevens has been promoted to partner at Banner Public Affairs. She serves as chair of the water practice and CEO of the American Business Water Coalition. — Michael Robbins, the chief advocacy officer at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, is becoming the association’s next president and CEO. Robbins was formerly at ALPA and spent a decade on Capitol Hill working for the late Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.). — Lisa Gelobter, CEO and co-founder of tEQuitable, has been appointed board chair of The Education Trust, Morning Education reports. Additionally, EdTrust has appointed three new board members: UnidosUS senior vice president of policy and advocacy Eric Rodriguez, CEO and co-founder of MetaMetrics Malbert Smith III, and co-founder of TheHarWigg Group consulting firm Tomeka Hart Wigginton. — Brecke Boyd is launching The BREX Firm, a public affairs consultancy focused on defense and space start-ups, Morning Defense reports. Boyd was a senior public relations manager for Amazon's Project Kuiper and Lockheed Martin. — Ken Monahan, who was with the National Association of Manufacturers for nearly a decade, has stepped down as the group’s vice president for international policy. He is now senior director and head of government relations at Thermo Fisher Scientific. — Nadira Clarke, Lily Chinn and Anne Carpenter have joined Hogan Lovells’ environment and natural resources practice as partners. They previously were partners at Baker Botts.
| | | | A message from the Small Business Payments Alliance:   | | | | | McClellan Cotter Smasal Victory Fund (Rep.Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.), Missy Cotter Smasal) Tony Wied Victory Committee (Tony Wied for Congress, Right Wisconsin PAC)
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| | | | A message from the Small Business Payments Alliance: SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS OPPOSE DURBIN-MARSHALL WINDFALL FOR MEGA RETAILERS: A new report reveals that the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Bill would “disproportionately benefit the top five businesses in the U.S.” and that any proposed changes to the payment routing system “is demonstrably a favor to large—not small business.” The report, “Imposing Alternative Payment Networks on Credit Cards Will Likely Hurt Low Income Households and Small Merchants,” from the Chair of the Finance Department at the University of Miami’s Herbert Business School, found that: “The intent of the proposed Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) is to reduce routing fees for credit card transactions to save merchants–and hence consumers–money. However, this analysis suggests that almost all of those savings will accrue to retailers with $500 million or more in annual sales, with little going to small businesses. Learn more: https://smallbusinesspaymentsalliance.com/2024/02/07/small-business-owners-oppose-durbin-marshall-windfall-for-mega-retailers/ | | | | | New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS | | Caprock Strategies, LLC: Penn Hill Group Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz /The Daschle Group: PMB Defence Daybreak Strategies: Nocell Technologies Squire Patton Boggs: Port Hamilton Refining And Transportation TheGROUP DC, LLC: Breakthrough Energy Action Mercury Public Affairs, LLC: The Chicago Center Smart Policy Group LLC: U.S. Biochar Coalition Smart Policy Group LLC: End To End Computing LLC Smart Policy Group LLC: Arkea Bio Corp. Smart Policy Group LLC: American Biomass Energy Association (Formerly Biomass Power Association) Polsinelli PC: Femasys Inc. Smart Policy Group LLC: Iroquois Gas Transmission System, L.P. Capitol Core Group, Inc.: Nova Labs, Inc. Van Scoyoc Associates: Pilot Catastrophe Services, Inc. Monument Advocacy: Employ, Inc. Anchor & Arrow Strategies: Palantir Technologies, Inc. Fierce Government Relations: Comcast Corporation
| | New Lobbying Terminations | | Olsson, Frank, Weeda, Terman & Matz, PC: Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc. Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz /The Daschle Group: Accolade Mercury Public Affairs, LLC: National Automated Merchandising Association Holland & Knight LLP: Clark Street Associates on behalf of Biomason, Inc. Lone Rock Strategies: Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Holland & Knight LLP: Pallidus, Inc. The Livingston Group, LLC: Codan Limited Blue Marble Strategy LLC: A Greener World | | | | Follow us | | | | |
