MORE TURBULENCE AT BIO: Megan reports that “Nick Shipley, the leader of advocacy at the industry group Biotechnology Innovation Organization, left abruptly last week in the wake of the group’s positioning on a bill targeting Chinese biotechs firms. Two people familiar with the matter said he was fired.” — “BIO, which represents companies including Merck and Regeneron, recently went from opposing to supporting the legislation, known as the BIOSECURE Act, which would effectively prohibit Chinese biotech companies from doing business in the U.S.” — “The about-face followed a new CEO atop the organization and outrage from lawmakers, angry over opposition to a bill that its congressional supporters say is a matter of national security. … Shipley and BIO’s new CEO, John Crowley, disagreed about the strategy and positioning around the legislation, which played a role in Shipley’s abrupt departure, according to the two sources granted anonymity to discuss internal BIO affairs.” GASSED UP: “Two Senate climate hawks are putting the country's biggest natural gas trade group in the crosshairs of another campaign to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for its lobbying against strong action against global warming,” per E&E News’ Nico Portuondo. — “Senate Budget Chair Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on Tuesday joined leaders from the Gas Leaks Project on Capitol Hill to urge the American Gas Association against using ratepayer money for what the lawmakers call disinformation campaigns.” — “‘The American Gas Association has known about the health harms of gas for decades but worked for years to mislead the public,’ said Markey. ‘To make matters worse, the American Gas Association gets funding for its misinformation campaigns from your gas bills.’” — “The lawmakers and environmental group allies said gas utilities are taking advantage of consumers by using money from their customers' bills to pay AGA membership fees,” but “the campaign likely won't go further than a public shaming for now; the lawmakers said they did not yet have plans to craft legislation.” WHAT TO WATCH IN THE DATA PRIVACY FIGHT: “A fresh attempt to impose new limits on the kinds of personal information tech companies can collect about Americans — and how they use it — is already stumbling,” our Alfred Ng reports. — “The bill, floated as a political compromise after years of partisan gridlock doomed previous attempts to write a national privacy law, is now under fire for those concessions. The draft language would preempt most existing state laws, a non-starter for some Democrats, and it allows anyone to sue if their privacy rights are violated, a move opposed by Republicans.” — Those provisions are just two of the contentious issues that could end up bringing down the latest proposal from House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), which is slated for a markup next week. Already, Senate Commerce ranking member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has objected to the bill’s so-called private right of action — which allows individuals to sue for privacy violations — for one. — The tech industry has also complained about the private right of action language and raised concerns about how the bill — which restricts how companies may use artificial intelligence in certain algorithmic decisions — would treat using people’s data to train those AI models. — Privacy advocacy groups have yet to signal their support for the bill, pending their review of how the measure stacks up to state laws it’s seeking to preempt or past data privacy legislation debated in Congress. FLY-IN SZN: Advocates for a wide range of issues will descend on the Hill this week to meet with lawmakers as they return from their spring recess, including the tech industry group TechNet, which has flown in executives from more than a dozen of its member companies. — This year’s fly-in will focus on AI policy, and Silicon Valley leaders will meet with more than 40 lawmakers, including House AI task force leaders Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Senate AI working group member Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Senate Intelligence Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.). — The renewables industry is also in town with the American Clean Power Association. The trade group has flown in frontline workers like technicians, installers, site managers, field technicians and assembly line workers to tout the industry’s benefits for their communities. But attendees will also spend their meetings with more than 170 congressional offices urging lawmakers to protect tax incentives for clean energy, pass permitting reforms and preserve the right to site clean energy on private land. — Members of the Healthcare Distribution Alliance hit the Hill this week to discuss ways to address drug shortages and how the industry is trying to help minimize the fallout of those shortages, as well as supply chain issues. — The Fiber Broadband Association will host “Fiber Day” tomorrow, which will feature interactive demo stations from its members that will aim to illustrate the benefits of fiber broadband technology for everything from 5G to precision agriculture to health care and education. The trade group is expecting appearances throughout the day from Sens. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Reps. Ann Kuster (D-N.H.) and Troy Balderson (R-Ohio). SPOTTED at the Capitol Hill Club last night for an annual reception for Maggie’s List, which works to elect conservative women to Congress, per a PI tipster: Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), House Speaker Mike Johnson, Reps. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.), Mary Miller (R-Ill.), Daniel Webster (R-Fla.), Burgess Owens (R-Utah), Austin Scott (R-Ga.), Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.), Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Young Kim (R-Calif.), Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) and Laurel Lee (R-Fla.); Sandra Mortham of Maggie’s List, former GOP lawmakers and candidates Sue Lowden, Jennifer Carroll and Chele Farley, Matt Beynon of BrabenderCox, Ben DeMarzo of Miller’s office, Britt Carter of the American Chemistry Council, Carrie Coxen, Kaitlyn Martin of Cozen O’Connor and Lauren Zelt of Zelt Communications.
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