With Daniel Lippman REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS ADVOCATES LAUNCH IVF PUSH: A veteran K Street operative and a reproductive rights attorney are heading up a new advocacy group to raise the alarm about threats to access for in vitro fertilization, which is shaping up to be a key issue in November’s election. — Stand with IVF is co-founded by Michaela Sims, who leads the government affairs shop Sims Strategies and has personal experience with IVF; and Nidhi Desai, who serves as the assisted reproductive technology policy director for the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorneys. — The group’s launch comes a day before the Senate is set to take another show vote on a Democratic package of bills to expand access to IVF and other assisted reproductive technology or fertility treatments. Senate Republicans blocked the bills earlier this year after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling threw the fate of IVF treatments in the state into doubt and sparked a national debate over IVF policy. — In last week’s presidential debate, former President Donald Trump declared himself a “leader” on the issue — underscoring the political salience of access to fertility treatments and reproductive care but also rankling certain corners of his party, and prompting Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to call another vote on the IVF bills that is expected to fail once again. — Stand with IVF aims to serve as an educational resource in addition to rallying support to maintain access to the treatments. “Over the past few months, I increasingly began to appreciate that a massive education effort would be needed for people to understand how and why IVF is under threat and the impact it may have on those who have grown or want to grow their families through IVF,” Sims said in a statement. — In addition to Sims and Desai, Ted Prettyman of Sims Strategies will help lead day-to-day operations, while David Di Martino of Seven Letter will be a member of the board. The group is self-funding for the time being, but hopes to start bringing in small dollar support from grassroots donors before eventually landing funds from foundations or other larger sources, Di Martino told PI. It’s a 501(c)4 group, meaning it will not be required to disclose its donors. Happy Monday and welcome to PI. Sign any interesting clients? Switching jobs? Let me know: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko. THE LEFT STANDS UP ITS TAX FORCE: Hundreds of progressive advocacy organizations and prominent labor groups are launching a coordinated effort to prevent business interests from dominating conversations about next year’s tax package. — The coalition, Fair Share America, counts among its members Americans for Tax Fairness, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the National Education Association and Service Employees International Union. — Their counteroffensive is aimed at leveling the playing field with the deep-pocketed business lobby that has been working for months already to lay the groundwork for renewing expiring tax cuts from the 2017 GOP overhaul. — But the coalition also aims to inject the lens of “tax justice” into the tax talks, with a focus on increasing revenues in order to finance greater social spending on everything from education and housing to child and senior care and the environment. The state advocacy groups involved in the coalition are already working to make tax justice issues a legislative priority in statehouses from coast to coast over the next two years. — Fair Share America will hold a fly-in on Wednesday to mark its launch, meeting with members to call for an increase in the corporate tax rate — one of the rare tax provisions from the 2017 overhaul not actually set to expire next year — and to ensure that tax breaks for high-income households aren’t extended in next year’s package. WHAT MUSK’S PAC IS UP TO: “A super PAC that Elon Musk helped create has ramped up spending on behalf of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in recent weeks, splashing out millions of dollars primarily in swing states,” The Washington Post’s Amy Gardner, Trisha Thadani and Clara Ence Morse report. — “The burst of activity adds to the evidence of Musk’s growing political alliance with the former president, with the billionaire and his funding playing a key role in the effort to win Trump a second term.” — America PAC “has spent nearly $33 million since it emerged from a summer spending lull in mid-August, far exceeding the amount it had spent to that date since its formation in late May, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Filings show the money has primarily funded get-out-the-vote operations in battleground states including door-knocking, digital advertising and mailers.” — “In recent days, America PAC has barraged voters in North Carolina with door-hangers and mail pieces. … America PAC also has increased online spending in recent days, largely targeting swing states such as Nevada, Georgia and Arizona. The committee has more than doubled its spending on X over the past month — from $37,000 to more than $100,000 — with its ads mostly targeted at users in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and Georgia, according to data disclosed by the platform on Sept. 13.” FLYING IN: The Transportation Intermediaries Association kicked off a three-day fly-in today, during which members of the third-party logistics industry are slated to have more than 250 congressional meetings. One of the primary issues participants plan to discuss is fraud within the freight supply chain; they will also push lawmakers to sponsor bipartisan legislation aimed at strengthening protections against fraud involving moving companies. — The trade group is set to meet with House Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo), as well as top Democrats from the committee and Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.). — The National Confectioners Association and its member companies are in town this week as well to tout the economic impacts of the industry and push for more targeted changes to the sugar program in the upcoming farm bill. NCA members who will participate in the fly-in include the Hershey Company, Mars Wrigley, Ferrero, Ferrara, Barry Callebaut, Mondelez, Bazooka, Goetze’s, Russell Stover, Perfetti Van Melle, PIM Brands, Haribo, Spangler Candy Company and Hawaiian Host. WATCHDOGS BRISTLE AT HARRIS’ DEBATE PREPPER: “A top lawyer for Google in the search giant’s landmark trial with the US government is also a key adviser to the Kamala Harris campaign — and tech antitrust watchdogs are calling the cozy relationship ‘outrageous,’” the New York Post’s Thomas Barrabi writes. — As our Josh Sisco reported, after delivering the opening statement on behalf of Google Tuesday morning against the Justice Department’s bid to break up Google’s online ad business, Paul Weiss attorney Karen Dunn was excused by the judge to help lead Harris’ preparations for the debate that night. — “You couldn’t have scripted this any better if you were writing a TV movie,” the Revolving Door Project’s Jeff Hauser told the Post, adding that after Harris’ widely praised debate performance, “one imagines [Dunn’s] stature in Harris world has only gone up after the debate — which could be concerning if she’s ever negotiating a potential settlement with the Justice Department under Harris.” — “While Dunn is a highly regarded lawyer with a long history of defending Big Tech clients like Apple and Uber in major cases, some experts nevertheless saw Google’s selection of her to deliver its opening statement as a clear power play meant to flex her ties to the White House.” Dunn’s firm pointed the Post to comments from legal experts refuting the idea of a conflict of interest. SPOTTED at APCO Worldwide's global headquarters this morning for a meet and greet with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, per a tipster: Mignon Clyburn of MLC Strategies; Tim Roemer, Brandon Neal, Kelly Williamson, Courtney Crowder and Dan Meyers of APCO, Judy Byrd of Byrd Retail Group, Engel Burns of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, Candice Tolliver Burns of Friendship Public Charter School, Michelle Russo and Rick Wade of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Jess O'Connell of NEWCO Strategies, Janette Yarwood of Yale University, Belinda Coleman of the Coleman Group and Yolanda Caraway of the Caraway Group. — And on Saturday at a Congressional Black Caucus gala after party hosted by French Ambassador Laurent Bili at his residence, per a tipster: Reps. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), Yebbie Watkins of Rep. Jim Clyburn’s (D-S.C.) office, Channelle Hardy of Google, Kim Tignor of Take Creative Control, Nicole Venable of Invariant, Lyndon Boozer of Capitol Counsel, Lance Mangum of FedEx, Joyce Brayboy of Goldman Sachs, Ed Hubbard of the Renewable Fuels Association, Steve Benjamin and Shuwanza Goff of the White House, Dave Grimaldi of the Blockchain Association, Nicole Varnum of Rep. Marc Veasey’s (D-Texas) office, and Hope Goins of the House Homeland Security Committee. — And at a reception and discussion hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and the Congressional Black Caucus, Executive Leadership Council and the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, per a tipster: Rick Wade of the U.S. Chamber, Michael Hyter of ELC, John Harmon of the AACCNJ, Rose McKinney James of Energy Works LLC and McKinney-James & Associates, Tom Quaadman of the U.S. Chamber’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness, Horsford and Benjamin.
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