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K STREET CONFIDENTIAL These Days, Everyone Needs Eyes, Ears and a Voice in Washington

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K STREET CONFIDENTIAL These Days, Everyone Needs Eyes, Ears and a Voice in Washington WASHINGTON K STREET CONFIDENTIAL These days, everyone needs eyes, ears and a voice in Washington. Here’s how to fi nd yours. BY DAN FISHER NCE UPON A TIME, BILL GATES BUILT Detroit has automobiles, Los Angeles Microsoft into a software colossus from has the movies, but in Washington, his home base in Seattle with only a single the signature industry is lobbying. lobbyist to watch after his interests in The public-interest reporting organization Washington D.C. Then, Washington taught ProPublica lists 17,138 current “lobbying Gates a hard lesson. representations,” according to federal As competitors like Netscape and records, each one representing a OOracle complained to Congress about company, a nation or an individual who Microsoft’s hardball business tactics, the thinks it necessary to pay somebody Justice Department opened an antitrust else to plead their case before investigation and eventually sued to Congress or the regulators. break the company up in 1998. By 2000, These days, Microsoft lists at least Microsoft was spending millions of 20 di erent lobbying fi rms it pays as dollars a year on a small army of lobbyists much as $110,000 a quarter to advise to counter attacks by competitors and on everything from tech policy to regulators and elect a more sympathetic immigration, while embattled former president in George W. Bush. Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn reported The late-breaking o ensive worked— paying BGR Group, a Republican-a liated Microsoft settled without being broken shop run by former Mississippi Gov. Haley up—but the company’s ordeal taught Barbour, $300,000 last year for help in the tech industry it was no di erent than “resolving an international legal issue.” the railroads, steel mills and automakers “At some point, the game is on, and you that came before it. In Washington, clout can’t know and don’t know if that’s next counts. And the only sure way to acquire month, next year or three years from now. clout is to hire lobbyists who know how to But you have to be on the fi eld,” says Joel convince, cajole and threaten lawmakers Johnson, a former Clinton administration into seeing things their way. senior adviser who now runs Glover Park Daniel Fisher, a former senior editor at Forbes, is Chief Executive’s legal a airs columnist. 36 CORPORATE BOARD MEMBER SECOND QUARTER 2020 TOP-LOBBY 2Q20 NEW.indd 32 3/4/20 9:47 PM CORPORATE BOARD MEMBER SECOND QUARTER 2020 37 TOP-LOBBY 2Q20 NEW.indd 33 3/4/20 9:47 PM Group, a 170-employee D.C. fi rm whose tanning-bed coup on her website bio. clients include Disney, Apple, Fox and Capitol Counsel’s longtime clients include Lyft. “You can’t just come o the bench the American Academy of Dermatology, in overtime and hope to infl uence the Amgen and Bayer, and the fi rm cites outcome.” more recent success, including helping Tech, once again, is the biggest game to defeat changes in Medicare Part B drug on K Street. With Congress turning its reimbursement. Some describe attention to Google, Facebook and Pharmaceutical companies have Amazon, and whether they hold too much traditionally been the biggest spenders the latest battle power over the Internet economy and in Washington, which is natural given how people receive the news, lobbyists, their vulnerability to regulations and even as “Google versus naturally, are raking in tens of millions of tiny changes in government healthcare dollars to advise these new tech titans spending programs. They spent $295 the world,” with how not to become the next Microsoft. million last year, according to OpenSecrets, Facebook and Some of the money is going to traditional multiples of the $75 million Internet fi rms like international law fi rm Akin Gump, companies spent. Amazon lumped in for years the highest-billing lobbying outfi t The growing power of Google, Facebook in Washington, with fi ve former members and Amazon is forcing them to spend on the Google side. of Congress in its policy shop. But they’re more to monitor and infl uence legislators also hiring newcomers like Fulcrum Public and regulatory agencies, however, as A airs, a Democrat-oriented fi rm run by disgruntled competitors and public- Obama administration alumnus Oscar interest groups stoke the fi res of grievance Ramirez and by Dana Thompson, a former and suspicion. Some describe the latest chief of sta to Democratic Congress- battle as “Google versus the world,” with women Maxine Waters and by Sheila Facebook and Amazon lumped in on Jackson Lee. In total, Google spent more the Google side, and a broad array of than $3 million on outside lobbyists last competitors, from Netfl ix to Internet year, according to government records, startups, on the other. A recent hearing on top of more than $11 million it spent in Colorado demonstrates the challenges on its internal Washington operation. these new industry leaders face as their As Microsoft demonstrated, the risk of power and wealth draw the attention of going it alone in the nation’s capitol is too Congress. At that hearing, lawmakers high. The classic example of a lobbying heard a number of smaller competitors, fail may be the 10 percent tanning-bed including Sonos, Tile and PopSockets, tax that appeared in the Obamacare bill complain that Google, Facebook et al sometime in 2009. The bill’s architects were trying to squelch them with were looking for non-essential services anticompetitive tactics. they could tax to help pay for the “I think it’s clear there’s abuse in the A ordable Care Act’s expansive benefi ts. marketplace and a need for action,” said At one point, they focused on Botox GOP Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado. That injections, but the dermatologist lobby looks like a win for Erik Huey of Platinum killed that idea. So then they targeted the Advisors, which charged Tile $10,000 in largely mom-and-pop business of tanning the fourth quarter of 2019 for advice on salons—and at the last minute exempted “issues related to the technology industry,” “qualifi ed physical fi tness facilities,” which according to federal lobbying records. in plain English are corporate health-club Sonos is advised on competition policy chains. This wasn’t an accident. by Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, Capitol Counsel Partner Shannon Finley, which is stocked with former o cials from a former senior sta er for Democratic Republican and Democratic administrations. Sen. Max Baucus, even brags about the Both fi rms declined comment. 38 CORPORATE BOARD MEMBER SECOND QUARTER 2020 TOP-LOBBY 2Q20 NEW.indd 34 3/4/20 9:47 PM WASHINGTON’S 10 TOP LOBBYISTS IT IS EASY TO CALCULATE THE TOP-GROSSING LOBBYING Squire Patton Boggs firms in Washington, thanks to detailed records they submit With former GOP Sen. Trent Lott and Democratic Sen. John to Congress on a quarterly basis. But to construct our list Breaux on the masthead, this Washington law firm ranks of top lobbyists, we went behind the dollars to identify the among the most powerful lobbying outfits with special clout firms and individuals who get the call when a company in the defense and energy industries. Squire Patton advises needs to buy the influence only years in the Capitol and a Airbus on military helicopter contracts, BAE Systems on thick Rolodex can provide. Some firms have been around defense and took in $150,000 a quarter last year from for decades and work both sides of the political aisle. Americans for Carbon Dividends, an industry-backed group Others, like Ballard Partners, have surged to prominence pushing for a carbon tax. thanks to their Republican Party credentials and ties to Trump. One thing is common to all of them: Count on Ballard Partners spending a minimum of $10,000 a quarter for eyes and Veteran Florida Republican operative Brian ears in Washington—and probably a lot more. Ballard opened Ballard’s Washington office in 2017, just in time to ride the Trump wave Akin Gump to $14 million in lobbying revenue last year. With $31.2 million in 2019 billings, international law firm Important clients range from the American Akin Gump is the biggest lobbying firm, according to the Kitchen Cabinet Conference, which pays $50,000 a quarter Center for Responsible Politics’ OpenSecrets database. for advice on China trade regs, to General Motors, British Bipartisan staff includes Brian Pomper, former chief American Tobacco and DISH Network. international trade counsel for the Senate Finance Committee; Hunter Bates, former counsel to Sen. Mitch CGCN Group McConnell, and Arshi Siddiqui, former policy adviser to Prominent partners include Matt Rhoades, who managed Sen. Nancy Pelosi. Top clients include Amazon, Altria, the Mitt Romney campaign, and Sam Geduldig, a former Indian tribes, Philip Morris International. Recent victory: staffer for Speaker of the House John Boehner. Blue-chip representing AARP to help repeal a 2017 provision of client list includes Microsoft, Bloomberg, MasterCard and the tax code that required non-profits to pay taxes Grant Thornton. on benefits like parking and transportation. American Continental Group Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck The headliner here is David Urban, a former chief of staff to Denver real estate attorney Norman Brownstein Sen. Arlen Specter who joined the Trump campaign and led built this regional law firm into a D.C. lobbying the candidate to his crucial victory in Pennsylvania. Clients giant with $28.7 million in revenue last year. include 7-Eleven, Amgen, Bayer, News Corp. and Nike. Brownstein’s edge comes from deep, bipartisan connections with legislators and bureaucrats Glover Park Group (Norman Brownstein reportedly was feted at a 2016 Run by former Clinton communications party by Democratic Rep.
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