(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Washington lobbyists remain a hot commodity under President Joe Biden, whose massive spending packages are attracting an influx of lobbying activity.
Lobbying spending totaled $886 million from January through March, according to OpenSecrets’ initial review of lobbying reports filed with Congress.
That figure which will rise after firms file late reports is a slight increase from the $868 million spent in the first months of Donald Trump’s presidency in 2017. It’s down from the record $942 million spent in the first quarter of 2020, when firms in every industry scrambled to influence the government’s COVID-19 response.
Lobbyists centered their attention on the American Rescue Plan, Democrats’ $1.9 trillion stimulus bill that passed Congress without any Republican votes. Nearly every corporate giant attempted to influence Biden’s legislation, but few industries scored major victories.
(Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday moved to ban menthol cigarettes, dealing a blow to the tobacco industry that has aggressively lobbied to protect its highly addictive product from regulations.
The FDA said its proposal aims to address longstanding health disparities. Tobacco companies have marketed menthol cigarettes to Black Americans for decades, leading to increased illness and death in Black communities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 85 percent of Black smokers use menthol cigarettes, which are more addictive than traditional cigarettes. That’s compared to 29 percent of white smokers. The FDA noted that menthol brands also target young people and LGBTQ+ individuals.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Renewable energy companies are deploying a former aide to President Joe Biden to lobby the White House on the specifics of its proposed $2 trillion infrastructure package that would provide huge windfalls for the industry.
Christopher Putala, a former Biden staffer on the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1989 to 1998, more than doubled his client list and lobbying revenue under the new president. Putala’s one-man lobbying firm raked in $770,000 in the first three months of 2021, up from $310,000 during the same period last year.
That first-quarter haul was a personal best for Putala, who primarily represented telecom companies in Washington before Biden’s win ushered in an influx of green energy clients on Jan. 11. Putala reported bringing in a total of $300,000 from six renewable energy firms, Apex Clean Energy, Clearway Energy Group, Invenergy LLC, Pattern Energy Group, IP Renewable Energy Holdings and Longroad Energy Mana
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Jeff Ricchetti, the brother of White House counselor Steve Ricchetti, raked in $820,000 in lobbying revenue from January through March, according to lobbying filings released Tuesday. That’s nearly five times more than he earned during the same period last year.
The rapid rise in lobbying revenue indicates that corporate interests believe Ricchetti can help them access the White House, where his brother plays a prominent role advising President Joe Biden and negotiating the terms of the president’s proposed $2.3 trillion infrastructure package.
TC Energy, the company behind the Keystone XL pipeline, made one of the largest payments to Ricchetti’s lobbying firm. The Canadian firm hired Ricchetti on Jan. 15 days before Biden halted the pipeline project and paid him $90,000 through March to lobby Congress and the president’s office on “the safe and efficient transportation of natural gas and liquids energy.”