IRA incentive boosters take to the airwaves

Politico

a day ago

Presented by Recycled Materials Association
With Daniel Lippman
AD BLITZ: Advocacy groups and trade associations continue pouring money into advertising to support various priorities in the reconciliation bill. Two new campaigns launched this week to support the Inflation Reduction Act's clean energy incentives alone.
— They include a six-figure ad blitz from Advanced Energy United, a coalition made up of energy stakeholders and tech companies that is targeting Republican senators the group sees as winnable on the issue of protecting the IRA tax credits.
— The digital campaign, the details of which were shared exclusively with PI, will target constituents of Sens. Todd Young (Ind.), Tim Scott (S.C.), Dave McCormick (Pa.), Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Jerry Moran (Kan.) with display and Facebook ads touting the economic benefits of the IRA incentives in their respective states. The ads will also run inside the Beltway to target Hill staffers.
— The ad buy will be accompanied by a letter campaign from local energy companies urging senators like Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) to protect the clean energy incentives. It follows a similar campaign on the House side by the coalition, whose members include NRG, Microsoft, Blink, Rivian, Oracle, Carrier and Ford.
— A second new campaign to save the IRA provisions is focused on persuading President Donald Trump (or at least his inner circle). The $2 million ad buy from GOP-led Built for America will run over the next three weeks on platforms closely watched by Trump and his allies, including on Fox News, Truth Social and various conservative podcasts.
— The 30-second spot borrows Trump's own language to make the case against gutting the tax credits, contending that 'Trump country is booming' thanks to the incentives, which are helping put 'America first.'
— The Association of Equipment Manufacturers is also out with a new nationwide ad buy supporting the reconciliation bill's tax extensions specifically, with a minute-long ad arguing that the bill would keep equipment manufacturers in America by providing certainty to make investments.
Happy Wednesday and welcome to PI. Send tips. You can add me on Signal, email me at [e-mail], and be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko.
FIRST IN PI — FLANAGAN'S CORPORATE MONEY FLIP-FLOP: Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who's running for an open U.S. Senate seat, has made rejecting corporate money a major part of her campaign platform. But she accepted millions of dollars in corporate cash on behalf of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association when she was its chair, Daniel reports.
— Flanagan's launch video said she wouldn't take 'one dime from corporate interests.' In April, she said in a video on X that 'taking corporate money is a choice' and she is 'not taking money from corporations and I never will.'
— But Flanagan helped raise more than $2 million in corporate money last year when she was chair of the DLGA. That included half a million dollars from the pharmaceutical industry, almost $300,000 from the tech industry and around $100,000 from the tobacco industry, according to a PI analysis of FEC records.
— And even as Flanagan says her campaign won't take corporate cash, NOTUS reported last week that DLGA plans to spend big to support lieutenant governors like Flanagan who are running in open primaries and has already maxed out in direct contributions to her campaign — meaning that at least some of that money could have come from corporations.
— Flanagan is facing Rep. Angie Craig (D) in the campaign to fill the Senate seat of Sen. Tina Smith (D), who's retiring. Before joining Congress, Craig, as part of her private-sector job, ran a corporate PAC that gave to many prominent Republicans. Last cycle, she was the 12th-largest recipient among House Democrats of money from corporate PACs, taking $1.3 million from them during that time, according to OpenSecrets.
— 'Peggy is the only candidate in this race to reject corporate PAC money,' campaign spokesperson Alexandra Fetissoff said in a statement to PI. 'This is a transparent attempt to distract from Angie Craig's continued funding from big corporations like Elon Musk's SpaceX. People want leaders who are willing to take a stand and make the choice to only be beholden to their constituents. Only Peggy has made that choice.'
QUIGLEY CHIEF HEADED DOWNTOWN: Allison Jarus has left the Hill after 12 years to join Arnold & Porter as a policy adviser. Jarus spent the past decade working for Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), most recently as his chief of staff.
— Jarus helped handle Quigley's work on the House Appropriations Committee and was a key architect of the 2021 legislation to increase access for experimental treatments for ALS patients. Before joining Quigley's office, she worked for Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and former Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio).
FLYING SOLO: 'Lobbyists usually run in herds at bipartisan firms, but a slice of K Street takes a lone-wolf approach to the influence game,' Bloomberg's Kate Ackley reports. 'Those who opt to go it alone say it makes for a leaner, more nimble operation, reduces potential client conflicts, and gives them control over how they operate the business.'
— 'In good times, a single-lobbyist enterprise can rake in big money that the rainmaker doesn't have to share. But risks abound. … Solo lobbying firms are more vulnerable to the whims of elections, and often rise or fall on which policy fights are hot at the moment. The presidential transition and flip in control of the Senate can ripple into K Street bottom lines, with one-person firms especially susceptible.'
— Still, 'more than 50 solo shops reported revenue of $1 million or more last year, according to a Bloomberg Government analysis of federal lobbying disclosures, accounting for nearly $80 million in fees.'
INSIDERS, TRADING: 'As markets tanked in the wake of President Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs in early April, members of Congress and their families made hundreds of stock trades, shining a spotlight on a controversial practice that some lawmakers have pushed to ban,' according to the Wall Street Journal's Katy Stech Ferek, Jack Gillum, James Benedict and Gunjan Banerji.
— 'From April 2, when Trump launched the sweeping tariffs, to April 8, the day before he paused many of them, more than a dozen House lawmakers and their family members made more than 700 stock trades, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of disclosure filings.'
FLY-IN SZN: A handful of health care groups headed to the Hill today, including the Children's Hospital Association, which focused on urging lawmakers to strengthen Medicaid, grow the pediatric health care workforce and address the mental health crisis among youth. Kidney Care Partners also trekked up Pennsylvania Avenue to lobby for improved access and coverage for those with kidney failure.
— Advocates with the American Telemedicine Association were in town as well to advocate for the industry's top priorities, which include making permanent various telehealth permissions and expanding coverage for telehealth services, including prescription digital therapeutics and virtual medical nutritionists. The trade group was slated to meet with more than 40 offices on the Hill, including leaders in the House and Senate and on key committees.
— And more than 1,000 homebuilders were fanning out across Washington for a fly-in focused on several priorities of the National Association of Home Builders, including loosening energy standards for new homes and addressing workforce shortages.
— Tax policy was also expected to be front of mind in the group's more than 250 meetings on the Hill and with the Trump administration: NAHB is pushing for an expanded low-income housing tax credit, fewer SALT cap restrictions and the preservation of clean energy tax credits.
— Leaders from the convenience services industry will be on the Hill tomorrow, but the National Automatic Merchandising Association will kick off the fun with a pop-up micro market at tonight's Congressional Baseball Game.
SPOTTED at a reception hosted by the Alpine Group celebrating the recent opening of the firm's new Dallas-Fort Worth outpost, per a tipster: Keenan Austin Reed, Barry Brown, Rhod Shaw and Greg Walden of Alpine Group; Pat Shortridge of TrailRunner International; Stewart Hall of PPHC; Reps. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas), Marc Veasey (R-Texas), Brandon Gill (R-Texas) and Jodey Arrington (R-Texas); Katie Vincentz and Russell Thomasson of Arrington's office; Andrew Leppert of Gill's office; Ryan Dilworth and Brayden Woods of Van Duyne's office; Tasia Jackson of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' office; Mark Longoria of Rep. Michael Cloud's (R-Texas) office; Matt Esguerra of Rep. Lance Gooden's (R-Texas) office; Karen Navarro of Rep. Monica De La Cruz's (R-Texas) office; Raven Reeder of Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton's (D-D.C.) office; Hayden Upchurch of Rep. Nathaniel Moran's (R-Texas) office; Jianna Covarelli of Cornyn's office; Emily Stipe of Vistra Corp.; Nick D'Angelo of Eaton Corp.; and Drew Wayne of Siemens.
Jobs report
— Doug Sellers has joined the advisory board at BGR Group. He's a senior counselor at Palantir and was a special assistant to Trump during his first term and served as White House associate staff secretary.
— Adam Minehardt is joining Chainlink Labs as head of public policy. He was previously a principal at FS Vector.
— Connor Rabb has joined the National Association of Manufacturers as senior director of tax policy. He was previously a legislative assistant for Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa).
— Sabrina Singh is joining Seven Letter as a partner. She most recently was deputy press secretary at the Defense Department and is a Kamala Harris alum.
— Tom Corry is joining Rubrum Advising to launch a government affairs practice at the firm. He was most recently managing director of Corry Advisors and was previously assistant secretary for public affairs at HHS and senior adviser to former Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma.
— Jennifer Short has joined Capital Park Partners as an adviser. She was most recently a senior military assistant to the secretary of Defense in both the Biden and Trump administrations and is an Air Force veteran.
— Sam Varie is joining the Australian Embassy as U.S. media and external relations manager. Varie was previously communications director for Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.).
— Karina Lubell will be a partner at Brunswick Group. She previously led the competition policy and advocacy section at DOJ's Antitrust Division.
— Ashley Moir has launched Ashley Moir Media, a PR company with booking services, media training and comms strategy. She most recently was director of national broadcast operations at Deploy/US and is a former senior booker at Fox News.
— Gopal Das Varma is now a vice president at Cornerstone Research. He previously was vice president at Charles River Associates and is a DOJ Antitrust Division alum.
— Allison Rivera will be vice president for government and industry affairs at the National Grain and Feed Association. She most recently was executive director of government affairs at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
— Steven Ferenczy has joined the American Council of Life Insurers as assistant vice president for paid leave policy and implementation. He was previously a first vice president and compliance consultant at Alliant.
— Richard Johnson has joined OpenAI as its national security risk mitigation lead, Morning Defense reports. He was previously DOD deputy assistant secretary for nuclear and countering weapons of mass destruction policy.
— Joseph Humire is now a deputy assistant secretary of Defense for policy, per MD. He was previously executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society and a senior fellow at the America First Policy Institute and Heritage Foundation.
New Joint Fundraisers
Team Coughlin (Coughlin for Congress, One Country, One Destiny PAC)
New PACs
AMERICANS READY TO WORK PAC (Super PAC)
Cohabitate PAC (PAC)
Empire State Patriots PAC (PAC)
PATIENTS RISING PAC (PAC)
Reengineer NJ PAC Inc. (Super PAC)
New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS
Alston & Bird LLP: Performance Health
Atlas Crossing LLC: Trinity University
Capitol Counsel LLC: Boviet Solar USa
Capitol Resources, LLC: The Federation Of Korean Industries
Coreweave, Inc.: Coreweave, Inc.
Dc Advocacy, LLC: Konecranes Finland Corp.
Dc Advocacy, LLC: Logistec Marine Services Ulc
Fgs Global (US) LLC (Fka Fgh Holdings LLC): Six Continents Hotels, Inc.
Franklin Square Group, LLC: Fiat Chain Holdings LLC
Holland & Knight LLP: Wood Mackenzie
Invariant LLC: Oldendorff Carriers USa, Inc.
King & Spalding LLP: Lifegift
Kyowa Kirin, Inc: Kyowa Kirin, Inc
Leavitt Partners, LLC: Orchard Therapeutics North America
Mercury Public Affairs, LLC: Novant Health, Inc.
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP: Flashpoint Intelligence
Polsinelli Pc: Clairity, Inc.
Resolution Public Affairs, LLC: Jp Morgan Chase Holdings
Rutledge Policy Group, LLC: Brownstein (Bhfs, LLP) Obo Apollo Global Management
Sorini, Samet & Associates, LLC: Popp Forest Products Inc.
Stapleton & Associates, LLC: Intellisense Systems, Inc.
Steptoe LLP: Early Warning Services, LLC
Stoick Consulting, LLC: Resident Home, Inc.
Sullivan Strategies LLC (Fka Sb Capitol Solutions): Vontier Business Services, LLC
New Lobbying Terminations
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Vector Group Ltd