Photograph by Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images

Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., speaks during the candidate forum with Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., hosted by ONEGeneration and the League of Women Voters in Reseda, Calif., on Oct. 10, 2012.

Howard Berman, who lost his House seat to Brad Sherman in a November match-up of veteran Democratic congressmen from California, isn’t going home.

He’s joining the lawyer-lobbying firm of Covington & Burling LLP.

He is the second former lawmaker to join the firm this month, following former Sen. Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican.

Berman “is respected on both sides of the aisle for his keen insights and his creative approach to tackling thorny legislative issues,” said Holly Fechner, vice chairwoman of the public policy and government affairs practice.

He was first elected to the House in 1982 and lost his seat after redistricting put him in the same district as Sherman. The two men were the top two finishers in the primary and both advanced to the general election, where Sherman emerged victorious.

Original post is Mr. Berman Stays in Washington by Political Capital.

Photograph by Frank Polich/Getty Images

Jim Messina, campaign manager for the re-election of President Barack Obama, talks with reporters during a tour of the re-election headquarters in Chicago.

Organizing for Action, the advocacy group that arose from President Barack Obama’s successful re-election campaign, has reversed course and decided not to take corporate donations.

OFA Chairman Jim Messina made the announcement in an article he wrote for CNN.com.

He gave no reason for the decision, which followed criticism from supporters of tougher campaign finance laws. Organizing for Action was incorporated as a nonprofit group, allowing it to take unlimited corporate, union and individual donations without identifying its benefactors.

Messina said OFA would report its donors quarterly, including amounts, and would not accept contributions from registered lobbyists, foreign nationals or political action committees in addition to corporations. “We believe in being open and transparent,” he wrote on CNN.com.

Campaign finance advocates welcomed Messina’s about-face, though continued to express concern over the idea that individuals could give unlimited amounts to a committee linked to Obama.

“OFA remains an unprecedented entity that allows individual donors and bundlers to provide unlimited amounts of money to an organization functioning as an arm of the Obama presidency,” said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21.

Common Cause President Bob Edgar, a former Democratic congressman, said Organizing for America should cap donations at the same $32,400 limit for contributions to political parties, and should use the grassroots group to push for stronger campaign finance laws.

“President Obama came to power in 2008 on a wave of anti-corruption sentiment and the   promise to change the way Washington works,” Edgar said. ”He has an opportunity now to  make good on that promise and through it to advance other items on his agenda.”

See the full report at Bloomberg.com.

Original post is Obama’s Advocacy Group Bows to Pressure, Bans Corporate Giving by Political Capital.

Photograph by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl walks toward a closed-door meeting with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill on Dec. 31, 2012 in Washington.

There is life after Congress.

And for those who held leading roles in Congress, it can be a good life.

The latest refugee from Capitol Hill to find refuge at a lobbying law firm that works the Hill is former Sen. Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican joining the international law firm of Covington & Burling in its Washington offices.

The former No. 2 Republican in the Senate carries “deep knowledge and extraordinary legislative skills from his years as a senior leader in Congress” which “make him ideally suited to help us build on the many strengths of our public policy and government affairs practice,” Timothy Hester, chairman of the law firm’s management committee, says in a statement from the firm.

Not to mention instant access and long-standing connections made during a congressional career that started in the House in 1986 and then the Senate in 1994.

The firm cites Time magazine’s depiction of Kyl in 2010 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, a minority whip with “power to persuade.”

In other words, sterling lobbying credentials for a firm that includes other veterans of the Hill and government: Holly Fechner, a long-time aide to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy,  former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, John Dugan, former U.S. Comptroller of the Currency, Stu Eizenstat, who served in three presidential administrations in roles that included ambassador to the EU, and former Ambassador John Veroneau, who served as deputy U.S. Trade Representative.

The firm also operates in Brussels, where it employs former Ambassador Jean De Ruyt, who served as Belgium’s permanent representative to the European Union, and Wim van Velzen, who served for a decade in the European Parliament.

“This is an exciting opportunity to launch a new chapter in my career at one of the most prestigious firms in the world,”  Kyl is quoted as saying in the firm’s statement. “I look forward to working with corporate clients to find solutions that will help their businesses grow.”

Original post is Kyl’s `Power to Persuade’ Hailed by Lobbying Firm Landing Ex-Senator by Political Capital.

Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Onlookers wait for President Barack Obama along the parade route during the inauguration on Jan. 21, 2013.

For some of Washington’s lawyer-lobbying firms, a presidential inauguration offers a once-in-four-years opportunity to open their doors to clients and others in Washington.

Holland & Knight LLP, which paid almost $13.4 million to lobby during the first nine months of 2012, used the inaugural events to showcase its new offices with a floor-length view of the end of the parade just a block away on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Guests could dine on paninis and mini-hot dogs, or fill paper bags with popcorn, as they looked out the window or viewed the festivities on the myriad of television sets in every meeting room. Even the main conference room offered a TV set at every seat.

“It’s good to get everybody together,” said Rich Gold, head of the public policy and regulation practice group at Holland & Knight.

Eight hundred RSVPd for the reception, up from 450 four years ago.

A few blocks away, K&L Gates LLP, which did a little more than $13.4 million in lobbying from January to September, saw its crowds shrink.

They ate chili or snacked on vegetables as they could watch the festivities at long white tables decorated with red, white and blue stars, or read trivia questions about elections, inaugurations and even first ladies from poster-sized signs. (One question: Which was the only presidential election decided by a special commission? Answer: Rutherford Hayes versus Samuel Tilden in 1876. Hayes was declared the winner.)

“Second marriages tend to have less pomp and circumstance,” said partner Manny Rouvelas as he stood near a full-size cutout of the president, suitable for pictures.

Original post is Lobbyists Have Ball at Inauguration by Political Capital.

Photograph by Damon Winter/The New York Times via Redux

President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama had their first dance at an appearance at the Neighborhood Ball, the first of many of the evening, at the Convention Center in Washington on Jan 20, 2009.

President Barack Obama’s decision to reject contributions to his inaugural committee from registered lobbyists isn’t keep them away from the hoopla surrounding the start of his second term.

Lobbyists are helping to fund the state societies’ inaugural bashes and inviting clients and public officials to get out of the cold and watch the swearing-in ceremony and parade from their offices.

“This is just a wonderful, easy way to endear themselves to those who have authority over their business,” says Craig Holman of Public Citizen, a Washington-based advocacy group that supports stronger campaign finance laws. “These events will be staffed full of members of Congress, political officials and those who are in the Obama administration. This is a like a lobbyist nirvana.”

MCapitol Management, paid $2.4 million to lobby the federal government during the first nine months of 2012, and Barnes and Thornburg, which paid $2.1 million, are among the sponsors of the Illinois State Society’s black-tie inaugural gala on Jan. 19.

Crowell & Moring is inviting clients to its Pennsylvania Avenue offices to watch the parade passing by its office windows. The firm was paid $1.6 million from January to September by Bank of America Corp., Novartis AG and other clients.

Holland & Knight LLP, located at the end of the route, is offering hot drinks and snacks. The firm was paid $13.4 million to lobby during the first nine months of 2012 by such companies as Dow Chemical and Raytheon Co., according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group that tracks lobbying. Holland & Knight represents several municipalities, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors is holding its annual conference in Washington this week.

Holland & Knight also is a sponsor of the inaugural luncheon and fashion show, put on every four years by the state society of California, home state of House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. Two other lobbying firms, Cassidy and Associates, which paid $11.5 million in 2012, and Elmendorf Ryan LLC,, which paid $6.3 million, are helping to sponsor the Nevada State Society. The society, which represents the home state of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, is hosting a cocktail reception Friday.

The lobbyists’ activities come at a time when the Obama administration’s hostility has abated, says Rich Gold, head of the public policy and regulation practice group at Holland & Knight. He says the administration is more concerned about issues such as gun control, immigration overhaul, improving the economy and reducing the budget deficit.

“It’s not high on the list to vilify lobbyists,” Gold says. “The White House is focusing like a laser beam on those things that matter.”

MCapitol’s president, Gary LaPaille, a former state lawmaker and state Democratic chairman, says the Illinois society dinner is a chance to schmooze with old friends and make sure they know he’s in business.

“It polls out well to be anti-lobbyist but we still are the only legal entity that can talk to a member of Congress and we are legally doing that in accordance with all laws and rules and procedures,” LaPaille says. “Until somebody puts a bill in to prohibit lobbyists, we’re there.”

Original post is ‘Lobbyist Nirvana:’ Inaugural Festivities — Despite Obama’s Ban by Political Capital.

Photograph by Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Barack Obama shakes hands with former Sen. Chuck Hagel during a personnel announcement in the East Room at the White House, on Jan. 7, 2013 in Washington.

“The Jewish lobby,” as former Sen. Chuck Hagel once called pro-Israeli forces in Washington, is divided over his nomination for secretary of defense.

Political action committees describing themselves as pro-Israel were on opposite sides of several high-profile congressional races. Now they’re at odds over President Barack Obama’s decision to nominate the Republican from Nebraska to run the Pentagon.

The Washington Political Action Committee, for example, contributed to the campaigns of four Republican Senate candidates, then-incumbent Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, former Reps. Heather Wilson of New Mexico and Allen West of Florida.

J Street’s PAC financially supported the Democrat in all four races, Harvard University professor Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts, incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Rep, Martin Heinrich in New Mexico, and Patrick Murphy in Florida. All four won.

The founder of Washington PAC, Morris Amitay, says that if he were a senator, he wouldn’t vote to confirm Hagel.

“It’s a poor choice not only regarding Israel but it’s a poor choice for national security,” Amitay said. “Someone who basically has been fairly soft on strengthening Iran sanctions and who seems to feel there can be major cuts in the defense budget is very poor choice for the United States.”

J Street, though, is behind Hagel, urging supporters to call their senators and ask them to confirm him, noting his support of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“It was important to push back and not allow him to be yet another person who was swift-boated into withdrawing from national service,” said a J Street spokesman, Alan Elsner. “We don’t think he’s out of the mainstream at all. Those who are attacking him are out of the mainstream.”

As for Hagel, he told his hometown paper today:  “The distortions about my record have been astonishing.”

There is “not one shred of evidence that I’m anti-Israeli, not one vote that matters that hurt Israel,”’ Hagel told the Lincoln Journal Star in Nebraska. “I didn’t sign on to certain resolutions and letters because they were counter-productive and didn’t solve a problem.”

The criticism stems from an interview for a 2008  book in which Hagel told Mideast scholar Aaron David Miller that “the Jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people up here. But I’m a United States senator. I’m not an Israeli senator.”

Hagel had used the term “Jewish lobby” interchangeably with “pro-Israeli lobby,” Miller, a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, said in an interview. The author said he didn’t think the former senator was in any way “anti-Israel.”

Original post is Pro-Israel Lobbies Split Over Hagel by Political Capital.

Photograph by Emma Fidel/Bloomberg

Citigroup Executive Vice President Candi Wolff has been escaping Washington, D.C., for her family's Christmas tree farm every year since 1994.

Citigroup Inc. Executive Vice President Candi Wolff can talk about Christmas trees for hours. She can tell you how an electric tree baler works, the difference between a Colorado Blue Spruce and a Douglas Fir, and that tree sales are a year-end economic indicator, although she can’t quite tell you why.

Wolff can also recall the times former Vice President Dick Cheney and former President George W. Bush would phone while she was working on her family’s Christmas tree farm in Round Hill, Virginia.

“I’d say, ‘Hold on, I’m out selling trees, hold on!”’ she said in an interview. “And I’d run somewhere where I could actually have a conversation.”

Wolff, 48, Citigroup’s head of global government affairs and a former assistant to Bush for legislative affairs, has been escaping the Beltway — literally and figuratively — for Snickers Gap Tree Farm every winter since 1994. That’s when she met her hydrogeologist husband, Mark Wolff, whose father started planting trees on the 40-acre farm in 1981.

The mountainside farm 55 miles from the White House provides a welcome break from Wolff’s corner office on Pennsylvania Avenue, she says. There, she directs a staff of 42 and oversees Citi’s relations with more than 100 governments, including the U.S. Aside from the poinsettia on her office coffee table, you might not know that the lobbyist, named one of Washington’s 25 most influential women in 2012 by the National Journal, is also a Christmas tree aficionado.

You won’t know, that is, until she’s “gotten to you” –her phrase for inviting you out to Snickers Gap — as she’s done with many Washington friends over the years.

“I would get my Hill colleagues,” said Wolff, who worked for the Republican Senate Steering Committee and Policy Committee during her first few years of farm visits. “We sort of had this high-priced crowd out there — we were the lawyers or lobbyists.”

In those early days, Wolff helped work the baler, a netting machine, because she had smaller fingers than the farm men and was better at tying knots. Today, Snickers Gap trees have grown too big for her to lift easily, so she sticks to customer-related tasks like refilling the apple cider heater, giving directions and handling the money — a fitting job for someone who has been a bank executive since May 2011.

Wolff says she enjoys interacting with customers, many of them longtime Snickers Gap visitors, and that she finds the retail experience “grounding,” in part because not all the customers know who she is. ”I’m wearing jeans and I’m kind of getting back to the earth, if you will,” Wolff said.

As much as Wolff enjoys the farm, she says she doesn’t mix business with pleasure. She chuckles at the mention of agriculture policy, which she jokes about avoiding while at the White House.

“It was never really my interest,” she said while walking through a plot of firs. “I can do this and this is fun, but I don’t want to understand ag policy.”

Fun it may be, though not exactly relaxing. The choose-and-cut farm, which opens the weekend after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, is usually so busy during the first two weekends of December that Wolff doesn’t have time to check her Blackberry until sundown.

This year, Snickers Gap sold out of all but the largest trees early, giving Wolff more time to chat with her family: Her brother-in-law now owns the farm, her niece and nephew run the “Snack Shack,” and her husband and teenage daughters help customers claim their trees from the hillside.

Wolff says the simple human interaction away from Washington’s Scrooges and stress is one of the tree farm’s greatest holiday gifts. ”They’re out there for Christmas,” Wolff said. “For the most part there’s not a bah-humbug mood. Occasionally you get a few Grinches, but most people are just happy to be out there.”

Original post is The Secret (Santa) Life of a Washington Lobbyist by Political Capital.

Photograph by Everett Collection

Max and the Grinch from 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas.'

The budget stalemate in Washington is turning into a Grinch for workers from K Street to Wall Street.

The White House and lawmakers this week warned their staffs that they might be spending the holidays in town, as both sides publicly refused to budge from their positions on taxes and spending.

They’re not alone.

Industry representatives, attorneys, financial analysts, lobbyists and others who must keep tabs on the talks are holding back on vacations, working through them or being put on call.

Tim Delaney had hoped to see family in Texas and Arizona for the holidays. Now, the chief executive officer of the National Council of Nonprofits is stuck in Washington because of a deadlock in budget negotiations.

“Holiday? Really?” he said. “It would be an unconscionable for us to take a so-called holiday when the lives and well-being of so many American people are at risk.”

A proposal under consideration to cap tax deductions, including charitable donations, would potentially cripple nonprofits across the country, from food banks to domestic violence shelters, Delaney said.

“Nobody knows what Congress will or will not be doing,” he said. “Historically, they’ve not met on Christmas Eve. But if they do, I will be here. If they don’t, I will still be here, monitoring what’s going on.”

See the story at Bloomberg.com.

Original post is Budget Deadlock Becomes the Grinch Stealing Christmas by Political Capital.

Photograph by Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images

Former Rep. Bart Gordon, a Tennessee Democrat, has joined the K&L Gates' Washington office as a partner in its public policy and law practice.

With polls showing a virtual tie between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, two former lawmakers, now colleagues at the lawyer-lobbying firm K&L Gates LLP, offered their own political predictions at a briefing for reporters today.

Former Rep. Bart Gordon, a Tennessee Democrat, said that Hurricane Sandy has frozen the race in place, stopping any move toward Romney, and therefore could ensure Obama’s victory.

“Sandy could be the game-changer for the president,” Gordon said. “It has put everything on hold and stopped Governor Romney’s momentum. This is going to give the president the edge now.”

Former Rep. James Walsh, a New York Republican, said polls show Obama with less than 50 percent support, and incumbents don’t pick up many undecided voters this late in the game.

“The president is under 50 most anywhere,” Walsh said. “For that reason, I think the president’s in trouble.”

Original post is Washington Lobbying Firm’s Point-Counterpoint on Election by Political Capital.

Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Attendee Monique Smith poses in front of a President Barack Obama photograph on the National Jewish Democratic Council bus during CarolinaFest 2012 ahead of the Democratic National Convention.

Lobbyists Heather and Tony Podesta, who donned scarlet L’s four years ago as a reaction to then-candidate Barack Obama’s attacks on lobbying, threw the first of two brunches today at the Mint Mseum.

Guests, including lawmakers and corporate representatives, dined on mini-crab cakes, quiche and ham biscuits, and drank moonshine, among other libations.

“People are here for the food and the good company, not necessarily us,” Heather Podesta said.

Their clients include AMR Corp.’s American Airlines, Prudential Financial Inc., BP Plc, General Dynamics Corp., Oracle Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co.

The museum is just a few blocks from the arena where Obama will be nominated for re-election at the Democratic National Convention this week and adjacent to a Charlotte street fair that kicked off today.

Tony Podesta knows the curator well, and he and his wife have been longtime supporters of the museum. They recently donated a Shepard Fairey painting of Obama to the museum.

The only political comments came in the form of small place cards on each table: “’Thank you for not Eastwooding” — a reference to actor and director Clint Eastwood’s monologue with an imaginary Obama in an empty chair at the Republican National Convention.

Heather Podesta explained that she didn’t want her guests talking to nearby empty chairs.

Original post is Lobbyists Shed Scarlet L in Charlotte by Political Capital.