By Caitlin Oprysko

Presented by Humane Society Legislative Fund

With Daniel Lippman

ROLLING IN RETAIL DOUGH: The bipartisan group of lawmakers leading a push in the Senate to crack down on the fees merchants must pay to banks and credit card providers have hauled in hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions from trade associations and companies supporting the push over the past few years.

— Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), who is threatening to hold up the chamber’s passage of a three-bill “minibus” government funding package over his demands for a vote on swipe fee legislation, has brought in nearly $130,000 in donations from the retail and grocery industries since arriving in the chamber two and a half years ago, according to a PI analysis of campaign finance disclosures.

— Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Marshall’s main partner on the swipe fees bill, raked in a little over $80,000 in contributions from its industry supporters since 2021, and co-sponsor Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) has taken in more than $73,000 in that same time, FEC filings show.

— A good chunk of those contributions came from the PAC of the National Association of Convenience Stores, which is spearheading the outside lobbying campaign for Marshall and Durbin’s bill by way of the Merchants Payments Coalition.

— The bill, which would require large card-issuing banks or credit unions to offer at least one alternate network that isn’t affiliated with Visa or Mastercard, is aimed at diluting the companies’ dominance of the credit card market and has sparked a fierce battle between retailers like convenience and grocery stores as well as big box names on one side, and the finance sector on the other.

— Marshall and Durbin first introduced their bill last Congress, and after unsuccessfully trying to attach it to a legislative vehicle, the pair rolled it out again earlier this year with the added support of Welch and of Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).

— Apart from the NACS, Marshall, Durbin and Welch have received hefty donations over the past two years from Home Depot, whose corporate PAC wrote $35,000 in checks to the lawmakers’ campaign committees and leadership PACs; the National Restaurant Association, which gave $25,000; FMI — The Food Industry Association, which gave $18,500; Walmart, whose corporate PAC gave $15,000 and Target, whose corporate PAC gave $13,500.

— PACs for the National Retail Federation, National Association of Truck Stop Operators, National Grocers Association, Retail Industry Leaders Association and National Association of Chain Drug Stores have chipped in thousands to the swipe fee bill sponsors since 2021, along with corporate PACs belonging to Lowe’s, Hy-Vee, Kroger, Sheetz, Wawa, Publix, and executives at Kwik Trip, Kwik Chek, 7-Eleven, Love’s and RaceTrac.

Happy Monday and welcome to PI. How are you preparing for a shutdown? Let me know: [email protected]. And be sure to follow me on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

A message from Humane Society Legislative Fund:

A monumental threat is facing American farmers. The “Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression” (EATS) Act, H.R. 4417/S. 2019—or any version of it—could have devastating consequences for farmers by picking winners and losers in the marketplace and benefiting foreign-owned conglomerates. Take Action: Tell Congress not to poison the Farm Bill with the EATS Act or anything like it. https://hslf.org/farmers

ANNALS OF FUNDRAISING: Our colleagues are out with two interesting stories about big money flowing into political efforts. In the first, POLITICO’s Jessica Piper chronicled the anti-vaccine movement’s transformation into a political force since the pandemic, which “has produced a remarkable financial windfall for anti-vaccine nonprofits.”

— “Revenue more than doubled for the Informed Consent Action Network and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Children’s Health Defense in 2021 compared to the year prior,” Jessica reports, meaning that “nonprofits that survived on operating budgets of around a few million dollars just a few years prior are now raking in more than $10 million each.”

— “In practical terms, greater funds enable anti-vaccine groups to expand their public reach, sue federal agencies and organize like-minded activists at the state level, as well as expand their reach abroad. Though these groups have been trying to roll back vaccine requirements for years, the movement has gained new traction in a post-pandemic world.”

— “Earlier this year, a lawsuit funded by the anti-vaccine group Informed Consent Action Network forced Mississippi to allow religious exemptions for mandatory childhood vaccinations for the first time in more than four decades.”

— Then in a piece out this morning, our Sally Goldenberg, Shia Kapos and Jessica take a look at how the ever-shifting (but seemingly futile) search by GOP megadonors for a viable rival to former President Donald Trump in the presidential primary is prompting many to remain on the sidelines altogether. “Trump’s like 50 points ahead,” one anonymous New York-based GOP fundraiser told POLITICO. “Who wants to get involved and waste money?”

— “The hesitation to give is already having an impact on Republican super PACs, which are not bound by the limits of regulated political campaigns,” Sally, Shia and Jessica write. “Across all such groups focused on the GOP presidential primary, only 66 individual donors made contributions of $250,000 or more through the end of June — the latest period covered by federal filing deadlines, according to a POLITICO analysis of committee filings from the Federal Election Commission.”

— “That marks a 24 percent drop from this time in 2016, when the party last had a competitive primary. At this point in that cycle, 87 donors had given at least $250,000 to one of the candidates’ super PACs, the analysis found.”

IF YOU MISSED IT FRIDAY: “When Jon Tester first ran for Senate in 2006, the Montana Democrat promised to change the culture in Washington, in part by promptly disclosing all meetings with lobbyists and refusing to be lobbied by former colleagues,” NBC News’ Henry Gomez reports.

— “Now seeking a fourth term, Tester is once more running as an ethics crusader, again introducing a bill that would ban members of Congress from ever becoming lobbyists. But Tester’s record over 16 years in office hasn’t always aligned with the narrative he has cultivated, nor has it always met the high standards he has set for himself and proposed for others.”

— “Since 2006, at least two dozen former senators and House members who have gone on to lobbying careers have contributed personally or through their old campaign committees more than $100,000 combined to Tester’s campaigns and affiliated PACs, records reviewed by NBC News show.”

— “While there is no indication that any of the donations were made explicitly with political influence in mind, they are emblematic of the revolving-door behavior that Tester has long railed against publicly.”

HAPPENING 9/28 — INSIDE THE CANCER MOONSHOT: Join POLITICO on Thursday, Sept. 28 for an in-depth discussion on the future of cancer treatment and innovation. Hear from experts including scientists, government officials and industry leaders as we explore the critical roles played by private industry, nonprofits, the National Cancer Institute and the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health in achieving the Biden administration's goal of cutting the cancer death rate in half over the next 25 years. Don't miss this opportunity to dive into the progress of cancer treatments and learn about the challenges patients encounter in accessing care. REGISTER HERE.

FLYING IN: The Transportation Intermediaries Association, which represents the third-party logistics industry, kicked off its annual fly-in today. The group has meetings slated with more than 170 members of Congress including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), House Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Sam Graves (R-Mo.), and Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), during which members plan to discuss issues of fraud and rate transparency.

— Members of the Truckload Carriers Association are hitting the Hill beginning today as well. Dozens of members will urge lawmakers to provide more funding to address truck parking shortages and discuss federal excise taxes and electric and alternative fuel vehicles.

— The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association begins its fly-in tomorrow, and is teaming up with members of the National Asphalt Pavement Association and National Ready Mixed Concrete Association to meet with more than 260 offices on the Hill, nearly 100 of which will be member-level meetings. The groups are set to meet with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Reps. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) and Scott Peters (D-Calif.) as well as Cruz, Tester and Graves.

— The trade group plans to push lawmakers to pass the FAA reauthorization bill and address rail delays, to avoid a government shutdown and funding from the infrastructure bill flowing and red tape to a minimum, immigration reforms, and the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s new proposed silica standard.

SPOTTED at a reception on Friday at Morris American Bar hosted by the Catholic Health Association, Catholic Charities of New York and Catholic Charities USA for attendees of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual legislative conference, per a tipster: Paulo Pontemayor, Lucas Swanepoel, Kathy Curran and Nancy Lim of the Catholic Health Association, Ron Jackson and Frankie Chévere with Catholic Charities USA, Luz Tavarez and Kevin Sullivan of Catholic Charities of New York, Carlos Jackson of Cornerstone Government Affairs, Chris Kellerman of the Jesuit Conference, Anthony Granado and Alexandra Carroll of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Kimberly Mazyck of Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life.

A message from Humane Society Legislative Fund:

— Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts will also become president of Heritage Action for America — the first time that the head of Heritage has also headed up their grassroots activist arm.

— Alexander MacDonald has rejoined Littler as a shareholder in its Washington office and member of the labor management relations practice group and the firm’s Workplace Policy Institute. MacDonald was most recently director for future of work and labor law at Instacart.

— Firehouse Strategies has hired Ben Lucas and Eric Mee as vice presidents. Lucas was most recently a government relations specialist at the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and Mee was most recently a freelance speechwriter and communications director for Rep. Mike Levin's reelection campaign.

— Dana Jacobs is joining the Carbon Removal Alliance as chief of staff. She previously was deputy director of communications at Carbon180.

— Mike Yelovich is now polling director at Cygnal. He previously was research director at WPA Intelligence.

— Jane Lee is now chief government affairs officer at Rebellion Defense. She previously was head of policy and government affairs and is a Mitch McConnell, Senate Approps, House Budget and OMB alum.

— Tom Pino is launching Polaris, a new paid media buying firm focused on TV and digital together. He most recently led media buying at Rising Tide Interactive, and is a GPS Impact and GMMB alum.

— Gigi O’Connell is joining the Treasury Department’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence to advise on strategic comms. She previously was with TRACE International.

— Tizzy Brown is now doing national partnerships on the Uber federal affairs team. She previously was senior director of Global Women’s Innovation Network.

A message from Humane Society Legislative Fund:

Some politicians have hatched a radical scheme which could destroy states' rights and eliminate hundreds of laws that preserve our farms, safeguard our food, and protect our animals.

The “Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression” (EATS) Act, H.R. 4417/S. 2019—or any version of it—could have devastating consequences for family farmers. By threatening hundreds of state and local laws and undermining states’ rights, EATS empowers Congress and the federal government to pick winners and losers in the marketplace. This could disproportionately hurt family farms and benefit certain large producers, some of which are foreign-owned.

The EATS Act, H.R. 4417/S. 2019 is a huge federal overreach that would be disastrous for American farmers, and they need your help to make sure it's not included in this year's Farm Bill.

Take Action: Tell Congress not to poison the Farm Bill with the EATS Act or anything like it.
https://hslf.org/farmers

None.

Analytica Biosciences Corp. PAC (PAC)
FIBER BROADBAND ALLIANCE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (PAC) (PAC)
Haystack PAC (PAC)
Honest Government 24 (Super PAC)
Hudson for High Quality Schools (Super PAC)
Protect Liberty PAC (Super PAC)
Vermont Realtors Political Action Committee (PAC)
Victory Coalition (Super PAC)
Wood-Witten Citizens for School District Reorganization (Super PAC)

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP: Dailypay
Ats Communications, Inc.: Autonomous Defense Technologies Corp
Berquam Ventures, LLC: Commonwealth Fusion Systems
Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: Arconic Corporation
Dc Legislative And Regulatory Services, Inc.: Rodenticide Task Force
Forza 151 Strategies: America Outdoors Association
Forza 151 Strategies: Gogig Inc.
Red Bull North America, Inc.: Red Bull North America, Inc.
Ulman Public Policy & Federal Relations: Auguste Escoffier School Of Culinary Arts
Van Scoyoc Associates: Fabiani & Company
Whitmer & Worrall, LLC: Panacea Global Energy

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