Shuster lobbies for creation of federal infrastructure bank

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Oct 19, 2022 View in browser   By Caitlin Oprysko Presented by With Daniel Lippman FORMER T&I CHAIR LOBBYING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE BANK PROPOSAL: A long-stalled campaign to create a national infrastructure bank that would help fund infrastructure projects with loans from private investors is getting a boost from a big name: longtime House Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Bill Shuster. Shuster, who is now a lobbyist at Squire Patton Boggs, is one of several of the firm's staffers who were retained in August by the Alliance for Financing U.S. Infrastructure, Inc., according to newly filed disclosures. — Shuster said in an interview that he is unsure who is funding the effort, which is being spearheaded by Cypress Group founder Pat Cave. The idea is to establish a federally chartered bank in the mold of the Federal Home Loan Bank and Farm Credit System, and it's hardly a new one in infrastructure circles. Shuster pointed to similar bodies in Canada and Europe. — The idea has long had support from Democrats , while "the resistance from Republicans is that … it's a government entity that requires appropriations, that requires appointments by politicians," Shuster said, though a bill from Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) and outgoing Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), which the coalition backs, stipulates the bank would be privately owned and operated. — He also noted that the proposal that Squire and the coalition are advocating for would use tax breaks to attract investment from banks, equity firms, pension funds and the like rather than a pot of federally appropriated money that needs to be replenished, and is aimed at enhancing existing federal revenue streams while getting money out the door faster. — "It's self-sustaining, because people around this country and around the world will invest in infrastructure," Shuster argued, projecting the bank could attract over $100 billion in capital. — The former congressman has been part of the lobbying effort to create a national infrastructure bank since shortly after leaving office in 2019. Disclosures show Shuster and a team at Squire lobbied the Trump administration on behalf of an LLC called Infra-Bk , and those efforts have continued even after the idea failed to gain traction during negotiations on the bipartisan infrastructure bill. "We were pushing to get it in the infrastructure bill," he said, adding that senators on both sides of the aisle had shown interest in the idea. "But it just wasn't the time to do it." Good afternoon and welcome to PI. Send tips: coprysko@politico.com . And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko . A message from Altria: Moving beyond smoking. Altria's companies are leading the way in moving adult smokers away from cigarettes – by taking action to transition millions toward less harmful choices. We are investing in a diverse mix of businesses to broaden options beyond traditional, combustible cigarettes. See how we're moving.   COMING ATTRACTIONS: Lawyers for longtime Trump ally and private equity executive Tom Barrack are planning to call former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to testify on their client's behalf as Barrack fends of charges of acting as an unregistered Emirati agent, prosecutors said today, as the government winds down its case. — "At a hearing outside the jury's presence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Heeren said Wednesday that defense lawyers recently told prosecutors they planned to call Mnuchin. However, Heeren said the government would seek to block his testimony over possible 'bias,'" per Bloomberg's Patricia Hurtado and David Voreacos.  — "Heeren told U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan that possible bias is relevant 'in a case involving a person being accused of acting as an unlawful agent of the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.'" — "It's unclear what bias prosecutors are concerned about, though Mnuchin also has strong ties to Saudi Arabia. Last September, Mnuchin's private equity fund raised $2.5 billion, largely from Middle East sovereign wealth funds like the Saudi Public Investment Fund." DEUTCH CHIEF HEADS TO TECH LOBBY: Josh Rogin is leaving the Hill after 15 years to join the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a tech trade group whose members include Silicon Valley giants Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and more, as vice president of federal affairs. Rogin spent over a decade as chief of staff to former Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), a member of the House Judiciary antitrust and internet subcommittees, and before that was a top aide to former Rep. Robert Wexler . The trade group has also added Alvaro Marañon as policy counsel and Jordan Rodell as policy manager. — Rogin's move is the latest in an exodus of Hill tech staffers over the past year, many of whom have gone on to work for tech companies or their lobbyists just as the aides' former bosses are seeking to rein the industry in on a number of fronts. CCIA has been at the forefront of many of those fights, spending more than $75 million on ads opposing lawmakers' antitrust proposals between January 2021 and the beginning of August, Bloomberg reported. SIGNAL GROUP PROMOTES 5: Signal Group has promoted Blake Androff to chair for public affairs. Androff, who is the firm's managing director, will also join Signal's management committee. He joined the firm in 2019 after serving as executive director of House Democrats' Policy & Communications Committee and in the Obama Interior Department. Signal has also promoted Kathleen Van De Wille to vice president, Julian Graham and Mary Taylor to senior managers and Diana Rahmani to manager. ICYMI — TRUCK MAKERS PRIVATELY FIGHT TO STALL EMISSIONS CURBS: "Under pressure to phase out diesel-powered trucks, major manufacturers have offered plenty of assurances. … But behind the scenes, the truck industry's lobbyists are working to delay that clean-truck future ," The Washington Post's Anna Phillips reports. — "The Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association , which represents the nation's largest truck manufacturers, has pushed to weaken tougher federal rules curbing planet-warming gases and other pollutants. The industry has also led a campaign against a new California rule, adopted by five other states, that would require manufacturers to sell more zero-emission trucks. If truck makers win, environmentalists argue, they will be able to continue selling diesel vehicles for longer, postponing a transition to electric power." — "While the push to convert America's passenger cars to electric power is accelerating, the same transition for medium- and heavy-duty trucks has just begun. Truck makers say they can only move as quickly as the market allows, while environmentalists counter that these companies have already waited too long to electrify and will keep dragging their feet without hard deadlines." — "Truck makers and their lobbyists say they don't see a disconnect between their public and private actions. Dawn Fenton, vice president of government relations and public affairs for Volvo Group North America, said the company is 'very committed to eventually getting to 100 percent fossil free by 2040.'" — "But she said government mandates don't account for supply-chain snarls, the lack of a nationwide charging network and the fact that electric trucks are too costly for some buyers. Volvo recently announced a deal to sell 20 heavy-duty electric trucks to Amazon, and the company plans to complete an electric-truck charging corridor in California by next year. But, Fenton added, 'there's so much that we don't have control over.'" FLYING IN: Nearly three dozen members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Small Business Council were on the Hill today to meet with staff from Senate leadership and the House and Senate Small Business committees. The small business owners argued against overly burdensome regulations and pushed for entrepreneur-friendly policies and ways to address labor shortages. SPOTTED at a 75th birthday party for BGR's Haley Barbour, per a tipster: Ed Rogers, Lanny Griffith, Bob Wood, Dan Murphy, Loren Monroe and Robb Walton of BGR,  Sinclair Cooper of Hunt Companies, Susan Neely of the American Council of Life Insurers, Jon Dinesman of Centene, Ryan Long of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy 's office, Matt Hoffman of the House Financial Services Committee, Ed Goeas of the Tarrance Group, Brad Todd and Curt Anderson of OnMessage, Rick Shelby of Capitol Hill Consulting Group, Kirk Blalock of Fierce Government Relations, Ben Ginsburg, Scott Reed, Paul Hurst, Chay English of Ford Motor Company, Zoe Jackman of the American Petroleum Institute, Nicole Tisdale of Advocacy Blueprints, Usman Rahim of Bank of America, John Keast of the Senate Commerce Committee, Dee Duncan of the Republican State Leadership Committee, Katie Wheeler Matthews of Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D-Calif.) office, Dan DeSimone of Gov. Ned Lamont's (D-Conn.) office and Rebecca Schimsa and Caitlin Schroder of the Republican Governors Association. — And at a friends and family happy hour on Tuesday hosted by Smith-Free Group to introduce the firm's new leadership Bob Hickmott and Jon Deuser, per a tipster: Tiffany Ge and Stephanie Penn from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell 's office, Chad Carlough of Rep. Jerry Carl 's office, Mike Reynard from Sen. Dan Sullivan 's (R-Alaska) office, Brian McCullough and Dion Spencer of Intuit, Chris Tampio of the American Dental Association, Ed DeMarco of the Housing Policy Council, Emily Porter of Sidecar Health, Evan Sarris, Adrian Swann and Matt Perin of Kroger, Patrick Edmond and Stephen Flippin of CSX, Garrick Francis of the Alliance For Automotive Innovation, Ryan Modlin of Rio Tinto, Andrew Healey and Michael Baker of the National Propane Gas Association, Francis Creighton of the Consumer Data Industry Association, Paul Jackson of Business Roundtable, Brian Vanderbloemen of SAS, Joe Rubin of Opportunity Financial, Grant Saunders of House Minority Whip Steve Scalise 's office, David Cleary of the Senate HELP Committee and Vincent Evans of the Congressional Black Caucus.   A message from Altria:   Jobs Report —  Daniel Bunn will be the next president and CEO of the Tax Foundation. He is currently an executive vice president. — Kasie Brill joined NBCUniversal as vice president of content protection. She was previously vice president of brand protection and strategic initiatives at the Global Innovation Policy Center at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. — Lauren Marshall is now a director at FGS Global. She previously was a legislative director for Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). — Jodi Chandler is now manager of U.S. government relations at eBay. She most recently was a public affairs adviser at Holland & Knight and is a Todd Young alum. — BAE Systems has promoted Caitlin Hayden to group communications director. She was previously senior vice president of communications for the U.S. entity of BAE Systems and is an Aerospace Industries Association and Obama White House alum. — Travis Lake has joined the American Beverage Association as a government and public affairs assistant. Lake was most recently a communications assistant at Nahigian Strategies. — The Travel Technology Association has named Laura Chadwick as its new president and CEO. She previously served as a vice president for industry relations at the XR Association and is a CTA, National Restaurant Association and Adam Schiff alum. —  Ervin Graves Strategy Group has promoted Allison Feikes and Amanda Kasper to senior vice presidents in the government relations practice. —  Joe Wasser has joined State and Federal Communications as a senior account manager. He was most recently a senior sales executive at Cision. — Delve has promoted Sean McAllister to vice president of research and former EPA director of House affairs Christian Rodrick to research director of its energy and environmental issues team. The firm is also adding Kyle Huwa, a former Labor Department appointee and Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) alum, as a senior research analyst. — Tom Crosson has been promoted to be senior director of strategic communications at Norfolk Southern. — Jeremy Tarr is the new U.S. state policy director at Clean Air Task Force. He was most recently a senior adviser for climate change policy to Gov. Roy Cooper (D-N.C.). — Julie Moos has been hired as editorial director for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. She currently is executive director at the National Press Club Journalism Institute and is an alum of McClatchy and Poynter. — Kevin Williamson is joining the Competitive Enterprise Institute as writer in residence. He is national correspondent of The Dispatch and is a National Review alum. — Penta has added Scott Elder and Kris Havens as managing directors for intelligence and Marisol Garibay as a managing director for strategy. Elder most recently was a senior vice president at PSB, Garibay most recently served as chief communications officer at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Havens most recently served as chief strategy officer at the National Association of Secondary School Principals. — Matthew Kulkin is now a partner at WilmerHale. He previously was a partner and co-chair at Steptoe & Johnson and is a CFTC alum. — Roxane Maywalt is joining Eversheds Sutherland as senior counsel. She most recently was senior counsel at Michael Best & Friedrich and is a FERC alum.   NEW AND IMPROVED POLITICO APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. With a fresh look and improved features, the sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don't miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. Already a POLITICO app user? Upgrade today! DOWNLOAD FOR iOS  – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID .     New Joint Fundraisers Scott Gryder Victory Fund (Scott Gryder for Congress, NRCC, Illinois Republican Party — Federal) New PACs Rural America Votes (Super PAC) New Lobbying Registrations 56 Capitals LLC: Global Infrastructure Investor Association Avenue Solutions: American Beverage Association Best Best & Krieger LLP: East County Advanced Water Purification Jpa Congressional Partners: Albany State University Congressional Partners: Jarvis Christian University Dentons Global Advisors Government Relations LLC: Qbtech Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP: The Myositis Association Ferox Strategies: Self-Insurance Institute Of America, Inc. 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A message from Altria: Moving beyond smoking. Altria's companies are leading the way in moving adult smokers away from cigarettes. Today, we are taking action to transition millions toward less harmful choices. From cigarettes to innovative alternatives. By investing in a diverse mix of businesses, Altria is working to further broaden options. Our companies are encouraging adult smokers to transition to a range of choices that go beyond traditional, combustible cigarettes. From tobacco company to tobacco harm reduction company. And while Altria is moving forward to reduce harm, we are not moving alone. We are working closely with FDA and other regulatory bodies, and will work strictly under their framework. See how we're moving.     Follow us

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