02-16-2002

LOBBYING: K Street For February 16, 2002

After 9/11, They're Scrambling


Now that federal employees are taking over many of the nation's airport
security duties, the private-sector contractors that traditionally handled
the work have been forced to shuffle their lobbying lineup. Today, the
Aviation Security Association-the trade group that was formed in the wake
of September 11-"for the most part exists in name only," says
the association's president, Kenneth P. Quinn of the law firm Pillsbury
Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts. Security firms see less of a need
for sponsoring an industry-wide group, says Quinn, and "a number of
the companies that used to belong are pursuing their own paths." They
are looking to compete for the dwindling number of airport security
contracts within the United States. A few firms-notably the industry's
largest company, United Kingdom-based Securicor-have stuck with the ASA in
order to seek help from Congress on terrorism-liability insurance.
Securicor owns Argenbright Security Inc., the contractor that was heavily
criticized in the months after the terrorist attacks because of security
lapses by its workers at U.S. airports. Securicor had been using Quinn-a
former Federal Aviation Administration chief counsel-as its lobbyist even
before September 11. Meanwhile, another major contractor, Globe Aviation
Services Corp. of Irving, Texas, is extending its relationship with two
lobbying firms, Fierce & Isakowitz and C2 Group.


TransAfrica's Financial Plea


TransAfrica Forum, a two-decade-old group that produces policy reports on
issues related to Africa and the Caribbean, and which lobbies Congress and
the Administration, is selling its office building at Dupont Circle and
desperately trying to raise money. In a recent letter to 5,000 supporters,
TransAfrica President Bill Fletcher Jr. said that the organization needs
"immediate financial assistance." The cash crunch has already
forced the group's lobbying arm, TransAfrica Inc., to close all but one of
its regional chapters. Fletcher, who took the helm a year ago, said he's
planning to reorient TransAfrica to focus more on anti-globalization
issues and on grassroots lobbying.


Carmakers, Labor Rev Up Against CAFE


The Big Three automakers are teaming up with auto dealers and labor union
members to fight Senate legislation that would slap tougher
fuel-efficiency standards on new passenger vehicles. Over the weeklong
February recess, these allies plan to hold rallies, press conferences, and
events at auto plants in 16 states to dramatize their opposition to two
bills that would hike the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard
for cars and light trucks to at least 35 miles per gallon over the next
decade. DaimlerChrysler Corp., for instance, has scheduled a February 19
rally in St. Louis that's aimed at putting pressure on Sen. Jean Carnahan,
D-Mo. The event is expected to include officials from Ford Motor Co. and
General Motors Corp., as well as the United Auto Workers (which includes
workers from the auto, aerospace, and agricultural industries).
"We're all together in opposing extreme and radical measures,"
says Robert G. Liberatore, DaimlerChrysler's top Washington lobbyist.
Further, the industry-backed Coalition for Vehicle Choice, which includes
farm groups and other members, has been running radio ads in about 10
states opposing the two CAFE-tightening bills introduced separately by
Sens. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Ariz. Current CAFE rules
require all automakers to achieve an average of 27.5 mpg on new cars sold
in the United States, and an average of 20.7 mpg on light trucks,
including sport-utility vehicles.


AIA Gets More Insurers On Its Side


The American Insurance Association has been reaching out to nonmember
companies for help in the lobbying effort to get a bill introduced in
Congress that would set stricter medical criteria for filing
asbestos-related legal claims. The AIA recently received financial backing
from such nonmember insurers as Nationwide and Liberty Mutual Group. The
AIA, which represents the biggest property-casualty companies and is a key
player in the business coalition Asbestos Alliance, is courting other
insurers as well. Sources say that the insurance association is expected
to use the new money in part to add to its already considerable lobbying
muscle. The AIA's short list of K Street prospects includes Quinn
Gillespie & Associates and Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and
Hand, as well as the grassroots firm Dewey Square Group. The bill touted
by the insurers would change the current rules so that people suffering
from asbestos-related diseases could go to the front of the courthouse
line to file their claims. The AIA and its allies back extending the
statute of limitations so that people who aren't yet ill can wait longer
before filing. Lobbyists say that such a bill, which wouldn't involve
tort-law reforms and which has the support of some trial lawyers, is
likely to be introduced soon.


Johnston's New French Connection


Johnston & Associates, the five-year-old lobbying firm founded by
former Sen. J. Bennett Johnston, D-La., is joining Publicis Group, the
world's sixth-largest global advertising and communications agency. By
acquiring a majority stake in Johnston's firm, Paris-based Publicis gains
a government affairs team in Washington that has represented such clients
as Boeing Co., General Motors Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., and the
University of Chicago. Johnston & Associates will keep its name and
become a division of Winner & Associates, Publicis's flagship public
affairs firm in the United States. Johnston said that his firm and Winner
& Associates make "a great match" and that "together,
we will both be more valuable to our clients."


Louis Jacobson, Shawn Zeller. Peter H. Stone, Robert Gettlin

National Journal