With Daniel Lippman

PHARMA LOBBY GAVE MILLIONS TO GROUPS OPPOSING DRUG PRICING: The pharmaceutical industry’s leading lobbying organization contributed $7.5 million to the House GOP-linked dark money group American Action Network and $1.6 million to the centrist dark money group Center Forward last year, Megan Wilson and I report.

— It’s the most PhRMA has ever given to AAN — which has received $34.5 million in PhRMA cash since 2010, according to Issue One, a campaign finance reform advocacy group.

— American Action Network spent millions on advertising in 2022 opposing Democrats’ drug pricing reform efforts, which eventually became law as part of the Inflation Reduction Act in a watered down form, while Center Forward financed millions of dollars in ads backing Democratic lawmakers who threw up roadblocks to the drug pricing reforms.

— A POLITICO analysis of the industry group’s most recent tax forms show that the contributions were among the top five grants or donations made by PhRMA in 2022. In total, PhRMA gave nearly $52 million to political campaigns and nonprofits, patient groups, universities and other organizations, according to the recently filed disclosures.

— In addition to the $7.5 million it gave to the American Action Network, PhRMA also contributed $200,000 to the American Action Forum, AAN’s charitable arm, which is allowed to conduct some lobbying. Neither group has to disclose its donors.

— PhRMA’s 2022 donation to Center Forward was less than the $1.7 million PhRMA sent to the nonprofit in 2021 and the $2.7 million it contributed in 2020. But the seven-figure check to Center Forward last year made PhRMA the group’s second-largest donor, comprising 11 percent of the nonprofit’s revenues, according to Center Forward’s tax filings.

— Center Forward, which is aligned with the moderate Blue Dog Democrats, is chaired by former congressman-turned-lobbyist Bud Cramer (D-Ala.). Last year, the group funneled a little over $2 million to its affiliated super PAC, its tax filing shows.

— The super PAC in turn spent more than $1 million on independent expenditures supporting one of the drug pricing proposal’s top congressional critics, former Oregon Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader, and attacking his primary opponent who ultimately defeated him, according to data from OpenSecrets.

Happy Tuesday and welcome to PI. We’ll be off for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and Friday, but until then, what are we missing? Drop me a line: [email protected]. And be sure to follow me on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

IRS PUNTS (AGAIN) ON GIG TAX: “The IRS will again punt on a stringent reporting requirement for gig workers and online sellers established by a 2021 law, the agency said Tuesday, delaying the requirement by one more year before starting to phase it in,” our Benjamin Guggenheim reports.

— “Online platforms like eBay, Etsy and PayPal and gig companies now won’t have to issue 1099-Ks to users for the 2023 tax year unless they earn more than $20,000 and have more than 200 transactions. Congress lowered that threshold significantly in the American Rescue Plan, to any user racking up more than $600 in transactions.”

— “But amid complaints from the industry and many lawmakers that the lower reporting threshold was too onerous, the IRS suspended the requirement for 2022 and says it is using administrative authority to do so once again, after Congress failed to move on potential fixes.”

— “The agency says that it plans to lower the threshold to $5,000 in 2024 so that tax professionals and online marketplaces can figure out how to comply with the law and manage a flood of new tax forms issued to customers.”

CORNERSTONE ADDS DNC AIDE: Cornerstone has added a top adviser to DNC Chair Jamie Harrison as the firm continues to build out its public affairs practice. Hyma Moore has served as chief of staff to Harrison’s office since last February, serving as his liaison to other departments of the DNC as well as Democratic campaigns, members of Congress and federal agencies, as well as his political adviser ahead of last year’s midterms.

— Moore also previously served as vice president for external affairs for the regional economic alliance Greater New Orleans and as an aide to Mitch Landrieu, the former New Orleans mayor who has served as the White House’s infrastructure czar for the past two years.

ROLLING DEEP: The Washington Post’s Maxine Joselow reports that “representatives of the fossil fuel industry have attended U.N. climate talks at least 7,200 times over the past two decades, according to research released Tuesday by a coalition of advocacy groups.”

— “The analysis underscores how the fossil fuel industry has increased its presence at summits focused on a climate crisis it helped create. It comes less than two weeks before the United Arab Emirates, a major oil producer, is set to host the next summit, with the head of its state-owned oil company serving as president of the Dubai gathering.”

— The analysis from the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition found that “among major oil and gas firms, Shell sent the most staff to the talks, securing at least 115 passes from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change since 2003, according to the analysis. Shell’s chief climate change adviser, David Hone, previously bragged that the oil giant helped write the 2015 Paris climate accord.”

— “Employees of fossil fuel firms around the world have attended the negotiations at least 945 times since 2003, the analysis found,” while “representatives for fossil fuel trade associations have attended COPs at least 6,581 times, the researchers said.”

— “All of these numbers are likely a ‘significant undercount,’ Kick Big Polluters Out said in a news release. That’s because the United Nations has not historically required delegates to disclose their affiliation with a fossil fuel company or trade group, so any disclosures have been voluntary,” a policy that will change for the first time for next month’s COP28.

SENATE TO HAUL TECH EXECS IN FOR KIDS’ SAFETY HEARING: “The Senate Judiciary Committee is subpoenaing the CEOs of X (formerly known as Twitter), Snap and Discord to force their testimony at an upcoming hearing over the platforms’ alleged failure to police online child sexual abuse content,” POLITICO’s Rebecca Kern reports.

— “The committee subpoenaed the three companies’ CEOs — X’s Linda Yaccarino, Snap’s Evan Spiegel, and Discord’s Jason Citron — after the committee said all three refused to testify voluntarily. Meanwhile, the committee said it’s in talks with Meta and TikTok, and expects their CEOs will voluntarily testify. A hearing is currently set for Dec. 6.”

— “Pressure is building on Congress to pass bills requiring platforms to strengthen online protections for kids as at least 5 states have passed their own laws in the meantime. More than 40 states sued Meta over claims the platform’s harmful and addictive products violated state consumer protection laws.”

— “In a departure from typical procedure, the committee said X and Discord refused to accept the subpoenas on behalf of their CEOs and therefore the U.S. Marshals Service had to personally serve the subpoenas to Yaccarino and Citron.”

Report Roundup

— Art Motta is joining AstraZeneca as director of U.S. federal affairs. He was most recently at the National Hispanic Medical Association and is a Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) alum.

— Joyce Rechtschaffen will retire in March as assistant vice president for government affairs at Princeton University, where she’s led the school’s D.C. office since 2006. Julie Groeninger will succeed her.

— Robert Puentes is stepping down after nearly eight years as president and CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation.

— Andrea I. Piccardo is now special assistant in the office of the White House liaison at the Department of Energy. She most recently was a policy analyst at Discord.

— Christine Kanuch has been promoted to chief financial officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She was previously vice president of finance.

— Kaysie Brown is now global policy director and strategist at the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. She previously was deputy lead negotiator on pandemics and senior adviser in State’s Office of Global Covid Response and Health Security.

New Joint Fundraisers

Cantwell Tester Victory Fund (Sens. Maria Cantwell, Jon Tester, Washington State Democratic Central Committee, Montana Democratic Party)

TEAM JR (J.R. Majewski for Congress, The American Transformation PAC)

New PACs

INDEPENDENT VOICES FOR CHANGE (Super PAC)

PASS THE TORCH USA INC (Super PAC)

RENEWING OUR NATION (Super PAC)

STOP THE SQUAD (Super PAC)

New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS

Abi Associates: Northpoint Development LLC

American Capitol Group: Ecostream

American Capitol Group: Transformational Energy Coalition (Tec)

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP: Mclarty Inbound LLC On Behalf Of Lg Chem, Ltd.

Az Dc Consulting, LLC: Arizona Fire & Medical Authority

Ballard Partners: American Polymer Company

Ballard Partners: Amira Group

Ballard Partners: Banyan Community Health Center, Inc.

Ballard Partners: New College Foundation

Ballard Partners: Walton County, Florida

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Harmony Biosciences

J M Burkman & Associates: Cleanwurx Inc

K&L Gates, LLP: Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (Pheaa)

Todd Strategy Group: Emergent Biosolutions Inc.

New Lobbying Terminations

Bc Consulting, LLC: Road Safe America

Efrus Federal Advisors LLC: Carahsoft On Behalf Of Hp Enterprise/Microfocus Government Solutions

Meridian Hill Strategies Formerly Known As Ernest C. Baynard Iv: Tworx

Mr. Jack C. Parnell: Neogen

Potomac Strategic Development Company, LLC: Avasure LLC

Sanders International Group, LLC: Qtc Global Enterprises (On Behalf Of Defense Systems Redeployment Group)

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