Lobbying regulation - chronology 2020-2029

This article is part of the Lobbying Portal, a sunlight project from Spinwatch.

This page lists the history of debates on Lobbying regulation, in Scotland, the UK, the EU and the US.

See also:

• Lobbying regulation - chronology 1920s-1980s
• Lobbying regulation - chronology 1990-1999
• Lobbying regulation - chronology 2000-2009
• Lobbying regulation - chronology 2010-2019

2020 - 2029

2020

8 January 2020 - Rod Rosenstein joins law and lobbying firm

US: From The Hill:

Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was named a partner at law and lobbying firm King & Spalding. Rosenstein will work in the firm’s special matters and government investigations group, which represents corporate, institutional and individual clients in sensitive legal challenges, the firm announced on Wednesday. Rosenstein oversaw former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation and announced his resignation in April.

22 January 2020 - Tech giants led by Amazon, Facebook and Google spent nearly half a billion on lobbying over the last decade, new data show

US: New data shows the tech giants spending record sums of money on lobbying efforts in Washington D.C. The Washington post reports:

Facebook, for example, spent almost $81 million in the nation’s capital between 2010 and 2019, according to new lobbying records as well as historical data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. That includes nearly $17 million last year, its highest amount ever, as it sought to assuage federal regulators who were furious at Facebook’s failures to protect users’ data, crack down on dangerous content and stop the spread of viral misinformation ahead of the 2020 presidential election. The company declined comment for this story.

Apple, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Uber, which were included in the analysis, also declined comment.

Amazon said it is “focused on ensuring we are advocating on issues that are important to our customers, our employees and policymakers,” according to spokeswoman Jill Kerr. It also spent roughly $17 million on lobbying last year, setting a new record for the e-commerce giant.

Full article here.

23 January 2020 - Trump weakened environmental laws after BP lobbying

US: The Guardian reports:

BP has successfully lobbied US policymakers to weaken a landmark environmental law, clearing the way for major infrastructure projects to bypass checks.

US government documents show BP America lobbied in favour of Donald Trump’s decision to dilute legislation, which could make it easier for new projects, such as oil pipelines and power plants, to move forward with far less federal review of their impact on the environment.

Many green groups fear the changes to the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act (Nepa) will increase greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate the climate crisis.

The changes, unveiled by Trump this month, would narrow the list of projects that require an environmental impact assessment and in some cases eliminate the need for federal agencies to consider the cumulative effects of projects, including the impact on the climate crisis.

Full article here.

13 February 2020 - Mapped: Boris Johnson's Cabinet and the Tufton Street Lobbying Network

UK: DeSmog UK have mapped out in detail the links between Boris Johnson's Cabinet and the Tufton Street Lobbying Network. Tufton Street is a road in Westminster, London, that is known as a centre for Brexit-related eurosceptic and right-wing aligned think-tanks. These groups are primarily based in 55, but also in 57, Tufton Street.

The full study by DeSmog Uk can be viewed here.

25 February 2020 - Watchdog ‘disappointed’ with review of State’s lobbying Act

Ireland: The Irish Times reports:

Ireland’s lobbying watchdog has criticised the Government for failing to give it extra powers to police the “revolving door” between the private and public sectors.

Sherry Perrault, who is in charge of ethics and lobbying at the Standards in Public Office commission (Sipo), said it was “disappointed none of its recommendations were adopted” during a review of the State’s lobbying Act.

She told The Irish Times that despite its requests the law be strengthened, “the commission doesn’t have all the tools it could have to ensure the effective operation of the legislation”.

Sipo made a total of 22 separate recommendations during the review of the lobbying laws, and asked for stronger legislative powers. Among these were concerns about how tightly existing obligations were being adhered to, and its own lack of powers to investigate or sanction some transgressions.

However, the Government’s review, published on Tuesday, limited its proposals for reform to “more education and guidance”. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, which ran the review, found there was no convincing case for updating lobbying laws introduced in 2014.

Full article here.

The Second Statutory Review of the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 can be viewed here.

25 February 2020 - Richard Grenell once touted his foreign clients. Now he's the top US intelligence official

US: CNN reports on Richard Grenell‘s consultancy work for foreign governments before joining the Trump administraion:

Years before becoming the nation's top intelligence official, Richard Grenell touted his consulting work for clients in Iran, China and other countries, which included projects that could violate foreign lobbying laws or jeopardize his security clearance.

Last week, President Donald Trump appointed Grenell as the acting director of national intelligence, elevating him to an influential position that oversees all US intelligence agencies, even though he has no experience working in the intelligence community.

An archived version of Grenell's personal website says, "Grenell has worked with clients based in the U.S. as well as Iran, Kazakhstan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, China, Australia, Timor-Leste, and throughout Europe." The site was apparently taken down in 2018.

Two years before Grenell joined the Trump administration in 2018 to become the US ambassador to Germany, his company earned more than $100,000 from a foundation tied to the far-right Hungarian government, according to federal tax records. And Grenell also once published a series of columns favorable toward a Moldovan oligarch who is now a blacklisted fugitive facing allegations of massive corruption.

Full article here.

26 February 2020 - Top Senate Democrat asks Justice Department to investigate Richard Grenell's consulting work

US: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer contacted the assistant attorney general for national security, John Demers, asking his office to "immediately investigate" reports of Grenell's work in support of the Hungarian government and a Moldovan politician. Failure to disclose previous work as a foreign agent is a potential violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires those who lobby in the U.S. on behalf of foreign entities to disclose their efforts. According to CBS a search of FARA filings shows Grenell did not register.