With Megan Wilson and Daniel Lippman

BAYER TO LOBBY ON ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTIVES: German conglomerate and pharmaceuticals giant Bayer has added to its team of outside lobbyists, which will include lobbying on access to contraceptives for the first time. Former congresswoman and former acting U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Chair ​Ann Marie ​Buerkle, Susan Hirschmann, Laura ​Simmons, Cheryl Jaeger, Nicole ​Bertsch, Matthew ​Hoekstra and Karina ​Lynch will lobby on the account for Williams and Jensen, which newly filed disclosures show Bayer brought on at the beginning of July.

— In addition to working on issues related to access to contraceptives, Williams and Jensen will also lobby on drug pricing issues, Medicare coverage policies, and other issues of relevance to drugmakers like the 340B program, as well as trade and U.S. and international taxes.

— Though Bayer retains nine other outside firms — and employs 11 registered in-house lobbyists — it has never explicitly reported lobbying on contraceptive access, according to PI’s analysis of disclosures dating back to 1999. Bayer reported spending $1.5 million on lobbying last quarter.

— The parent company behind birth control pills like Yaz and IUDs like Mirena has previously been an advocate for expanding access to contraceptives, and last year pledged to invest over €400 million in an initiative to provide 100 million women and girls across the globe — but especially in low- and middle-income countries — with access to “modern contraception” in the next decade.

— But the issue of access to contraceptives within the U.S. has become a higher stakes issue following the Supreme Court ruling in June that overturned Roe v. Wade. Lobbyists working on abortion rights issues told PI in May that with the repeal of the nationwide right to an abortion imminent, access to birth control could be among several potential new flashpoints in the reproductive health care space.

— In recognition of the issue, which Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas singled out in a concurring opinion overturning Roe, the House last month passed legislation that would codify the right to access birth control. The bill was blocked by Senate Republicans. The Biden administration has also sought to take action to protect access to contraceptives, issuing guidance last month reminding health insurance of the Affordable Care Act’s requirements to cover all FDA-approved forms of birth control with no co-pays. 

Good afternoon and welcome to PI. It may be recess, but we’re still around — let us know what’s going on out there: [email protected]. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

DIALYSIS SERVICES BILL CRIBBED FROM DAVITA DRAFT: After dialysis giant DaVita lost a Supreme Court case regarding coverage benefits for people with advanced kidney failure, the company went to work to get a legislative fix, Megan reports.

— Metadata from a Word document obtained by POLITICO shows that Kathleen Waters, the company’s chief legal officer, and Kelly Philson, one of its top lobbyists, drafted proposed legislative language on July 14 that was then mirrored by lawmakers in legislation introduced in the House and Senate weeks later.

— The bill would prohibit a group health plan from putting “limits, restrictions, or conditions” on dialysis benefits compared to services needed to treat other chronic conditions covered by the plan.

— In June, the Supreme Court ruled an employer-based health plan didn’t run afoul of federal law when it only offered out-of-network coverage for dialysis services. After the decision “created a loophole” that might encourage more employers to stop in-network coverage, a DaVita spokesperson told Megan in an emailed statement, “members of Congress who are concerned about the potential harmful impact to their constituents in this vulnerable patient population started working to restore the protections under the Medicare Secondary Payer Act.”

— Megan also reports that each of the 17 co-sponsors of the House bill has received campaign money from DaVita’s PAC since January 2021, totaling $67,000, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks political spending. Five co-sponsors also received contributions to their leadership PACs, Federal Election Commission records show.

— While such contributions aren’t unusual, in May, Rep. Yvette Clarke","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://directory.politicopro.com/congress/member/51855","_id":"00000182-8fa2-d6c9-af96-8fe25a670002","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000182-8fa2-d6c9-af96-8fe25a670003","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}">Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), the bill’s lead sponsor and vice chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, received $14,500 in contributions from 10 DaVita executives and employees — a departure from the relatively modest checks her campaign has typically received from its PAC over the years. The issue has “particular importance” to the congresswoman because of the prevalence of kidney failure among her constituents, Clarke’s office told Megan in a statement.

CHAMBER ADDS A NEW TAX LEAD: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has replaced the face of its tax policy work again. Nearly a year after bringing on EY’s Rob Hanson as senior vice president for tax policy, the Chamber announced today that it had added “new leadership” in tax policy and IT roles. Watson McLeish is joining the business lobby from the Tax Executives Institute, and will hold the same title as Hanson.

— The latest shake up for the Chamber’s tax advocacy comes as the House prepares to pass Democrats’ reconciliation bill containing tax hikes the group has fervently opposed. Hanson joined the Chamber late last year, as Democrats were weighing a different set of tax hikes on corporations and the wealthy. That more sweeping version of the party’s social spending agenda fell apart this winter because of opposition from Sens. Kyrsten Sinema","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://directory.politicopro.com/congress/member/198919","_id":"00000182-8fa2-d6c9-af96-8fe25a670004","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000182-8fa2-d6c9-af96-8fe25a670005","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}">Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Joe Manchin","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://directory.politicopro.com/congress/member/151825","_id":"00000182-8fa2-d6c9-af96-8fe25a670006","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000182-8fa2-d6c9-af96-8fe25a670007","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}">Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), resulting in the scaled back measure coming up for a vote later this week.

— But now, an October press release announcing Hanson’s hiring redirects to the Chamber’s home page. A spokesperson for the Chamber declined to comment on the record when asked about Hanson’s apparent departure. Last spring, Caroline Harris, a top tax lobbyist, left after more than a decade with the Chamber to become a partner at the tax lobbying firm Capitol Tax Partners.

— The Chamber also added Bill Jewell as chief information officer. Jewell will oversee the group’s technical infrastructure, engineering, cybersecurity, information risk management and compliance, and previously served as chief information security officer and vice president of technology at the College Board.

IF YOU MISSED IT TUESDAY: In the lead up to Sunday’s vote to pass Democrats’ reconciliation bill, Sen. Sinema’s office “was inundated with calls from lobbyists representing hedge funds, private equity firms and other money managers arguing against closing the carried interest tax loophole,” people familiar with the matter told CNBC’s Brian Schwartz.

— Sinema and her staff “fielded numerous in-person meetings with the industry, said some of the people familiar with these meetings, asking not to be identified in order to speak freely about private efforts to connect with Sinema.”

— And the flood of outreach wasn’t limited to carried interest, nor did it go unanswered, per Schwartz: “‘Every single major industry that is not supportive of what’s in there is meeting with Sinema, and she is meeting with anybody and everybody,’ a lobbyist representing some of the biggest investment firms in the world told CNBC before [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer announced late Thursday that Democrats agreed to drop the carried interest provision to get her vote. Sinema said she would work separately ‘to enact carried interest tax reforms.’”

— Keri McGill and Tom McLaughlin have joined CGCN Group as an associate and digital director, respectively. McLaughlin was most recently a client strategist at Engage.

— Jessica Vallejo has left the White House, where she was senior adviser for congressional engagement in the Office of Legislative Affairs. She is heading to Microsoft to handle congressional relations.

— Erikka Knuti is now communications director for the Office of Personnel Management. She most recently was director of strategic communications for the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, and previously worked as a communications consultant at Purple Strategies and Ogilvy Public Relations. She's an alum of the offices of Sen. Amy Klobuchar","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://directory.politicopro.com/congress/member/K000367","_id":"00000182-8fa2-d6c9-af96-8fe25a6a0000","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"00000182-8fa2-d6c9-af96-8fe25a6a0001","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}">Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and former Reps. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) and David Obey (D-Wis.).

— Karim Farishta is now the director of intergovernmental affairs at the Pentagon in the legislative affairs office, NatSec Daily reports. He was previously the director of strategic alliances at The Asian American Foundation and is a Biden campaign alum.

— Barry Pavel, the former director of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council, has joined RAND Corporation as vice president overseeing national security research.

— Susan Whealler Johnston will retire from her position as president of the National Association of College and University Business Officers this month. Johnston, who has led NACUBO since 2018 and was the group’s first female president, is retiring to focus on her health.

— Melanie Tiano is the new director of federal regulatory affairs at T-Mobile. She was previously assistant vice president for cybersecurity and privacy at CTIA.

— Mark Kresowik is joining the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy as senior director for policy. He previously managed federal and international policy for the Carbon-Free Buildings program at RMI.

— Michael Fuchs will be a special adviser at the Open Society Foundations. He most recently worked at the White House as deputy chief of staff to the vice president.

— Sophie Vaughan is now a principal on the comms team at Precision Strategies. She previously was a campaign manager for Ajwang for Congress, and is a Be A Hero PAC,Amy McGrath and Hearst Connecticut Media Group alum.

— Brian Mosteller is now senior adviser to ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel. He most recently provided advisory services for high-profile clients, including Mark Zuckerberg, and is an Obama alum.

— Amy Spitalnick is joining Bend the Arc: Jewish Action as CEO. She previously was executive director of Integrity First for America.

— David Carter is now manager of regulatory affairs at Lucid Motors. He previously was a transportation policy analyst at the Department of Transportation.

Blue Quads Victory Fund (Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Eric Sorensen for Illinois)
John Thune Victory Committee (Sen. John Thune, Commonsense. Conservative Values PAC)
Reclaim the Majority (Rep. Ted Budd, Team Herschel, Inc, Doctor Oz for Senate, NRSC)

Eric Walleck (Super PAC)
Re-Coop Arizona PAC (Leadership PAC: Kelly Cooper)
Together for Ohio's Future PAC (Super PAC)
United for a Better Tomorrow Leadership PAC (Leadership PAC: Sydney Kamlager)

J M Burkman & Associates: Act Inc
J M Burkman & Associates: Christopher Quinn
J M Burkman & Associates: Daniel Wise Cake Enterprises Inc
J M Burkman & Associates: Jamison Deangelis
K&L Gates, LLP: Ree Medical LLC
Venable LLP: Cybastion Institute Of Technology
Williams And Jensen, Pllc: Bayer Corporation
Williams And Jensen, Pllc: Exiger

Ms. Barbara Raimondo: Conference Of Educational Administrators Of Schools And Programs For The Deaf
North Star Strategies, LLC: Appalachian Wildlife Center