LegiStorm

Food producers big and small are trying to get a slice of coronavirus relief.

The current situation has prompted two big-name chains to lobby Congress for the first time: Chipotle Mexican Grill and Subway. Both filed to lobby during the first quarter of the year. Chipotle hired DLA Piper while Khalil Saliba is representing Subway. Saliba has worked with other food brands in the past, including Burger King and Bloomin' Brands, which owns Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba's.

Smaller businesses are also banding together to fight for their own survival: the recently formed Independent Restaurant Coalition has filed to lobby, hiring Thorn Run Partners for the job. According to an Instagram Live meeting with coalition stakeholders, Thorn Run's Chris Lamond has a personal connection to the industry as his family owns nine restaurants in South Carolina.

Former Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) has officially registered as a first-time lobbyist.

Pryor, who joined Venable as a partner shortly after finishing his last Senate term in 2015, is lobbying Congress and several agencies on telecom, consumer and computer-industry issues, according to recent filings.

The former senator is working on behalf of three Venable clients: Experian; Privacy for America, a data-privacy coalition; and the Edison Electric Institute. Bob Russell, who spent seven years as the senator's chief of staff, is also a lobbyist for the Edison Electric Institute through a separate firm.

With all eyes on the world of healthcare, two former lobbyists for Cavarocchi Ruscio Dennis Associates LLC have parted with the company to launch their own health-focused firm. 

Johanna Gray and Ellen Riker, both previously senior vice presidents at CRD Associates, are now principals for Artemis Policy Group. According to Gray's LinkedIn, Artemis is, "a boutique health policy lobbying and association management firm" with a focus on representing nonprofits. 

In addition to serving as a principal of the new firm, Riker is the executive director of the National Association of Epilepsy Centers. Earlier in her career, she worked for the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Beyond CRD Associates, Gray and Riker also crossed paths at Holland & Knight, where both worked on health accounts like the American College of Chest Physicians and National Hemophilia Foundation.

At a time when labor data is more important than ever, new changes are in the works for how news organizations can access this information. These changes have pushed one outlet, the Associated Press, to lobby for the first time in recent years.

In January, Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner William Beach announced that credentialed press members would no longer be able to use electronic devices during the "lock-up" period, a 30-minute window before public release during which reporters can view and digest data. 

The Associated Press, along with other organizations including Dow Jones & Co., has hired Holland & Knight to lobby on the issue. Holland & Knight has been contesting the change directly with the Department of Labor. 

Beach justified the change, writing, "Real-time information from government websites and releases is more accessible to the general public than ever before. However, unlike some media organizations with computer access in the current lock-up, the general public does not have up to 30 minutes before the official release time to digest the data or to take actions that may lag behind transmissions following the lock-up. Further, developments in high-speed algorithmic trading technology now give a notable competitive advantage to market participants who have even a few microseconds head start."

The change was set to go into effect "no sooner" than March 9, but that timeline has been extended with no clear date now on when it will occur. 

Retired Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), former chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, has officially made his lobbying debut.

Frelinghuysen is part of a Greenberg Traurig team representing the American Optometric Association trade group, a new lobbying client for the law firm, on consumer and health-care issues including the government's COVID-19 response. Ex-Rep. Al Wynn (D-Md.), who resigned from the House in 2008 after losing his primary bid earlier that year, is also a part of the four-person lobbying team.

Frelinghuysen retired from Congress at the end of last term and joined Greenberg Traurig as a senior director in February. He spent his last two years in office as Appropriations Committee chair.