The Lobby Shop

Welcome to 2018! After a holiday hiatus, we're back in The Lobby Shop with Liam Donovan to discuss the wrap of the tax reform bill, upcoming goals for Congress, and what the new year holds for US policy and politics.

One of the latest additions to Bracewell's DC team is Angela Styles, prominent government contracts lawyer and heavy hitter in Washington. From the Departments of Defense, Energy, Interior, Homeland Security and Veteran Affairs to the General Services Administration (GSA), Angela has assisted companies with issues ranging from procurement integrity, civil false claims, complex internal investigations, intellectual property and more. Tune in for a chat about the world of government contracts, its complexities, and being a DC hockey parent.

It's been a hectic few months in Washington, and this week was no exception. With that in mind, here is a bonus episode featuring PRG's resident tax expert Liam Donovan on the latest in tax reform and what's up next for the Conference Committee, final vote, and beyond. Tune in for a look behind the scenes and lots of seasonal analogies.

This week, The Lobby Shop was honored with a visit from the President of the FBI Agents Association, Special Agent Tom O'Connor. We discuss developments within the Bureau and FBIAA since we last heard from Tom after Director Chris Wray's nomination, how FBIAA is able to support active, retired, and deceased Special Agents and their families, and what issues are foremost in the minds of FBI personnel lately.

PRG Co-heads Dee Martin and Scott Segal, recently named Top Lobbyists of 2017 by The Hill, stop by to talk about what its like to lobby in Washington, what it takes to be an effective lobbyists, and how they got into the world of lobbying.

Josh and Liam explore what's coming up for tax reform in light of this week's Senate tax plan and its differences and similarities compared to last week's House bill. We also discuss the news surrounding Roy Moore and how the allegations could impact tax reform's outlook, recap the results of the 2017 election and parse what they reveal about the political climate, and finally take a strange dive into the psyche's of Josh and Liam with an unusual thought exercise.

Josh snags a few minutes with PRG's resident tax expert Liam Donovan for a quick, cursory discussion of the House's freshly released tax bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Josh and Liam cover the highlights of the bill, predictions on votes and potential controversy, next steps in the House, and what's coming up in the Senate.

Josh and Liam revisit the Friday Five format for this week's episode, discussing tax reform and yesterday's budget adoption by the House, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and talk of US renegotiations and/or withdrawal, Congressional retirements and Senators Corker and Flake, the state of the GOP, and the outlook for Midterm elections.

Josh sits down with Paul Nathanson, George Felcyn, and Frank Maisano to discuss the U.S. International Trade Commission's controversial Section 201 solar imports case. From the history of Section 201 petitions to the motives of this case's plaintiffs to the sheer impact of the proposed tariffs, our team breaks down this complex subject. To learn more about the case and the Energy Trade Action Coalition's efforts to fight it, visit energytradeaction.org.

Josh and Liam discuss the latest developments at the EPA regarding the Obama Administration's Clean Power Plan (CPP) with our Bracewell colleague Jeff Holmstead, former assistant administrator of the EPA for Air and Radiation and current head of Bracewell's Environmental Strategies Group. Jeff lends his expertise to help explain the background and politics of the CPP, this week's draft Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) for replacing the CPP, and what that means at this stage. Have a topic you'd like to hear discussed on the show? We'd love to hear from you! Send your feedback, thoughts, and suggestions to thelobbyshop@policyres.com.