With Change in Congress, ReMA Secures Assistance from Two Public Affairs Firms

As a result of the 2014 “midterm elections,” Republicans increased their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and gained control of the U.S. Senate.

Whenever such a dramatic change occurs in Washington, new opportunities arise.  And when they do arise, ReMA closely assesses the results and makes necessary changes that are in the best interest of its members.  In this regard, ReMA is no different from the majority of associations, companies, and even foreign governments who maintain legislative representation in the Nation’s Capital.

The Podesta Group (PG), which has assisted ReMA staff in representing ReMA for a number of years is considered by most in Washington to be a Democratic powerhouse.  Although PG employs a number of highly skilled Republican lobbyists, some of whom have worked on ISRI’s projects, we had to ask the question of whether “In this new environment, is retention of the Podesta Group in the best interest of the ReMA membership?”  There are many clichés one can use but the old “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater” is particularly apt in this situation.  We were fortunate to be able to bring what was considered the number one Democratic firm on board when we did but risk PG being “conflicted” by another client if we left and tried to come back in the future.  This was not the deciding factor; rather, it was one of many that had to be taken into consideration.

Before making any change ReMA needed to look across the landscape of Republican firms, looking for those that are top rated in their field and that are available to us.  One of the first, and most obvious choices was the Republican firm that is part of ReMA lore – the BGR Group – founded by former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and his colleagues, Ed Rogers and Lanny Griffith.  Many ReMA members will remember that BGR represented ReMA during the successful fight to enact the Superfund Recycling Equity Act (SREA).  With their qualifications and prodigious fundraising skills, BGR is highly sought after.  There is no question that BGR leads the Republican pack.  Although BGR was strictly a Republican firm back in the 1990s they have hired a number of Democrats with top notch credentials and wide name recognition within their party.

Wanting to make certain that we had the best outside lobbyists for ReMA made this a gut-wrenching decision until we realized the unique opportunity this session of Congress poses for ISRI.  With the business friendly Republicans in the majority in both houses we now have the potential to be more proactive than ever before.  If we can get bipartisan support, like we had for SREA, the likelihood of success is even greater.  Consequently, the decision was made to have two of Washington’s most highly regarded lobbying firms working behalf of the interests of ISRI’s members.  ISRI’s staff and the staffs of both BGR and PG have been working together as a team to implement strategies to achieve ISRI’s needs. Although we were not initially aware of it, PG and BGR represent a number of clients jointly and have learned how to be an effective team without letting partisan politics get in the way.

At the top of ISRI’s priorities for the 114^th Congress are efforts to enact language in some form that will make it clear that “Scrap is Not Waste,” to continue to address issues certain to be raised by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) about metals theft and by Representative Gene Green (D-TX) regarding electronics.