Scoop ... Sri Lanka signs with Majority Group - Vought goes solo - Food aid fight brewing on the Hill - London-based insurance market hires Patton Boggs
By Byron Tau and Anna Palmer
With Tarini Parti
SCOOP ... SRI LANKA SIGNS WITH MAJORITY GROUP: The Sri Lankan government has inked a lobbying and government affairs contract with the Majority Group. Previously, the country had been represented by Patton Boggs. Patton terminated its representation of Sri Lanka in early February, according to Department of Justice records. Majority Group’s partner and co-founder Rob Ellsworth confirmed the news to PI.
"We're excited to work with Sri Lanka on a number of issues important to both of our countries. As a small boutique firm, we are able to give constant and individualized attention to our clients; I know that was very important to Sri Lanka," Ellsworth said. The Majority Group was formed by Ellsworth and former Rep. Walt Minnick (D-Idaho). Sri Lanka’s central bank recently inked a separate contract with Thompson Advisory Group to promote the country’s economic interests.
SCOOPLET ... VOUGHT GOES SOLO: Senior communications adviser to Sen. Ron Johnson(R-Wis.), Mary Vought, is starting her own consulting company, Vought Strategies. Prior to working for Johnson, Vought served as press secretary for then-Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.).
FOR YOUR RADAR ... FOOD AID FIGHT BREWING ON THE HILL: As first reported in PI in February, the Obama administration’s draft budget is expected to propose major changes to the way food aid is structured. Instead of buying food from American farmers and shipping it overseas, the administration proposes to have the U.S. buy the food resources abroad. Critics of the changes — including many who have vested interests in keeping the status quo — say changing a program that is successful and tested is unwise. These are “pretty radical changes to an established, lifesaving program that has worked for 60 years,” Jeffrey Grieco, head of government affairs and communications for International Relief & Development, told PI.
On the other side of the issue, groups like CARE and Oxfam have been urging the U.S. to make these changes for years — arguing that the current system is inefficient and that no other country administers food like aid this. "It's a way to have the program be much more efficient and reach more people," said Blake Selzer, senior policy advocate of CARE, one of the groups that has come out in favor of the proposal. "Now more than ever, you're seeing folks on Capitol Hill to be as effective and efficient as possible. Here's one way we can do that."
The proposed changes — the details of which are well-known in the community but have not been officially released — have already prompted behind-the-scenes maneuvering. Twenty-one senators — many representing farm states — circulated a letter in February asking the administration not to tinker with the program. Agriculture interests, the shipping business and others have an interest in keeping the status quo. Meanwhile, Oxfam hired the firm Poblete Tamargo LLP on a lobbying contract this week to help push for reform on the Hill. Read More
