Brian Hess Named 2023 Top Lobbyist by NILE
The National Institute for Lobbying & Ethics (NILE) is thrilled to announce the recipients of its 2023 Top Lobbyist award. In 2020 NILE embarked on a mission to create an annual list that recognizes excellence in lobbying while ensuring the selection process is purely merit-based. Our dedicated panel of judges blindly evaluated each nominee to guarantee that the honor of being a Top Lobbyist is earned solely through outstanding performance and dedication to their profession in the given year.
Emmer Consulting and The Goodfriend Group Form "I Street Advocates,"Expand Labor Union Expertise with addition of Brian Young
Emmer Consulting, Inc., a health care lobbying firm, and The Goodfriend Group, which lobbies on behalf of media, technology, telecommunications, and labor organizations, announced the relaunching of their practices as “I Street Advocates,” and the addition of longtime labor and consumer advocate, Brian Young, to the team.
Bloomberg Government Top Lobbying Firms 2022
Lobbying spending in Washington reached a new high of $4 billion in 2022, continuing a multiyear streak driven by a law aimed at climate change and inflation, plus measures steering tax money into highways and semiconductor manufacturing. Bloomberg Government analyzed Lobbying Disclosure Act reports from all 2,105 registered lobbying firms that filed with the Senate during 2022. This report focuses on 363 firms that reported $1 million or more in revenue and lobbying activity in each quarter of the year.
David Goodfriend Named ‘Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People of 2023”
Goodfriend represented the Communication Workers of America’s NewsGuild in its Federal Communications Commission proceedings, arguing against the purchase of Tegna by Standard General, saying the mega-media deal would corrode democracy.
Hometown: Madison, Wisconsin. First job: Busboy at Rocky Rococo’s Pizza. What his office walk-up song would be: “Underdog” by Alicia Keys.
Consumer protection organizations claim bill to limit ticket fraud actually creates ‘concentrated power’
Brian Hess, the executive director of Sports Fans Coalition, a non-profit that claims to protect buyers by fostering more competition between ticket sellers, said the original bill created a concentration of market competition.
“The bill actually concentrated power into a few large entertainment conglomerates,” he said. “It did nothing to protect consumers, despite its name.”
New Ticket reform bill could stop you from getting
Brian went on local news in Colorado to discuss Ticketmaster’s ticketing bill and how it fails consumers.
Bill favors Ticketmaster, slights Colorado Consumers
In 2017 the Denver Broncos callously revoked the season ticket licenses of several fans because they resold their own season tickets to games they couldn’t attend on NFLTicketExchange.com, a website promoted and endorsed by both the NFL and the Broncos. Such anti-fan conduct was thankfully outlawed in 2018 when Colorado passed a law protecting a consumer’s right to freely use, sell, or give away their purchased tickets by transferring them to someone else if they wish. But all of that is at risk today. Ticketmaster is once again playing its game of monopoly and state lawmakers should not be deceived by it.
The Taylor Swift Meltdown Was About Greed, Not Bots
When the Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on Jan. 24 and questions Live Nation/Ticketmaster’s management about market competition and consumer protections, senators should prepare for an Oscar-worthy performance in finger-pointing and deflection.
Equal Pay for Team USA
Hopes Solo is joined by Brian Hess, Executive Director of the Sports Fan Coalition, to discuss the process behind getting the Equal Pay for Team USA Act signed into law by President Biden earlier this month. They also talk about how SFC came into existence and winning fights where they're the "David" vs "Goliaths" like the NFL and US Olympic Committee.
Hess Named 2022 Top Lobbyist
"I'm honored to be included as one of the Hill’s 2022 Top Lobbyists alongside such influential advocates. The work we’ve accomplished at the Goodfriend Group and Emmer Consulting is nothing short of extraordinary. I’m lucky to represent the kinds of clients I do — non-profits, labor unions, and mission-driven companies that help people connect in meaningful ways with one another. I can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store for us.”
Equal pay bill would be a big win for Team USA
Something historic happened on June 22nd: The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee unanimously voted for the Equal Pay for Team USA Act. Republicans and Democrats joined together to tell the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee that it’s time to treat women equally.
Hess Named 2021 Top Lobbyist
“The ranks of policy experts, influencers and advocates run deep in Washington, but these are the people who stand out for delivering results for their clients in the halls of Congress and the administration.”
Brian Hess named NILE’s 2021 Top Lobbyist
Today, Brian Hess was named one of the National Institute of Lobbying and Ethics (NILE) 2021 Top Lobbyists.
Why Big Tech Shouldn’t be Scared of Unions
In announcing the formation of their union, the Alphabet workers called on Google to live up to its values, and I realized that I also need to live up to mine, so I am no longer a registered lobbyist for Google. But I have not given up hope that tech companies will update their thinking and encourage their employees to join unions.
Locast, a Free App Streaming Network TV, Would Love to Get Sued
“On the roof of a luxury building at the edge of Central Park, 585 feet above the concrete, a lawyer named David Goodfriend has attached a modest four-foot antenna that is a threat to the entire TV-industrial complex.”
Nadler and Democrats must zero in on corporate power: Look at prescription drug pricing and megamergers
The midterm election that propelled Democrats to a majority in the House of Representatives revealed voter sentiment on a number of fronts that should inform the House Judiciary Committee’s first 100 days under its likely new leader, New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), including on antitrust and competition policy.
Ask the Hard-Hitting Antitrust Questions
Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats should continue their truth-out tradition when the Subcommittee on Antitrust holds an antitrust hearing October 3rd. Here are a few recommended questions:
NY Times Op-ed on Trump Is Historical Anomaly, Attorney Goodfriend Says
David Goodfriend discusses the New York Times op-ed by an unidentified senior administration official that said some of President Donald Trump's closest advisers are working in secret to thwart his "more misguided impulses." He speaks with Bloomberg's David Westin and Shery Ahn on "Bloomberg Markets: Balance of Power."
What AT&T’s DOJ Victory Means for the Future of Antitrust Law
David Goodfriend, Weiner Brodsky Kider attorney specializing in telecom and competition, comments on AT&T Inc. getting clearance to buy Time Warner Inc. He speaks with Bloomberg's David Westin and Shery Ahn on "Bloomberg Markets: Balance of Power." (Source: Bloomberg)