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August 8th, 2019
This week in money-in-politics

Secretive front group targets vulnerable senators with $2.3 million ad blitz over surprise medical bills fight

[link removed] secretive “dark money” group, which claims to represent doctors and patients, engaged in a TV advertising blitz totaling at least $2.3 million from late July through mid-August. Its ads urge vulnerable senators to reject a proposal meant to cut down on expensive surprise medical bills.

Doctor Patient Unity, an obscure group that doesn’t list its members or disclose its funding, was incorporated in Virginia on July 23. Just a few days later, it ran its first TV ads during CNN’s broadcast of the Democratic presidential debate, a preview of the multi-million dollar ad blitz that would soon follow.

The TV ads, which aired in nearly a dozen states, key in on one of America’s top healthcare issues: unexpected medical bills. The answer, the group says, is not a government-imposed limit on the amount of money health care providers can charge to some out-of-network patients — a proposal that appears primed to pass the Senate.
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** Embattled Kuwaiti defense contractor building foreign influence operation with firms tied to Mueller probe
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A Kuwaiti defense contractor that plead guilty to stealing U.S. government funds is assembling a team of lobbyists and foreign influence operatives from high-profile, and sometimes controversial, firms. Read more ([link removed])
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** What are DC’s top eateries according to campaign spending?
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Using public data from the Federal Elections Commission, OpenSecrets has ranked the top recipients of campaign expenditures for events in Washington, D.C., and surrounding suburbs for both parties and picked out the top 10 restaurants, bars and hotels for each. Read More ([link removed])
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** Slew of GOP retirements set up spending showdown in 2020
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Nine Republicans in the House of Representatives have already announced they will retire rather than seek reelection in 2020, opening up a handful of competitive seats in suburban districts across the country. Only two Democrats have announced their retirements so far. Read More ([link removed])

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CRP, Campaign Legal Center file petition to illuminate party ‘cromnibus’ accounts
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The Center for Responsive Politics and the Campaign Legal Center have filed a petition with the Federal Election Commission to require full, transparent financial reporting of the millions of dollars that pass through national political parties’ special-purpose bank accounts.

Current FEC regulations leave the public in the dark regarding money received and spent by national party committees through these opaque special-purpose accounts. Established under a 2015 omnibus bill, these so-called “cromnibus” accounts are not required to disclose basic information, and it is nearly impossible to track all contributions to these accounts under the current reporting structure.

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OpenSecrets in the News

See where we've been cited by media outlets around the nation this week.

* ** Gun-Rights Lobby Faces Challenges On and Off the Hill (The Wall Street Journal) ([link removed])
Amid increased discussion on gun control, the NRA continues to experience financial woes. The group saw a significant drop in political spending last cycle, which is expected to continue.

* ** From Donald Trump to Bernie Sanders, here's how much every 2020 presidential candidate has gotten from the healthcare industry (Business Insider) ([link removed])
So far, the healthcare sector has contributed more than $5 million in total towards the many presidential candidates, from President Donald Trump's re-election campaign all the way to his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts governor William Weld.

* ** Despite back-to-back mass shootings, McConnell unlikely to accept gun control legislation (Louisville Courier-Journal) ([link removed])
Mitch McConnell's support from the gun lobby has helped fuel his political career since his first reelection.

** The New York Times ([link removed])
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** The Washington Free Beacon ([link removed])
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