Bottom Line: Mastercard signs former House Financial Services Committee counsel

Banking

Mastercard hired 9th Street Strategies to lobby on financial issues related to services, interchange and payments. A bipartisan, bicameral bill called the Credit Card Competition Act threatens to break up Mastercard and Visa’s combined 80 percent control of the U.S. credit card interchange market by requiring large financial institutions to offer at least two options for processing credit card “swipe fees” — with at least one option other than Visa or Mastercard.

The lobbyist on the account is Ben ​Turner, former legislative counsel for Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), a member of the House Financial Services Committee.

Defense technology

The military contractor ​L3Harris Technologies hired Ballard Partners to lobby on issues related to business development and procurement. Brian Ballard, a seasoned lobbyist who was vice chair of former President Trump’s inaugural committee and finance vice chair of the Republican National Committee, will work on the account.

Health care

Eli Lilly hired DLA Piper LLP to lobby on issues related to security and resilience in the pharmaceutical supply chain. One of the lobbyists on the account is ​Margaret Martin, a former senior policy adviser on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Aviation

The ​Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, the second-largest airport in the U.S., hired the Klein/Johnson Group to lobby on issues related to air travel and airport safety and operations. One of the lobbyists on the account is ​Israel ​Klein, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) former communications director.

Animals

The ​Fort Worth Zoo hired Capitol Connections to lobby on issues related to program funding, animal welfare and U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service oversight. The lobbyist on the account is Joan ​Galvin, who married Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) in 2018.

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