Business lobby seeking better relationships with Democrats

Business lobbies with longstanding ties to Republicans say they are trying to improve relationships with Democrats, who are likely to emerge from Tuesday’s election with a firmer hold on power.

Some Democratic congressional aides and lobbyists say the changes are so subtle as to have gone largely unnoticed. Most of the efforts seem to be targeted at a small group of the most fiscally conservative Democrats on Capitol Hill.

{mosads}But with Democrats on the verge of broadening their majorities in the House and Senate and taking control of the White House, business groups say they are working to open lines of communication by hiring Democratic lobbyists, supporting Democratic candidates and lobbying for Democratic bills that don’t conflict with their own agendas.

“Business can’t just fight everything. And Democrats can’t just push legislation that just appeals to their base,” said Jay Timmons, executive vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).

To be sure, much of what is on the Democratic to-do list gives business heartburn. Topping that list is the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for unions to organize workers. But business trade groups are also likely to oppose efforts to expand paid sick leave, adopt new workplace safety regulations or increase tax rates on certain sectors.

By improving relationships with Democrats, business lobbyists hope to moderate those measures or to move what they consider bad bills down the priority list far enough that there isn’t time to get to them.

Trade groups that are often at the forefront of corporate lobbying activity are actively encouraging member companies to build relationships back home with Democratic candidates. A particular focus is on Senate candidates, because it will still be easier to block bills there than in the House, where the rules give the majority party much more power.

NAM doesn’t have a political action committee (PAC), but it has encouraged members to support centrist Democratic incumbents like Melissa Bean of Illinois, Baron Hill of Indiana, Jim Matheson of Utah and Nick Lampson and Henry Cuellar of Texas. One of its most active members, MeadWestvaco, a paper products company, is supporting Democratic Senate candidate Mark Warner over Republican Jim Gilmore in Virginia.

Bad feelings linger from the years when Republicans controlled Washington and many Democrats felt groups refused to meet them halfway. In contrast, labor groups have spent an enormous amount of time and money in support of Democratic candidates, and stand to be rewarded for their efforts after Election Day.

NAM may have to do more damage control than other groups. President and CEO John Engler, the former Republican governor of Michigan, angered Democratic leaders by lobbying for conservative judges pushed by the Bush White House.*

Many Democrats on Capitol Hill felt a business lobby should not be involved in a fight traditionally waged by social conservative groups in the Republican base.

Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, meanwhile, has sharply criticized the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for pouring millions of dollars in opposition to candidates who support the Employee Free Choice Act. Memories of that campaign may outweigh other efforts by business to build support with the caucus.

But despite these tensions, business lobbyists insist that there will be plenty of opportunities to work with Democrats, and they say some Democrats may turn away from some of their tax and regulatory policies out of fear they will do further damage to the economy.

Business lobbyists say interest in building a new relationship has run both ways. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), for example, called the heads of some major trade groups to Capitol Hill to explain how the caucus operates and to encourage the trade groups to help Democrats pass policies that don’t conflict with their own members’ agendas.

“Democrats have reached out. They want to tap into the expertise and the knowledge base of the business community,” Timmons said.

Dan Danner, executive vice president of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), described the meeting with Reid as “very cordial.” Still, the message was clear: “ ‘We’re in charge and we are going to stay in charge and we are interested in working with you and if you are smart you should be interested in working with us, too,’ ” Danner said.

Danner said interaction with Democratic leaders has improved since then.

“We are aware of what the numbers are going to look like,” Danner said. “We are clearly reaching out more to try to find Democrats who have an interest in small business.”

{mospagebreak}Danner noted in particular NFIB’s support of a healthcare bill sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).

“We’re trying to make clear that we are trying to find solutions,” Danner said.

But the group still overwhelmingly gives to Republican candidates. Its PAC has given $435,587 to Republicans and only $79,300 to Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

{mosads}The National Restaurant Association is another group that most Democrats on Capitol Hill associate with Republicans, and for good reason: Nearly 80 percent of its contributions have gone to Republican candidates.

John Gay, the group’s senior vice president of government affairs, said Republicans tend to score higher on the vote scorecard the association keeps. But he said the association has also worked with Democrats on a number of issues, in particular in support of a comprehensive immigration reform bill that many Republicans opposed.

In another effort to engender good will among Democrats, Gay said the association decided not to record how members voted on the minimum wage bill.

“We didn’t like it. We didn’t support it. But we didn’t key-vote it this time,” Gay said.

Bernadette Budde, the political director of the Business Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC), said Democrats have made concessions, too. Nine of the 45 candidates BIPAC is supporting are Democrats, which is a higher percentage than in previous elections.

Budde said the support for candidates had less to do with trying to make inroads with the party in power than with the shifting nature of the Democratic caucus, which she describes as less liberal than it was just 10 years ago. BIPAC now supports candidates it hasn’t previously supported, like Warner in Virginia and House incumbents Ciro Rodriguez of Texas and John Barrow of Georgia.

“One of the things that is most rewarding to us is to see the Democratic evolution in voting records,” Budde said. She specifically noted the Democratic support for increasing energy supplies seen in the past year.

What business needs to do, Budde said, is a better job of recognizing that members’ first responsibility is to protect the interests of their constituents.

“If the business community wants to make the Democratic majority better, we have to be better at what we do.”

While contributions from some business PACs are more evenly split between Democrats and Republican candidates, several Democratic lobbyists say the business community has been slow to recognize the shift in power in Washington. Most corporate offices and trade associations are still run by Republicans. Many Democrats predicted that will shift more dramatically if Barack Obama wins the presidency and the party flips enough seats to effect a filibuster-proof Senate.

The group that routinely comes in for more praise from Democrats than any other is the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the main drug lobby. The group is spending $11 million on an advertising campaign in support of candidates, many of them Democrats, who supported an effort to expand health insurance for children from lower- to moderate-income families.

“Pharma has done the best job reaching out,” said one Democratic congressional aide.

Whether that support will convince Democrats to back off of bills that would allow the government to negotiate drug prices or make it easier for the trial bar to file product liability lawsuits against drug companies is an open question.

But two Democrats, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (N.Y.) and Rep. Sandy Levin (Mich.), did recently write a letter in support of tough intellectual property protections in the context of a trade agreement with Peru, something some drug makers support.

* The NAM supported President Bush’s judicial nominations but did not launch a multimillion dollar ad campaign as part of that effort, as was reported in an earlier version of this story.