Former House Foreign Affairs Committee chair to lobby on behalf of UNICEF USA

The United States Fund for UNICEF (UNICEF USA) hired a new lobbying firm this week for the first time in over two decades, retaining a new team that includes the former chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld registered to lobby on child welfare initiatives, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and federal appropriations on behalf of UNICEF USA, which advances UNICEF’s goal to help vulnerable children around the world.

The lobbying team includes former Rep. ​Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), who led the House Foreign Affairs Committee from 2011-13. 

“It is truly an honor to work with UNICEF USA, an organization that emphasizes an unwavering commitment to prioritizing children’s needs around the world,” Ros-Lehtinen told The Hill in a written statement.

“I am dedicated to advancing its mission and ensuring that children’s rights and well-being remain at the forefront of policy discussions.”

During her three decades in Congress, Ros-Lehtinen also served as chair or co-chair of various subcommittees on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which shapes U.S. foreign policy.

“UNICEF USA is partnering with Akin to support development and implementation of our public affairs strategy, which includes a focus on advocacy for policies and resources that support UNICEF’s global mission in pursuit of one goal: to ensure that every child can grow up healthy, educated, protected and respected,” Wendy Coursen, vice president of public affairs at UNICEF USA, told The Hill in a written statement.

The new registration marks the first time since 1999 that UNICEF USA has retained new outside federal lobbying firepower, and it comes amid a notable downturn in the organization’s federal lobbying spending. 

Edington, Peel & Associates registered to lobby on behalf of UNICEF USA at the turn of the millennium to lobby on issues related to federal appropriations, and the firm has lobbied on funding for issues ranging from maternal and child health to iodine deficiency disorder in the years since.

The firm reported receiving $20,000 from UNICEF USA during each of the first and second quarters of 2023, the same amount it received each quarter in 2022 and up from the $15,000 per quarter it reported receiving the previous year.

UNICEF USA’s direct federal lobbying expenditures, on the other hand, dropped precipitously during the first six months of 2023. 

UNICEF USA spent a combined $130,000 on federal lobbying during the first six months of 2023, down from $342,000 during the same period over the previous decade, according to federal lobbying disclosures analyzed by OpenSecrets.

The organization seems to have narrowed its lobbying scope from issues including the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and the Mine Ban Treaty last year to focus on humanitarian relief and children’s health, education and nutrition programs, an analysis of federal lobbying disclosures by The Hill found.