Congressional Dems' Ex-Staffers Are Lobbying Against Biden's Tax Hikes on Corporations and the Rich

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Congressional Democrats’ Ex-Staffers Are Lobbying Against Biden’s Tax Hikes on Corporations and the Rich
By Alana Abramson
July 8, 2021 11:01 AM EDT


Inside Congress, Democratic lawmakers are working to make sure President Joe Biden’s proposed tax hikes on corporations and the wealthiest Americans are codified into law.

Outside Congress, some of the most powerful lawmakers’ former staff members are working to make sure they aren’t.

Former staffers to nearly two dozen Democratic lawmakers in Congress—including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi—are now working as lobbyists for some of the most prominent groups opposing Democrats’ proposed tax increases on corporations and wealthy Americans, according to an analysis of federal disclosure documents.

This is how Washington works. After stints on Capitol Hill, congressional staffers on both sides of the aisle frequently leverage their contacts and experience into lucrative lobbying jobs. But the dynamic underscores the uphill battle Democrats face in tackling one of the party’s core policy proposals—altering a tax code that benefits the rich—even as they control the White House and Congress and the tax hikes remain popular with their constituents, according to a Morning Consult/Politico poll from April.

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One Republican lobbyist familiar with these strategies, requesting anonymity to speak candidly, said Democrats unified control of government has presented these former staffers with a lucrative opportunity, even if it requires them to buck their party’s policies. “Being a recent former Democratic staffer at any level is a really valuable commodity right now,” says the lobbyist. “If you want to see any piece of these tax hikes go down, you’re only aiming at Democrats. How do you get at those marginal Democrats? You need people with ties to those guys.”

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https://time.com/6078265/biden-tax-hikes-former-democratic-staffers/

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1. Contact: Alana Abramson

Covering White House for @TIME. Past: @ABC. Wannabe Broadway singer and/or Olympic gymnast. [e-mail]