THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Wednesday, January 11, 2017 |A
rable disclosure campaign.” It
has been previously reported
that a website suspected of
being a front for Russian in-
telligence leaked emails of
some Republican figures.
Mr. Comey also testified
that as the Federal Bureau of
Investigation probed the al-tional Intelligence, and the
heads of the National Security
Agency and the Central Intelli-
gence Agency.
Mr. Clapper said intelli-
gence agencies have concluded
Russia collected information
from some Republican targets
“but did not conduct a compa-BYSTEPHANIEARMOURReports
Defend
Stability of
Health Law
U.S. NEWS
group.
The franchisees got another
boost when Mr. Trump nomi-
nated Andrew Puzder as Labor
secretary. Mr. Puzder served
on the International Franchise
Association’s board and re-
signed his seat last week.
Mr. Trump isn't the first
president to come to Washing-
ton with a pledge to rein in
the influence-peddling indus-
try. Mr. Obama, a Democrat,
made a similar promise when
he took office eight years ago.
Companies, labor unions
and interest groups spent a to-
tal of $3.2 billion on lobbying
in 2015, the last year for which
complete figures are available,
down slightly from $3.3 billion
in 2008, the year before Mr.
Obama took office, according
to lobbying data compiled by
the nonpartisan Center for Re-
sponsive Politics. However, the
decline likely had more to do
with lobbyists reducing the ac-
tivity they reported on disclo-
sure forms, rather than a realdecline in lobbying activity.
Companies must disclose
new lobbying hires, but due to
a time lag in the disclosure
rules, it is too soon to deter-
mine the precise number of
lobbyists who have been hired
since Mr. Trump’s election.
To be sure, Washington’s
lobbying industry gets a boost
every time there is a shift in
power, as companies and in-
dustries build lobbying teams
to deal with the uncertainty of
a new administration and de-
fend their issues.
Many industries said Mr.
Trump’s statements on the
campaign trail should trans-
late into new momentum for
their causes. U.S. airlines said
Mr. Trump’s concerns about
inequitable trade policies
means his administration
should enforce an aviation
agreement to prevent foreign
carriers, such as Qatar Air-
ways of Qatar and Emirates of
the United Arab Emirates,
from getting an unfair advan-tage on some lucrative inter-
national routes.
American Airlines Inc.,
Delta Air Lines Inc. and United
Continental Holdings Inc. say
the Gulf carriers are violating
the agreement, known as Open
Skies, by using government
subsidies to fly newer planes
at cheaper prices.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said
last month that the agreement
should be the first test of Mr.
Trump’s promise to use trade
policy to protect U.S. jobs.
“We should be the poster child
in terms of the opportunity for
this administration to enforce
trade agreements,” he said.
Defense contractors, Detroit
auto makers and some manu-
facturing firms are building
lobbying campaigns to protect
themselves from possible un-
wanted changes from the new
administration. Defense con-
tractors have come under at-
tack from Mr. Trump, who has
frequently criticized expensive
government contracts.cial interests. But his election
has been a boon for Washing-
ton’s influence sector as air-
lines, defense contractors, tech
companies, retailers, manufac-
turers and others seek to ad-
vance their agendas.
Lawmakers are getting “a
lot of contact and a lot of out-
reach” from hopeful busi-
nesses seeking regulatory re-
lief and other changes, said
Rep. Tom Cole (R., Okla.), a se-
nior House member.
Business-focused initiatives
in Congress this year are likely
to include repeal and replace-
ment of Mr. Obama’s signature
health-care law, a sweeping
tax-code rewrite and repeal of
a range of environment and
energy rules.
Lobbyists for Wall Street al-
ready are pressing Congress to
rescind a range of Dodd-Frank
financial regulations that they
say are too onerous.
McDonald’s Corp., Choice
Hotels International Inc. and
other restaurant, hotel and re-
tail companies are pushing to
overturn a decision by Mr.
Obama’s administration to
make it easier for unions to
organize employees at fran-
chises like McDonald’s.
Led by a Washington trade
group, the International Fran-
chise Association, the industry
is seeking legislation to over-
turn permanently the 2015 de-
cision by the National Labor
Relations Board. That effort
stood little chance of over-
coming the opposition of na-
tional labor unions and a Dem-
ocratic president, but gained
new life with Mr. Trump’s win.
“It’s a whole new opportu-
nity to go on offense in a way
that we had not expected,”
said Matthew Haller, a senior
vice president at the tradeWASHINGTON—President-
elect Donald Trump’s victory
has sparked one of the most
pitched lobbying efforts in
Washington in years as the
prospect of business-friendly
policies has companies from
the airline industry to Wall
Street launching new blitzes.
Oil and gas firms are press-
ing to roll back federal regula-
tions on drilling. Verizon Inc.
and other large telecommuni-
cations firms want changes to
the net neutrality rules cham-
pioned by President Barack
Obama’s administration.
Airlines are seeking stron-
ger enforcement of an aviation
agreement in hopes of stop-
ping foreign carriers from get-
ting an unfair advantage on
the most prized international
routes. Boeing Co., Lockheed
Martin Corp. and other de-
fense contractors are scram-
bling to protect against cuts in
the Pentagon’s budget.
“People are getting out the
agendas that they have had for
years, but never thought could
happen,” said Ed Kutler, a
longtime Washington lobbyist.
“Now, all of a sudden, people
are firing with real bullets be-
cause things can be passed
and go to a president who has
his pen ready to sign.”
Mr. Trump, a Republican,
said on the campaign trail that
he wants to “drain the swamp”
in Washington and curb the
influence of lobbyists and spe-
BYBRODYMULLINS
ANDJOHND.MCKINNON
Lobbying Blitz Hits Washington
As Trump heads to
the Oval Office, firms
prepare to influence
his administration
McDonald’s is pushing to overturn a union-friendly Obama policy.STEPHANIE KEITH/BLOOMBERG NEWSLobby Effort
Total amount spent on lobbyingSource: Center for Responsive Politics
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.$0123billion2000 ’2016 (through Oct. 28):
$2.36 billionleged Russian hacking, DNC
officials didn’t allow agents to
access the committee’s serv-
ers, instead hiring a cyberse-
curity firm with close ties to
the FBI to examine the servers
and provide the evidence to
the bureau.
Mr. Comey said the FBI al-
ways prefers to examine such
items itself, and that he didn’t
know why the Democratic offi-
cials didn’t give the bureau
access.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.)
pressed Mr. Comey on
whether, as part of the hack-
ing probe, the FBI has investi-
gated whether any individuals
close to the Trump campaign
have links to Russia. Mr.
Comey refused to answer, say-
ing he wouldn’t comment pub-
licly on an investigation.
Mr. Wyden then urged offi-
cials to give a public answer to
that question before President-
elect Donald Trump takes office.“There were successful pen-
etrations of some groups and
campaigns, particularly at the
state level on the Republican
side of the aisle, and some
limited penetration of old [Re-
publican National Committee]
domains,’’ Mr. Comey said.
Those domains, he added,
“were no longer in use’’ at the
time of the hack. “Information
was harvested from there, but
it was old stuff,’’ Mr. Comey
said. “We did not develop any
evidence that the Trump cam-
paign or the current RNC was
successfully hacked.’’
The Wall Street Journal has
previously reported that an
email account linked to a
long-departed RNC staffer was
targeted.
Mr. Comey, like the other
intelligence chiefs, said he had
never seen this level of Rus-
sian interference in U.S. elec-
tions. He testified alongside
James Clapper, director of Na-FBI Director James Comey
said Tuesday that Russians
successfully hacked some Re-
publican groups and cam-
paigns, though officials said
the hackers disclosed much
less of this material than they
did from Democrats’ emails.
Mr. Comey, in his first pub-
lic appearance since the elec-
tion, appeared with other in-
telligence chiefs before the
Senate Intelligence Committee
at a hearing to discuss the al-
leged Russian hacking of the
Democratic National Commit-
tee and senior party opera-
tives with the goal of hurting
Hillary Clinton’s chances of
winning the presidency.
The chairman of the com-
mittee, Sen. Richard Burr (R.,
N.C.), asked Mr. Comey
whether Republicans were
also targeted by Russian in-
telligence.
BYDEVLINBARRETT
FBI: Russians Also Hacked Republican Groups
FBI Director James Comey testified before a Senate panel Tuesday.SHAWN THEW/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCYpaign. Democrats also are
backing the measure.
Republican co-sponsors in-
clude Sens. Marco Rubio of
Florida, Rob Portman of Ohio
and Ben Sasse of Nebraska.
While any bill introduced by
the senators could be scaled
back in committee or the
broader Senate or House, Con-
gress in recent years has been
willing to take the lead in pun-
ishing Russia, even when the
Obama administration has
urged a softer approach.
The measure would provide
the White House with the abil-
ity to waive the sanctions. But
it would have to certify that
Russia’s international behavior
has improved. “The waiver is
not to be used unless progress
is made,” Mr. Cardin said.
The legislation so far has bi-
partisan support among 10 U.S.
senators, according to the sen-
ators backing it.
Responding to the election-
year hacking, the proposed leg-
islation would impose visa
bans and asset freezes on for-
eigners linked to cybersecurity
breaches, ban transactions with
key Russian intelligence agen-
cies and codify in law President
Barack Obama’s recent execu-
tive order on cybersecurity.
The bill also would codify
Mr. Obama’s earlier sanctions
on Russia, imposed following
Moscow’s interference in
Ukraine and its move to annex
Crimea. It could thus poten-
tially hamstring Russian Presi-
dent Vladimir Putin’s efforts to
Continued from Page One
lobby the Trump administra-
tion and European leaders for
those sanctions’ removal, a
step Mr. Trump hasn’t ruled
out.
Sanctions brought by the
U.S. executive branch can be
more easily removed as Wash-
ington’s relations with other
countries improve. But it can
take years or decades to roll
back punitive laws passed by
Congress, such as those that
still apply to Cuba and Iran.
It wasn’t clear Tuesday
whether the bill is likely to win
congressional approval in time
for Mr. Obama to sign it, or
wait for the start of the Trump
administration. Either way, it
stands to exert pressure on Mr.Trump’s position on relations
with Mr. Putin.
“None of us know the posi-
tion of the president-elect, but
we do know and should knowthe position of the Congress,”
Mr. McCain said.
Mr. Graham said he was
confident the bill would get
“overwhelming” support,though allies of Mr. Trump
could seek to block it.
A decision to sign or veto
the measure could place Mr.
Trump in an awkward position,
but having fresh sanctions in
place also would strain ties
with Russia.
Mr. Putin refrained from re-
taliating after Mr. Obama in
December imposed the new
round of cybersecurity-related
sanctions and expelled dozens
of alleged Russian intelligence
operatives from the U.S. Mr.
Putin’s restraint won plaudits
from Mr. Trump.
Despite Mr. Putin’s reaction
last month, the strict new mea-
sures, if enacted, could lead to
harsh retaliation from Moscow.After U.S. enactment of the
2012 Magnitsky Act, Moscow
banned U.S. adoptions of Rus-
sian children and took other
measures that soured relations
and helped end Mr. Obama’s ef-
forts to “reset” ties to Moscow.
“To criticize and try to iso-
late Russia is a crazy idea,”
said Andranik Migranyan, an
academic at Moscow State Uni-
versity. “Russia has the luxury
at the moment to see what
Trump will try to do.”
The legislation would take
the Ukraine-related sanctions
even further by ordering sanc-
tions on investments of $
million or more that help Rus-
sia develop its oil and natural-
gas reserves. Significantly, it
would impose mandatory sanc-
tions on U.S. and other compa-
nies that help Russia privatize
state-owned assets.
Stung by the earlier sanc-
tions, Russia has recently
reached out to international
firms to offer stakes in state-
run companies in exchange for
increasingly precious foreign
currency to pay debt. The re-
cent gain in energy prices has
alleviated some of Moscow’s
near-term financial problems,
but the cumulative effect of
sanctions continues to take a
toll on the economy and invest-
ment climate.
The proposed legislation
would establish a unit at the
U.S. Treasury Department to
track allegedly illicit financial
flows emanating from Russia
and support programs to coun-
teract Russia’s state-led media,
which U.S. intelligence services
say was used in the 2016 elec-
tion in the U.S. and in other
countries.RUSSIA
Sens. John McCain, left, and Lindsey Graham attending a news conference Tuesday in the Capitol
introducing a bipartisan bill to increase sanctions on Russia for its role in U.S. computer hacking.TOM WILLIAMS/CQ ROLL CALL/GETTY IMAGESA decision to sign or
veto the measure could
place Mr. Trump in
an awkward position.The double-digit jump in
premiums this year on the
health law’s exchanges was a
one-time correction, and a
brisk pace of sign-ups shows
the marketplaces are on solid
ground, the Obama adminis-
tration said Tuesday in two re-
ports that challenge Republi-
cans’ key criticisms of the
Affordable Care Act.
The reports, released as
congressional Republicans are
poised to topple key pillars of
the ACA, again put the outgo-
ing administration at odds
with the GOP argument that
the law is rapidly failing and
must be quickly repealed.
Some Republicans have said
the system created by the law
is in the throes of a death spi-
ral in which too many sick and
expensive consumers cause in-
surers to raise rates and
healthier people to leave.
A report from the Council of
Economic Advisers, a three-
member council that advises
the president on national eco-
nomic policy, asserts that the
premium increases for 2017
were a one-time event and will
return to sustainable levels.
A separate report released
Tuesday by the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Ser-
vices shows sign-ups for cov-
erage on the health law’s ex-
changes are eclipsing last
year’s pace.
The pace of sign-ups and
the report on the stability of
the exchanges will increase
pressure on Republicans who
are being urged to delay re-
peal.
GOP leaders are moving
quickly to topple parts of the
Affordable Care Act and then
have a lengthy transition for
writing a replacement, al-
though President-elect Donald
Trump has been increasing
pressure on Republicans to
vote at the same time to repeal
and replace the law.WASHINGTON—President
Barack Obama was set Tues-
day to deliver a pep talk to
supporters and showcase his
legacy in his final speech be-
fore leaving the White House,
a moment likely to highlight
the contrast between his poli-
cies and those of his Republi-
can successor, Donald Trump.
“We will have to work
harder now, more so than ever
before, to keep our country
from moving in what we know
is the wrong direction,” Mr.
Obama said in a Democratic
Party fundraising email Mon-
day night in advance of what
he described as “my final ad-
dress as president.”
Mr. Obama’s decision to de-
liver his speech in his home-
town of Chicago, where he
first addressed the country af-
ter his 2008 victory, is a de-
parture from the traditional
settings his predecessors have
chosen for their farewell ad-
dresses. It is intended to mark
a symbolic closure to the po-
litical movement that pro-
pelled him to the White House.
His remarks might also de-
viate from the norm in both
scope and intensity. Mr.
Obama, who campaigned ag-
gressively against Mr. Trump,
often told his supporters that
the progress of the last eight
years “goes out the window” if
Americans elect “somebody
who has proven himself unfit
to lead or represent this coun-
try that we love.”
Mr. Trump is gearing up to
undo many of Mr. Obama’s
policies, including his health-
care law and executive orders
that established new regula-
tions covering areas including
energy and immigration.
Mr. Obama’s address comes
as his party recalibrates after
the defeat of its presidential
nominee, Hillary Clinton, and
losses in federal, state and lo-
cal offices across the country.BYCAROLE.LEEObama
Set for
Farewell
Address
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