| US: Politico
Found: Sun Feb 05 20:16:13 2012 PST
Source: Politico (US DC)
Copyright: 2012 Capitol News Company, LLC
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Politico Football lobbies blitz the Hill - Dave Levinthal - POLITICO.com
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The Super Bowl isn't the only football contest that's been preoccupying Washington these days.
Through hearings, legislation and caucuses, Congress in the past year has tackled numerous issues germane to the game, including player labor, concussions, gambling, drug testing, broadcasting rights and even a college playoff system.Continue Reading
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And such actions have helped trigger record-level spending on federal lobbying by many of football's most notable special interest groups, which stand to win or lose significant money and business rights, a POLITICO analysis of federal records indicates.
The National Football League, for example, spent $1.62 million on federal lobbying efforts in 2011 - an all-time high and more than four times its outlay only five years ago.
College football's Bowl Championship Series, meanwhile, last year spent a one-year record of $350,000 - more than four times what it spent just three years ago.
The National Football League Players Association, National Collegiate Athletic Association and the football-centric Sports Fans Coalition in 2011 also posted some of the biggest lobbying numbers in their histories.
"Given all the issues in play, Congress will probably be more involved in football from the NFL down," said freshman Rep. Jon Runyan (R-N.J.), who played 14 seasons in the NFL, primarily with the Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles, before retiring in 2009. "Especially on the concussion issue, I'd expect that there will be interest in keeping that in the forefront of Congress."
Indeed, Congress last year conducted hearings on the growing body of evidence that football players - professional and amateur - face heightened risk of long-term health problems from concussions sustained during play.
And a number of bills were introduced by Democrats. New York Rep. Tim Bishop, for example, introduced the Protecting Students from Concussions Act, while Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Rep. Bill Pascrell of New Jersey floated the Children's Sports Athletic Equipment Safety Act.
Such attention prompted football helmet-maker Riddell - which had never lobbied the federal government prior to late 2010 - to in 2011, marshal the services of three prominent lobbying firms. It spent $420,000 last year on efforts that according to federal disclosures, focused almost exclusively on concussion-related bills. The lobbying team included former Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.).
Riddell spokeswoman Erin Griffin declined to comment.
The NFL, too, negotiated with Congress on concussion issues and will continue to do so this year, a league official says.
But its issue portfolio proved exclusively wide-ranging among football interests as league advocates lobbied Congress on issues including Internet gambling, performance-enhancing drugs and drug testing, the NFL Network, television broadcast policies and the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, when the league fought against ending a ban on airplanes flying near stadiums while games are being played.
During the NFL's player lockout, which spanned more than four months last year, the NFL and NFL Players Association also made regular contacts with Congress about league labor issues, records show, although Congress's ultimate involvement in striking a new collective-bargaining agreement proved modest.
Even organizations not typically associated with athletics, such as Vulcan Inc., a holding company for Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, also weighed in, advocating for "the resolution of NFL labor discussion without congressional interference," the company's lobbying disclosures show.
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analysis of article text
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prohibitionist
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prohibition_agency
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drugwar_propaganda
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legalization
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drug_reformer
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reform_referenda
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cannabis
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stimulant
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narcotic
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hallucinogen
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propaganda analysis
| re:0.66 st:0.02 fo:0 s:0 d:0.06 c:0.1 db:0.013 a:0.4 m:0.1 t:6.3 (f) |
text of article used for CRITICAL ANALYSIS, under FAIR USE provisions of the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107, et al.
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EXP - explicit prohibition propaganda (explicit_propaganda)
GRP - hated group (propaganda_theme1)
MAD - madness, violence, illness (propaganda_theme2)
SOC - survival of society (propaganda_theme3)
USE - gateway, use is abuse (propaganda_theme4)
KID - children (propaganda_theme5)
WAR - demonize, war, epidemic (propaganda_theme6)
TOT - total prohibition (propaganda_theme7)
DIS - dissent attacked (propaganda_theme8)
