K Street Mounts Offensive to H.R. 1

The nation’s business and lobbying interests began publicly mobilizing Tuesday in a coordinated attack against House Democrats’ signature campaign finance, lobbying, ethics and voting overhaul, which the full chamber plans to vote on Friday morning. More than 300 groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — the top spending organization on federal lobbying — and numerous other state, federal and conservative-leaning organizations wrote to lawmakers attacking the bill…. The letter came days after one of the bill’s chief foes, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has crusaded against the measure, urged outside allies in a Capitol Hill meeting to heighten their opposition — even though the Kentucky Republican has already said he will not bring the measure for a vote in his chamber. And the White House, adding more weight to the onslaught, issued a veto threat — even though McConnell pledged to block even a vote on the measure…. Opponents of the measure say they’re taking this fight seriously because if Democrats win control of  the Senate and White House, the ideas behind H.R. 1 would likely be a top order of business…. The Chamber of Commerce will rate lawmakers on how they vote on the bill, the group said in a notice to House members.