Neera Tanden, Biden’s pick for budget chief, runs a think tank backed
by corporate and foreign interests
She leads the liberal Center for American Progress
Neera Tanden in Delaware last week.
Neera Tanden in Delaware last week. (Andrew Harnik/AP)
By
Yeganeh Torbati <https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/yeganeh-torbati/>and
Beth Reinhard <https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/beth-reinhard/>
Washington Post, Dec. 5, 2020 at 5:25 p.m. EST
In her nine years helming Washington’s leading liberal think tank, Neera
Tanden mingled with deep-pocketed donors who made their fortunes on Wall
Street, in Silicon Valley and in other powerful sectors of corporate
America.
At formal pitches and swanky fundraisers, Tanden personally cultivated
the bevy of benefactors fueling the $45 million to $50 million annual
budget of the Center for American Progress.
Now that President-elect Joe Biden has picked Tanden to run the Office
of Management and Budget at the White House, her ties to some of the
most powerful players in the U.S. economy are drawing scrutiny from some
progressives and advocates for accountability in government.
The OMB acts as the nerve center of the federal government, executing
the annual spending plan, setting fiscal and personnel policy for
agencies, and overseeing the regulatory process across the executive
branch. As OMB director, Tanden would have a hand in policies that touch
every part of the economy after years spent courting corporate and
foreign donors. These regulatory decisions will have profound
implications for a range of U.S. companies, dictating how much they pay
in taxes, the barriers they face and whether they benefit from new
stimulus programs.
Neera Tanden, Biden’s pick to lead White House budget office, emerges as
lightning rod for GOP
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/11/30/biden-omb-neera-tanden/?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_8>
Between 2014 and 2019, CAP received at least $33 million in donations
from firms in the financial sector, private foundations primarily funded
by wealth earned on Wall Street and in other investment firms, and
current or former executives at financial firms such as Bain Capital,
Blackstone and Evercore, according to a Washington Post analysis of
CAP’s donor disclosures and some of the foundations’ public tax filings.
In the same time period, CAP received between $4.9 million and $13
million from Silicon Valley companies and foundations, including
Facebook and founder Mark Zuckerberg’s philanthropic organization.
AD
CAP reports its donations only in wide ranges, making an exact figure
impossible to determine. Other notable corporate donors include retail
giant Walmart, insurer CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, defense
contractor Northrop Grumman and for-profit college operator DeVry
Education Group.
“CAP has been one of the most aggressive (think tanks) in courting
corporate donors,” said Zephyr Teachout, a law professor at Fordham
University in New York who has campaigned for elected office on curbing
the power of special interests. Those donors, she said, “believe they
can shape the worldview of the people whose voices are going to be heard
and powerful with the next president.”
CAP says less than 2.5 percent of its funding last year came from
corporate sources, down from 7 percent in 2011, and that corporate money
does not support the think tank’s direct research. CAP’s accounting of
corporate donors is limited to money that flows directly from businesses
and doesn’t include money from corporate executives or foundations whose
wealth comes from Wall Street.
AD
CAP spokesman Jesse Lee said the organization “retains complete control”
over its work and that all contributions come without strings attached.
The organization advocates a progressive agenda that would adversely
affect the bottom line for some major donors —a tax
on<https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2019/06/11/471022/america-can-big-things-budget-plan-better-future/>financial
transactions,upping oversight
<https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2019/07/18/471564/strengthening-regulation-oversight-shadow-banks/>of
“shadow banks” such as hedge funds and investment firms,antitrust
scrutiny<https://www.americanprogress.org/press/release/2020/07/28/488194/release-cap-brief-finds-evidence-anti-competitive-behavior-amazon-apple-facebook-google/>of
big tech, apublic option
<https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/healthcare/news/2020/11/20/493105/4-myths-public-option/>for
health insurance, anda reversal
of<https://www.americanprogress.org/events/2018/06/04/451587/workers-wall-street/>President
Trump’s corporate tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks.
“There are many instances where the work we do cuts against the business
or financial interests of our donors,” Lee said. “CAP’s policy work has
always been, and will always be, independent and driven by solutions
that we believe will create a more equitable and just country.”
Tanden has told staff that she will remain as CAP president through her
confirmation, but Lee said she suspended her involvement in fundraising
after Biden announced her nomination.
AD
The Post reached out to all the individual and corporate donors
mentioned in this story for comment. Zuckerberg’s foundation, the Chan
Zuckerberg Initiative, said in a statement that its funding for CAP
mainly went toward criminal justice reform efforts. A CareFirst
BlueCross BlueShield representative said the insurer “engages with many
partners to ensure our members have access to affordable, high-quality
care.” Other donors could not be reached, did not respond or declined to
comment.
As a think tank, CAP provides research and advocacy about economics,
criminal justice, health care, immigration and other issues. It was a
popular landing place for former Obama administration officials such as
Tanden, who served in a top role at the Department of Health and Human
Services during the fight over the Affordable Care Act. She became CAP’s
president in 2011 and received $396,063 in compensation last year from
the think tank and its political arm, according to tax filings.
If she clears a potentiallyarduous
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/11/30/biden-omb-neera-tanden/?itid=lk_inline_manual_24>Senate
confirmation hearing, Tanden will enter the White House at a time of
dire economic crisis, facing pressure from Republicans to dramatically
cut spending. At the same time, progressives are pushing the new
administration to rebuild the nation’s safety net for families
devastated by thecoronavirus
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/coronavirus/?itid=lk_inline_manual_24>pandemic,
reverse Trump’s deregulatory drive and tackle what progressives see as
the monopolistic practices of Silicon Valley tech giants.
AD
The Biden transition team declined to make Tanden available for an
interview about CAP’s fundraising, referring toher comments
<https://www.c-span.org/video/?506880-1/president-elect-biden-calls-robust-relief-package-introduces-economic-team>when
she was officially named to Biden’s economic team. She vowed to “help
shape those budgets and programs to keep lifting Americans up, to pull
families back from the brink.” Tanden’s nomination has received
widespread praise from high-profile progressive Democrats, including
Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sherrod Brown of Ohio.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the former presidential candidate — who,
aftera
swipe<https://thinkprogress.org/how-off-brand-bernie-sanders-is-barely-a-millionaire-653da838c44c/>at
his personal wealth by the former media arm of CAP’s political
affiliate, accused CAP last year of being beholden to corporate donors —
declined to comment on Tanden’s OMB nomination. Tandenexpressed regret
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bernie-sanderss-campaign-escalates-fight-with-establishment-democrats-in-reprise-of-2016-party-rifts/2019/04/15/8d6844cc-5f90-11e9-9412-daf3d2e67c6d_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_28>about
the attack on Sanders at the time and said she had no editorial control
over the media site.
Some past OMB directors in Democratic administrations previously worked
in the federal government, while others had fundraising backgrounds from
serving in Congress or working at foundations and private companies. The
current director, Russell Vought, served as vice president of Heritage
Action for America, a conservative advocacy group.
AD
The Biden team will take over the executive branch from an
administration which, despite Trump’s pledge to “drain the swamp,”
regularly and dramatically flouted ethical norms. Areview last year
<https://www.propublica.org/article/we-found-a-staggering-281-lobbyists-whove-worked-in-the-trump-administration>by
ProPublica found that the Trump administration had employed 281
lobbyists, quadruple the number the Obama administration had employed
six years into office. And Trump’s refusal to divest himself from his
hotel businesses means that he financially benefited from the
presidency, with his properties receiving at least $2.5 million in
taxpayer funds since he took office.
Trump's company billed the government at least $2.5 million. Here are
the key charges.
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/key-charges-trump-properties/2020/10/27/bfa39b08-16cd-11eb-82db-60b15c874105_story.html?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_32>
A White House spokesman, Judd Deere, said Trump “has always taken his
responsibility seriously to uphold the rule of law and govern this
nation ethically and soundly.”
Progressives are demanding that a Biden administration serve as the
starkest possible ethical contrast to the Trump administration.
AD
“Neera Tanden has spent the last decade raising money from the top
companies and highest-net-worth individuals in the country, which is a
bit at odds with what Biden pitched during the campaign,” said Matt
Bruenig, president of the People’s Policy Project, a left-wing think
tank that accepts only small donations.
CAP’s ties to corporate and foreign interests are not unique among
Washington think tanks. Though frequently cast as independent, scholarly
sources of expertise, many think tanks are backed by the same businesses
and foreign governments that hire Capitol Hill influence peddlers. These
think tanks essentially operate as unregistered lobbyists, reaping the
benefits of tax-exempt status while disclosing limited information about
their donors.
The fiercest criticism of CAP’s fundraising has targeted its acceptance
of between $1.5 million and $3 million from the United Arab Emirates in
recent years. The country is one of the United States’ staunchest allies
in the Middle East and plays a key role in supporting Trump’s hard-line
approach to Iran. But human rights advocates condemn the UAE for
fighting alongside Saudi Arabia in a civil war that has ravaged Yemen,
one of the world’s poorest countries, and for joining with the Saudis in
a blockade of neighboring Qatar.
AD
After Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi’s 2018 murder at the
hands of Saudi officials, CAP put out
astatement<https://www.americanprogress.org/press/statement/2018/10/12/459335/statement-saudi-arabia-must-held-accountable-alleged-murder-jamal-khashoggi-caps-kelly-magsamen-says/>denouncing
the “heinous and reprehensible act” but stopping short of demanding
specific consequences to punish the kingdom. The think tank also
declined togo to bat
<https://theintercept.com/2018/12/23/yemen-war-resolution-vote-senate/>for
a bipartisan resolution in the Senate aimed at ending U.S. involvement
in the war in Yemen.
In another, previously unreported example of what some in and outside
CAP viewed as UAE influence on the think tank, an unsignedessay
<https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/news/2017/06/29/435216/elevation-mohammed-bin-salman-settles-saudi-succession-question-decades/>in
2017 welcomed the ascension of Mohammed bin Salman as the new Saudi
crown prince, saying he would usher in a “long era of stability at the
top” and “economic and social reforms.”
“That reads like something that would be distributed by a Saudi foreign
agent,” said Ben Freeman, who monitors foreign influence at the Center
for International Policy. “Thousands of civilians had already been
killed in Yemen, and we knew that MBS was the architect of that war.
It’s hard for me to understand how CAP could support someone some so
oppressive and a regime with absolutely egregious human rights issues.”
AD
Lee pointed to other policy papers and statements on CAP’s website
thatcalled
<https://www.americanprogress.org/press/statement/2018/03/20/447793/statement-yemens-humanitarian-crisis-unacceptable-says-caps-kelly-magsamen/>for
an end to the war andcriticized
<https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/ext/2017/11/08/442500/trumps-blank-check-saudi-arabia/>the
crown prince’s authoritarian tactics, as well as a foreign policyevent
in 2018
<https://www.americanprogress.org/events/2018/08/27/455059/securing-democratic-world/>with
a keynote speech by Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a Democrat who has
been a leading critic of U.S. involvement in Yemen.
In early 2019, CAPsaid
<https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/25/united-arab-emirates-funding-center-for-american-progress>that
though contributions did not influence its foreign policy positions, the
think tank would no longer accept donations from the UAE and other
anti-democratic governments. Lee said Tanden was not involved in
arranging the UAE donations and did not meet with their representatives
until after CAP stopped accepting the funding.
The UAE and Saudi embassies did not respond to requests for comment.
But it’s not just think tanks’ dependency on donations from corporate
and foreign interests that is problematic, critics said. They argued
that the hundreds of hours of relationship-building that goes into
securing large donations from big corporations and wealthy individuals
gives private interests the opportunity to subtly influence the views of
Tanden and others in her position.
Who Joe Biden is picking to fill his White House and Cabinet
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/biden-cabinet/?itid=lb_joe-biden-elected-46th-president-of-the-united-states_2&itid=lk_interstitial_manual_51>
In 2018, CAPreceived a donation
<https://www.americanprogress.org/our-supporters-2018/>of between
$50,000 and $99,999 directly from Blackstone, a powerhouse in private
equity, as well as a separate one in the same range from Hamilton “Tony”
James, Blackstone’s executive vice chairman. That year CAPhosted an
event
<https://www.americanprogress.org/events/2018/01/23/445345/new-approach-retirement-crisis/>featuring
James’s book, in which the billionaire lays out potential solutions to
the retirement crisis facing many Americans. Tanden gave introductory
remarks at the event for James, who also sits on CAP’strustee advisory
board
<https://www.americanprogress.org/american-progress-trustee-advisory-board/>.
Members of CAP’s board include Andrew Hauptman, chairman of investment
firm Andell; Glenn Hutchins, a private equity investor; Eric Mindich, a
former hedge fund manager; and Kristin Mugford, a former executive at
Bain Capital.
Mindich, who along with his wife has made large donations to CAP in
recent years, said the think tank has “some of the most brilliant policy
thinkers in the country working to advance values that I share” and that
Tanden has a record of turning those values into reality.
“CAP isn’t trying to advance my financial interests. If anything, the
opposite,” he said. “They advance the kind of country I want to see.”
“Anyone who thinks Neera would put corporate interests above what she
believes is best for America clearly doesn’t know Neera Tanden,” said
Mugford, who left Bain in 2013 and now lectures at Harvard Business
School. Mugford has made sizable donations to CAP in recent years, which
she said reflected her belief in its effectiveness on issues such as
economic security, jobs, and education.
“Their policy solutions often go against my personal economic interest,
but they reflect my values and will help move our country forward,” she
wrote in an emailed statement.
Jeff Hauser, who scrutinizes executive branch appointees at the Center
for Economic and Policy Research, called the corporate money that flows
into CAP “corrosive,” though he added that the think tank plays an
important role in a civil society that lacks public support for
policymaking institutions. Founded in 2003 by allies of Bill and Hillary
Clinton, CAP is widely viewed as a Democratic administration-in-waiting,
with a revolving door between the think tank and the White House.
While CAP certainly doesn’t toe the line of all of its donors, Hauser
said it can serve as a moderating influence.
“It’s soft influence but it’s very powerful, and it amounts to influence
laundering in terms of the money because people don’t associate CAP with
big tech or Wall Street, they associate it with the Democratic Party,”
he said. “Being associated with the Center for American Progress is a
way to build credibility in Washington. And it’s a way for companies to
navigate risk because you have an open line of communication with a
government in waiting.”
Michael Ettlinger, director of the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey
School of Public Policy and a former vice president for economic policy
at CAP, said he did not think Tanden’s experience raising money from the
corporate world would affect how she approached the OMB position.
“You don’t buy Neera,” he said. “She’s got her strong views and I don’t
think she’s going to be hugely influenced.”
During his time at CAP, which he left in 2013, the money the think tank
received from corporate donors “never directly affected what we were
doing,” he said, though he sensed an extra level of scrutiny if their
work had bearing on a donor.
“If we were going to do something that would offend a funder, we were
just asked to be really careful that we were positive we were right,” he
said.
Potential funders who did ask for quid pro quos in exchange for
donations were rejected by the think tank, Ettlinger said. He declined
to give specific examples.
Tanden’s experience leading CAP, which publishes policy recommendations
for many domestic and foreign issues, has given her the policy chops
needed to lead OMB, Ettlinger said. The president-elect called Tanden “a
brilliant policy mind with critical practical experience across
government” and noted that she was raised by a single mother on food stamps.
“She will be in charge of laying out my budget that will help us control
the virus, deal with the economic crisis and build back better,” Biden
said. “But above all, she believes what I believe — a budget should
reflect our values.”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#4204): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/4204
Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/78753854/21656
-=-=-
POSTING RULES & NOTES
#1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
#2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived.
#3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern.
-=-=-
Group Owner: [email protected]
Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/1316126222/xyzzy
[[email protected]]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
