(Bloomberg) – Eastman Kodak Co. increased its spending to lobby the federal government in the months before the Trump administration announced a $ 765 million loan to the beleagured camera company.
Kodak brought $ 870,000 lobbying to Congress and federal agencies from April to June, according to public disclosures submitted to Congress. The Rochester, New York-based company had not spent any money on lobbying since spending less than $ 5,000 in the first quarter of 2019, reports show.
The recent lobbying move may have helped secure a letter of interest from the U.S. International Development Finance Corp., announced on July 28, that Kodak would provide a $ 765 million loan for the production of pharmaceutical materials. When news of the loan offer was announced, Kodak’s share rose, climbing at more than 2,000% at one point. That letter helped federal investigation into potential damage to securities and stock options allowed to Kodak’s executives days before the announcement.
“Now, all of a sudden, in this particular quarter when the government considered this loan, it suddenly spent more money in that quarter than in one calendar year since 2011,” said Gabe Lezra, policy adviser at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a government watchdog agency in Washington, which marked the rise of lobbying. “That jumps out at me just because it’s such a big change in the ways they were with the government.”
Three of Kodak’s executives, including Chief Financial Officer David Bullwinkle, lobbied the Department of Defense, the Food & Drug Administration, the White House and the Overseas Private Investment Corp. in the three-month period, according to reports. Kodak lobbied specifically for Covid-19 programs related to ‘specialty chemicals’, such as the CARES Act and another coronavirus relief bill.
The Daily Beast previously reported on Kodak’s spending on lobbying.
“With the launch of Covid-19, Kodak, like many companies across the country, explored federal support for the company and our workers, as well as opportunities to help the government at the state and federal levels, in response to the pandemic.” Said a spokesman for the company. “This included our application for a federal loan to support the launch of Kodak Pharmaceuticals with the intention of supporting the domestic response to Covid-19.”
The federal agency that offered the loan to Kodak has since terminated the deal. House Democrats have requested all communication about the loan.
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