2010 Top Lobbyists

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The Hill:

2010 Top Lobbyists
By The Hill Staff - 06/17/10 06:00 AM ET

Tobyn Anderson, Lighthouse Consulting Group. Anderson and Lighthouse represent the United States Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of companies and environmental groups that support climate legislation. He has been a key adviser on Senate efforts to craft climate legislation.

Paul Bailey, The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. ACCCE was caught up in scandal when a subcontractor sent forged letters to House members opposing climate change legislation. But Bailey remains a well-regarded advocate for the industry.

Dan Boston, Health Policy Source. Boston, a former Republican staffer, has been on this list before. He is a wealth of information for his clients and can go deep into the weeds of healthcare policy while quickly assessing the politics of the moment.

Stephen Brown, Tesoro. Brown, a former Democratic staffer, has worked to get oil refiners a better deal in climate change legislation.

Peter Cleveland, Intel. He used to work for Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and then he jumped to Intel. Within a year, he’s gone from heading the Washington, D.C., office to being the head of public policy worldwide for the company.

Licy Do Canto, Raben Group. A rising star among Democratic healthcare lobbyists. As co-leader of the firm’s Health and Education Practice Group, Do Canto focuses on progressive causes such as strengthening public health programs for children and families. He’s been able to translate his Capitol Hill contacts and legislative experience attained as a former staffer for Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) into successful bipartisan consensus-building.

Lee Fuller, Independent Petroleum Association of America. Fuller and his group are fighting efforts in Congress to raise the liability cap on drilling accidents to $10 billion.

Tim Greeff, Clean Economy Network. Greeff coordinates the lobbying efforts of a group of clean energy companies trying to advance climate change legislation.

Micah Green, Patton Boggs. Green, former co-CEO of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), represents a wide range of financial interests in complicated products, such as derivatives and high-frequency trading.

Diane Harper and Jim Meltsner, Northrop Grumman. The two vice presidents of legislative affairs are the principle hired guns for the defense giant. Harper is the company’s House liaison while Meltsner is the Senate liaison.

Bob Helm, General Dynamics. Helm recently made the switch from Northrop Grumman to General Dynamics, where he now serves as the senior vice president for planning and development. The former Pentagon comptroller and Senate Budget staffer is overseeing General Dynamics’ lobbying activities together with Kendell Pease, who has had a hand in the company’s government affairs activities for a long time.

Mary Kay Henry, Service Employees International Union. The new president of the politically powerful union will play a pivotal role in the debate over comprehensive immigration reform and getting out the Democratic vote in midterm elections.

Michael Herson, American Defense International. Herson runs a successful defense-only consulting and lobby shop with good access to the Pentagon and Congress. Herson has a diverse background ranging from the Reagan White House to Pentagon personnel issues and base closures.

Fred Humphries, Microsoft. Humphries, a former House Democratic staffer, is a major player on K Street. His knowledge and connections will serve him well over the next year when Congress is expected to tackle a wide range of legislation on technology.

Richard Hunt, Consumer Bankers Association. Hunt was prominent in the regulatory debate as a new head of the association.

Rick Kessler and Steve Sayle, Dow Lohnes Government Strategies. Democrat Kessler and Republican Sayle both spent years as staffers on the Energy and Commerce Committee and are now building a rising lobbying practice downtown.

Pete Lawson, Ford Motor Co. Lawson has made a smooth transition from lobbying for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to Ford, where he works alongside Ziad Ojakli.

Chuck Loveless, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Loveless has played a central role in Washington’s biggest healthcare debates. He negotiated with the administration and Democratic leaders to reduce the scope of the excise tax on high-cost insurance plans, reducing its impact on union families.

Ed Mierzwinski, U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). Mierzwinski is a longtime consumer advocate, who loudly called for a new consumer financial protection agency.

David Moulton, The Wilderness Society. Moulton directs TWS’s climate efforts after spending years working as a staff aide on Capitol Hill. He last served as staff director and chief counsel of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

Marty Paone, Prime Policy Group. Paone is one of the foremost experts in Senate rules and procedure. Paone worked on the Senate floor for Democratic leadership from 1979 to 2008. Clients rely on him to explain the chamber’s arcane rules on second-degree amendments and what qualifies as germane during post-cloture debate.

Travis Plunkett, Consumer Federation of America. Plunkett has been a leading consumer advocate during the financial regulatory debate.

Mark Rayder, Alston+Bird. During the health reform debate, he closely tracked, developed and promoted — and sometimes sought to challenge — taxation, payment, coverage and regulatory policies affecting such diverse clients as physicians groups and drug and device makers. His past work history with a physician specialty organization and as a House staffer, along with his campaign and grassroots experience, give him the deep insights into both politics and health policy that make him particularly effective.

Catherine Robinson, National Association of Manufacturers. Robinson is quickly becoming a fixture on Capitol Hill, working some of the toughest and most intricate areas this year: reforming U.S. export controls, as well as trade-facilitation and customs issues.

Manik Roy, Pew Center on Global Climate Change. A former aide to Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) who also has a master’s in environmental engineering and a Ph.D. in public policy, Roy can handle both the politics and policy of climate change as he advocates on behalf of Pew.

Tim Ryan, Ken Bentsen, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. Ryan and Bentsen are at the top of the main securities trade association as it seeks to influence scores of new regulations.

Aubrey Sarvis, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN). As SLDN’s executive director, Sarvis is tirelessly fighting to see the military’s gay ban repealed this year. He navigates Congress with clear political acumen to see his organization’s sole goal achieved this year. Sarvis, who served in the Army right out of high school, spent six years as staff director and chief counsel of the Senate Commerce Committee and 14 years at Verizon’s legislative affairs shop.

John Shaw, Portland Cement Association. Shaw has helped push for more protections for energy-intensive industries in climate legislation.

Mike Stanton, Association of International Automobile Manufacturers. Stanton is a longtime, and highly regarded, auto lobbyist.

Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO. The most prominent voice in the labor movement as the president of the AFL-CIO, Trumka has a say in almost every issue that grabs Washington’s attention and was a key negotiator with the White House on the healthcare reform bill.

John Weisgall, Mid-American Energy. When he’s not teaching a law class at Georgetown, Weisgall has fought to change the formula for distributing valuable carbon allowances in climate legislation and found the time to track financial reform legislation for his boss, Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway owns Mid-American.

Daniel Weiss, Center for American Progress Action Fund. A longtime environmental advocate, Weiss now leads climate change efforts at the Center, one of the most tied-in groups in town.