By Alan K. Ota CQ Staff
As the top strategist at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Brian L. Wolff helped House Speaker Nancy Pelosi assemble the Democrats majority in the House. Now as senior vice president for external affairs at the Edison Electric Institute he is helping investor-owned electric utilities work with Pelosi D-Calif. to push a common priority: legislation to address global warming.
Wolff and other former top Democratic aides and Pelosi associates are helping the clients of lobbying powerhouses achieve legislative and political goals even as the Speaker and her top lieutenants are reaching out to business and trade groups as part of an effort to seek feedback and support on an array of priorities.
For now Wolff says he is providing advice on the global warming bill. My job is to make sure this is a good bill once it leaves the House" he said.
Wolff is being honored by Pelosi and his old boss Chris Van Hollen D-Md. chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and other party leaders at a party in the Newseum on June 4.
But critics of Pelosi such as Grover Norquist express concern over her emerging network in the lobbying community.
Norquist is president of the Americans for Tax Reform and an architect along with former Majority Leader Tom DeLay R-Texas (1985-2006) of the K Street Project" the not-so-subtle encouragement to companies and lobbying shops to hire Republicans and raise money for the party when the GOP controlled Congress.
People believe the Speaker will do things to benefit former Democratic aides. They are hoping to get access" Norquist said.
Asked about the network at a May 22 news conference Pelosi said Democrats were not emulating the K Street Project which she labeled quoting The Washington Post a criminal syndicate run out of the office of the majority leader Mr. DeLay."
We have drained that swamp" Pelosi said.
Both Democrats and Republicans are shunning the tough tactics the parties once employed to embed their allies with stakeholders. Instead they are building networks to help expand support for legislative goals and raise campaign funds.
The perception was that the new lobbying law would stop the network-building. It did not stop it. Networks are still being built. Lawmakers dont need to use tough tactics. Its very subtle. People do things because of relationships. Its human nature to help each other" said James A. Thurber director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University.
Both parties have a history of overreaching by trying when they controlled Congress to pressure businesses to hire congressional aides and former lawmakers Thurber noted Democrats in the 1980s and Republicans between 1995 and 2005.
Naturally the employers tend to favor the party thats in power. It used to be they hired more Republicans and gave more to Republican candidates. Now they hire more Democrats and the political contributions to the two parties have evened out" he said.
Going With the Flow
The migration of some former top Democratic congressional aides into lobbying is part of the natural flow of power in Washington according to Craig Holman a lobbyist for the watchdog group
Public Citizen.
Democrats he said are just letting sheer market force develop on its own."
Still Holman would like the House to broaden its one-year lobbying ban which applies to lawmakers and their most senior staff members to include more top leadership aides. He added however that in the absence of a scandal the prospects for tougher revolving-door restrictions are not good.
In his job at the
Edison Electric Institute Wolff said he has been closely monitoring the progress of the global warming bill (HR 2454). The legislation is important to Edison a consortium of investor-owned electric utilities that represent about 70 percent of the nations electric power industry.
Other lobbyists now serving as informal Pelosi allies on shared legislative priorities include:
• Melissa Shannon her former policy adviser and now a registered lobbyist for Kountoupes Consulting with clients in the energy and health industries.
• Mike Sheehy her former national security adviser and now an executive vice president for McBee Strategic Consulting which represents defense contractors.
• George C. Crawford her former chief of staff and now a lobbyist for several manufacturers including tobacco and liquor interests.
Shannon for example plays a dual role in trying to help her clients develop support for priorities with House leaders while also helping leaders gather information and build coalitions.
Helping clients understand how the House leadership works and the importance of finding common ground is a key part of helping clients navigate the Hill. I also try to serve as eyes and ears downtown for the Speaker and her staff by identifying problems and opportunities" she wrote in an e-mail.
Sheehy and Crawford did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Wolff who is not a registered lobbyist said he voluntarily recuses himself from lobbying Pelosi or Democrats on specific bills.
Nonetheless he said he stays in close touch with the Speaker and her team and is offering informal political advice on such things as 2010 mid-term elections as well as congressional redistricting plans tied to the 2010 census.
The Speaker uses people around the country as intellectual resources and political resources. . . . Im going to remain an active part of that" he said.
Climate Change Cooperation
Wolff has helped build support for global warming legislation. Although it opposes parts of the bill the Edison Electric Institute quietly backed efforts to move the measure out of the Energy and Commerce Committee last month.
The bill currently calls for a cap of greenhouse gas emissions at 17 percent of 2005 levels by 2020. Wolffs organization has pushed to loosen that figure a bit and favors moving the cap closer to Obamas proposal of 14 percent lower than 2005 levels by 2020.
Wolff acknowledged having had a brief meeting with Pelosi in her suite of offices while the Energy and Commerce Committee was marking up the bill May 19 but he said the meeting was about unrelated political issues not about the legislation.
Stakeholders are turning to former Democratic aides Wolff said partly out of frustration with the GOP. Republicans have decided not to work with Democrats on bills that are moving. That just leaves Democrats to work with" he said.
*This article is from Congressional Quarterly Politics
The migration of some former top Democratic congressional aides into lobbying is part of the natural flow of power in Washington according to Craig Holman a lobbyist for the watchdog group Public Citizen.
Democrats he said are just letting sheer market force develop on its own."
Still Holman would like the House to broaden its one-year lobbying ban which applies to lawmakers and their most senior staff members to include more top leadership aides. He added however that in the absence of a scandal the prospects for tougher revolving-door restrictions are not good.
In his job at the Edison Electric Institute Wolff said he has been closely monitoring the progress of the global warming bill (HR 2454). The legislation is important to Edison a consortium of investor-owned electric utilities that represent about 70 percent of the nations electric power industry.
Other lobbyists now serving as informal Pelosi allies on shared legislative priorities include:
• Melissa Shannon her former policy adviser and now a registered lobbyist for Kountoupes Consulting with clients in the energy and health industries.
• Mike Sheehy her former national security adviser and now an executive vice president for McBee Strategic Consulting which represents defense contractors.
• George C. Crawford her former chief of staff and now a lobbyist for several manufacturers including tobacco and liquor interests.
Shannon for example plays a dual role in trying to help her clients develop support for priorities with House leaders while also helping leaders gather information and build coalitions.
Helping clients understand how the House leadership works and the importance of finding common ground is a key part of helping clients navigate the Hill. I also try to serve as eyes and ears downtown for the Speaker and her staff by identifying problems and opportunities" she wrote in an e-mail.
Sheehy and Crawford did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Wolff who is not a registered lobbyist said he voluntarily recuses himself from lobbying Pelosi or Democrats on specific bills.
Nonetheless he said he stays in close touch with the Speaker and her team and is offering informal political advice on such things as 2010 mid-term elections as well as congressional redistricting plans tied to the 2010 census.
The Speaker uses people around the country as intellectual resources and political resources. . . . Im going to remain an active part of that" he said.
Climate Change Cooperation
Wolff has helped build support for global warming legislation. Although it opposes parts of the bill the Edison Electric Institute quietly backed efforts to move the measure out of the Energy and Commerce Committee last month.
The bill currently calls for a cap of greenhouse gas emissions at 17 percent of 2005 levels by 2020. Wolffs organization has pushed to loosen that figure a bit and favors moving the cap closer to Obamas proposal of 14 percent lower than 2005 levels by 2020.
Wolff acknowledged having had a brief meeting with Pelosi in her suite of offices while the Energy and Commerce Committee was marking up the bill May 19 but he said the meeting was about unrelated political issues not about the legislation.
Stakeholders are turning to former Democratic aides Wolff said partly out of frustration with the GOP. Republicans have decided not to work with Democrats on bills that are moving. That just leaves Democrats to work with" he said.
*This article is from Congressional Quarterly Politics
