Call them the influencers.
From corner offices all over town, the members of The Hill’s Top Lobbyists list are the advocates, lobbyists and professional agitators who shape the policy decisions made in the nation’s capital.
While some fit the mold of a traditional lobbyist, others have made public relations, grassroots advocacy and even data-crunching the tools of their trade.
The broad sweep of The Hill’s list means that only a portion of the people listed are officially registered to lobby the government, but that doesn’t diminish their clout.
From “hired guns” who run into battle for clients, to association heads who wield the power of industries, to union leaders who exert might through membership, the names are all players to know in the competitive world of Washington advocacy.
Paul Bailey, American Coalition
for Clean Coal Electricity.
As the coalition’s point man for policy, Bailey is essential in crafting the ACCCE’s response to what the industry heavyweight has dubbed the Obama administration’s “war on coal.”
Mitch Bainwol,
Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.
{mosads}Bainwol, who has represented automakers in Washington since 2011, helped steer the industry through a bumpy period after manufacturing giant General Motors issued multiple recalls resulting in contentious congressional hearings.
Mark Baker, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
Baker is the drumbeat behind the often-overlooked general aviation industry in Washington using his experience as a 36-year flight veteran to tout private jets in the Capitol.
Meredith Attwell Baker
and Jot Carpenter, CTIA-The Wireless Association.
Since taking over the wireless trade group earlier this year, Baker — formerly of the Federal Communications Commission — has worked with Carpenter and the rest of her team to be a loud voice on spectrum, phone “unlocking” and other issues.
Richard Baker, Managed Funds Association.
The longtime Republican House member from Louisiana now helps the hedge fund industry keep Congress’s attention.
Ken Bentsen Jr., Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.
Former Rep. Bentsen (D-Texas) has kept the group an essential industry player in Washington following the departure of former New Hampshire Gov. Judd Gregg (R).
B. Dan Berger and Brad Thaler,
National Association of Federal Credit Unions.
Berger, who has led the group since 2013, and Thaler work to ensure credit unions retain a voice amid talk of financial rules and regulations.
Marion Blakey,
Aerospace Industries Association.
The former Federal Aviation Administration head is leading the defense industry’s efforts to grow its markets overseas, as U.S. spending on defense decreases.
John Bozzella,
Association of Global Automakers.
Bozzella took the helm of the group representing international carmakers this year, following a career in the auto industry that stretches back to 1994.
Tom Buis, Growth Energy.
In the raging battle over the federal ethanol mandate, Buis is tasked with standing up for the farmers who provide ethanol’s feedstock.
Kevin Burke,
Airports Council International – North America.
Burke’s first year atop the lobbying group for the nation’s airports has thrust him into the international Ebola crisis.
Steve Caldeira,
International Franchise Association.
Caldeira and the IFA are on the front lines of an industry push against the Obama administration’s minimum wage effort, which remains stalled in Congress.
Nicholas Calio, Airlines for America.
Calio and the airlines have an eye on convincing Congress to pass a new funding package for the Federal Aviation Administration next year.
Kateri Callahan,
Alliance to Save Energy.
Callahan is president of the Alliance to Save Energy, which is bent on advancing energy efficiency policy.
John Castellani, Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America.
Castellani is using his clout as the former head of the Business Roundtable to call attention to promising new drugs and vaccines now in development.
Dan Danner, National Federation of
Independent Business.
Danner is working to ensure that small businesses are treated fairly on minimum wage issues, healthcare, regulations and taxes.
Richard Deem,
American Medical Association.
Deem is relaying doctors’ concerns about the Physicians Payments Sunshine Act payments database to the Obama administration.
Scott DeFife,
National Restaurant Association.
DeFife has been a key player in the restaurant lobby’s top policy priorities, including efforts to stop a federal minimum wage increase.
Bob Dinneen,
Renewable Fuels Association.
Defending ethanol nowadays can mean fighting the Obama administration, Congress, oil interests and others; Dinneen battles them all.
Chris Dodd,
Motion Picture Association of America.
Former Connecticut Sen. Dodd has been a vocal defender of copyright licenses and critic of piracy during more than three years as head of Hollywood’s lobbying arm.
Tom Donohue and R. Bruce Josten, U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The prominent business lobby remains a sometimes-ally of the White House — fighting for immigration reform, while slamming the administration’s rhetoric and actions on tax inversions.
Cal Dooley, American Chemistry Council.
The face of the chemicals industry, Dooley leads a team that is pushing to reform the nation’s decades-old chemical laws.
Charles Drevna, American Fuel & Petrochemical
Manufacturers.
Drevna is a 12-year veteran of the fuel refiners group, which is focusing its attention on pollution regulations and beating back renewable fuel mandates.
Marty Durbin, America’s Natural Gas Alliance.
Natural gas has come a long way in recent years thanks to unconventional drilling techniques, and Durbin is fighting for policies that allow it to continue.
Martin Edwards, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America.
Pipelines ensure that the natural gas boom reaches where it needs to go, and Edwards works with agencies like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to make that happen.
John Engler, Business Roundtable.
Engler is pressing for tax and immigration reform, along with measures meant to foster fiscal stability, close the workforce skills gap and expand global trade.
Camden Fine, Independent Community Bankers of America.
Representing the banking industry’s little guy, Fine has helped keep the heat on “too big to fail” competitors while accumulating bipartisan support in Congress.
Alex Flint, Nuclear Energy Institute.
Flint, a former aide on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is a seasoned political warrior tasked with touting nuclear energy as the administration charts a path forward in a clean-energy economy.
Geoff Freeman, American Gaming Association.
Online gambling remains a tricky issue for Freeman, but it’s far from the only part of an eclectic portfolio that also touches on immigration and patent reform, as well as terrorism insurance.
David French, National Retail Federation.
French is leading the retail industry’s efforts on data and payment security, patent reform and online sales tax legislation.
Lee Fuller, Independent Petroleum Association of America.
A former Senate aide, Fuller is tasked with protecting the interests of oil and gas producers in the association.
Dean Garfield, Information Technology Industry
Council.
The influential trade group represents industry giants including Apple, Google, Microsoft and Sony.
Jack Gerard, American Petroleum Institute.
Gerard has led the oil industry’s most powerful trade group since 2008, waging important energy policy battles surrounding the renewable fuel mandate, offshore drilling, the Keystone XL pipeline and more.
Jerry Giovaniello, National Association of Realtors.
Giovaniello remains focused on housing finance reform and a tax code overhaul — in particular an extension of tax relief for canceled mortgage debt.
Rob Gramlich, American Wind Energy Association.
As the Obama administration pushes to reduce carbon emissions from the power sector, wind interests are well-positioned to offer their products as a solution.
Jim Greenwood, Biotechnology Industry Organization.
The former congressman from Pennsylvania wants comprehensive tax reform without a focus on inversions.
Ed Hamberger, Association of American Railroads.
Hamberger is trying to stave off a wave of new regulations for tankers used to transport crude oil, following a series of high-profile accidents that have captured the attention of lawmakers.
Jerry Howard, National Association of Home Builders.
Howard is fighting for housing finance reform, an overhaul of the Federal Housing Administration and tax reform that preserves the mortgage interest deduction.
Richard Hunt, Consumer Bankers Association.
Since taking the helm of CBA in 2009, Hunt has helped lead his industry into the new era of retail banking.
Karen Ignagni, America’s Health Insurance Plans.
As the health insurance industry’s main advocate, Ignagni is working to protect risk corridor funding and hammer rising drug prices.
Chip Kahn, Federation of American Hospitals.
For-profit hospitals are relying on Kahn to push for the Medicaid expansion as they undergo funding cuts.
Frank Keating, American Bankers Association.
Former Oklahoma Gov. Keating (R) has led the banking lobby since 2011, working to tackle the industry’s biggest concerns in Washington.
Dirk Kempthorne and Kimberly
Olson Dorgan, American Council of Life Insurers.
The two advocates remain focused on exempting insurers from Dodd-Frank’s capital standards as they tackle cybersecurity and privacy issues, taxes on life insurance companies and trade issues.
Tom Kuhn and Brian Wolff, Edison Electric Institute.
Kuhn keeps the association of electric companies running like a well-oiled machine on one end. On the other, Wolff heads the institute’s grassroots political outreach just as the electric industry enters a new realm of increasing renewable energy and grid challenges.
Katherine Lugar, American Hotel & Lodging Association.
Lugar is helping to lead the charge against dramatic wage hikes, while fighting to preserve the 40-hour workweek for health insurance purposes and protect the franchise model against challenges from labor groups.
Linda Lipsen, American Association for Justice.
The top advocate for trial lawyers in Washington, Lipsen is pushing for greater access to civil justice for those who have been injured.
Walter McCormick, USTelecom.
McCormick has worked with USTelecom since 2001, leading the trade group’s advocacy for the broadband industry.
Dave McCurdy,
American Gas Association.
Former Rep. McCurdy (D-Okla.) brings an extensive Washington resume to his work on behalf of natural gas utilities.
Nancy McLernon, Organization
for International Investment.
McLernon wants to make sure that the White House’s efforts against tax inversions don’t hurt the companies she represents: foreign titans with U.S. subsidiaries.
Mark Merritt, Pharmaceutical Care Management Association.
As head of the pharmacy benefit managers trade group, Merritt is fighting aggressively to reduce prescription drug costs at a crucial time for the industry.
Jim Nussle, Credit Union National Association.
Nussle, a former House Budget Committee chairman and Office of Management and Budget director, has now taken the reins at CUNA, where he’ll continue to fight against banks to save credit unions’ tax exemption.
Rob Nichols, Financial Services Forum.
Nichols works specifically to ensure that the CEOs of the biggest financial institutions on the planet maintain an open line to Washington’s policymakers.
Shawn Osborne, TechAmerica.
Osborne, the former head of a communications software company, helped earlier this year to oversee TechAmerica’s merger with CompTIA, combining two of the industry’s major trade groups.
Mark Parkinson, American Health Care Association.
The former Kansas governor and state lawmaker has served both parties, and touts his bipartisan approach when pushing for better elderly care.
Tim Pawlenty and Francis Creighton, Financial Services Roundtable.
Former Minnnesota Gov. Pawlenty (R) lent a big name to the Roundtable, and has reworked the powerful group since taking control in the fall of 2012; Creighton, the former chief of staff to Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, gives the group a high-powered bipartisan duo.
Michael Powell, National Cable & Telecommunications Association.
The former Federal Communications Commission chairman has been one of the cable industry’s most prominent proponents in the fight over net neutrality.
Leigh Ann Pusey, American Insurance Association.
A Washington powerhouse, Pusey is working to make sure Congress reauthorizes the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 before the end of the year.
John Rother, National Coalition on Health Care.
The former face of the AARP wrote up his own game plan for healthcare reform as the chief advocate for 85 organizations, ranging from the Salvation Army to the AFL-CIO.
Bob Rusbuldt, Independent Insurance Agents &
Brokers of America.
As head of the Big “I,” Rusbuldt remains a force on Capitol Hill.
Norb Ryan Jr., Military Officers
Association of America.
The retired vice admiral will continue the association’s fierce fight against the Pentagon and some lawmakers to protect troop pay and benefits from budget cuts.
Stephen Sandherr, The Associated General Contractors of America.
The veteran association chief is working to foster a national rebound for a construction industry battered by the economic crisis of the late 2000s.
Gary Shapiro, Consumer Electronics Association.
Shapiro’s trade group represents more than 2,000 electronics companies and fights on issues from patent reform to spectrum to immigration.
Gordon Smith, National Association
of Broadcasters.
The broadcaster group beat back Capitol Hill initiatives seeking to overhaul the way people pay for TV programs, and came out on top in the Supreme Court’s decision to kill the upstart video service Aereo.
Scott Talbott, Electronic Transactions Association.
After leaving a longtime post at the Financial Services Roundtable, Talbott moved to the tech-focused side of finance.
Mary Kay Thatcher, American Farm Bureau Federation.
Thatcher, a longtime agricultural lobbyist, is monitoring the implementation of hard-fought farm bill victories on crop insurance and disaster assistance for ranchers.
Jay Timmons and Aric Newhouse, National Association of Manufacturers.
Timmons and Newhouse are embroiled in many of Washington’s biggest brawls, including disputes over environmental regulations, Export-Import Bank reauthorization, immigration, tax reform and trade and workforce issues.
Stephen Ubl, AdvaMed.
Ubl has been described as a changing force in medical technology, and he could be the industry’s best chance at repealing the medical device tax.
Richard Umbdenstock
and Richard Pollack, American Hospital Association.
Umbdenstock and Pollack are helping guide hospitals through difficult terrain as fears of a U.S. Ebola outbreak mount.
Dirk Van Dongen, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors.
A longtime GOP moneyman, Van Dongen is part of a cadre of K Street heavyweights pushing for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) in the 2016 presidential race.
Nathaniel Wienecke, Property Casualty Insurers Association
of America.
Wienecke, formerly a lobbyist for JPMorgan Chase & Co., is a key insurance industry voice in Washington on a host of issues, including fighting for an extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002.
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