•ENERGY. Several Canadian energy companies have hired a former congressman to represent them in Washington. The In Situ Oil Sands Alliance has contracted with Cannae Policy Group for the services of ex-Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-N.Y.), who will lobby on “Import, Export, Use and transportation of energy, energy products and technology between the United States and Canada,” according to lobbying disclosure records. The alliance includes Athabasca Oil Corp., Laricina Energy, MEG Energy Corp. and OSUM Oil Sands Corp. — all based in Calgary, Alberta.
•HEALTHCARE. Ogilvy Government Relations has signed up with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals to lobby on “issues related to general health care coverage, Medicare and Medicaid reform, Food and Drug Administration legislative and regulatory issues, intellectual property, and comprehensive tax reform.” Moses Mercado, once deputy chief of staff to House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt (Mo.), and Dean Aguillen, a former senior adviser to then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), are among the lobbyists on the account.
•HOMELAND SECURITY. The security software company McAfee has added to its lobby team. Gephardt Group Government Affairs will lobby for the company on cybersecurity policy, appropriations for the Defense and Homeland Security departments as well as the “Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation Program.” Former House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt (Mo.), his ex-chief of staff Tom O’Donnell and Kyle Mulhall, once counsel and senior policy adviser to Gephardt, are some of the lobbyists on the account. McAfee also has Dickstein Shapiro and McBee Strategic Consulting on its K Street payroll.
•TECHNOLOGY. Ericsson Inc. has brought on a former senior White House aide to President George W. Bush to lobby on patent reform. The JBH Group, headed up by Jamie Brown Hantman, will lobby for the company on a series of patent bills that have been put forward in the Senate.
•TELECOMMUNICATIONS. Glenn Beck is getting some K Street help. His network, TheBlaze Inc., has hired Simpson Public Affairs to lobby on “program carriage issues.” John Simpson, a former legislative aide to Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), is lobbying for the network.