How Many House Staffers Went on to Lobby for Top Government Contractors?

By ANDREW WYNER

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The Sunlight Foundation recently released an analysis finding that since July 2009, at least 377 former House of Representatives staffers left their respective congressional offices to become registered lobbyists. POGO has long been concerned about the revolving door phenomenon, and Sunlight’s analysis sheds light on its continued prevalence on the Hill.

Sunlight found that of the 377 staffers, nearly 82 percent joined lobbying firms, corporations, or business associations, while a meager 10 percent lobbied on behalf of non-profit advocacy groups. 156 staffers joined lobbying firms, 80 joined corporations, and 72 joined business associations, giving these groups connections to important Members of Congress and House committees.

Not highlighted in the report, however, is that of the 80 former House staffers who left to lobby on behalf of corporations, at least 19 went to top 100 government contractors (as compiled by POGO in its Federal Contractor Misconduct Database). According to Sunlight’s analysis, three staffers went to AT&T, two to Boeing, two to United Technologies, and two to ITT Industries. Former staffers also went to Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and KBR, among other firms. Find a full breakdown with links to each contractor's profile in our database below:

Name	House Office	House Position	House Member's Committees	Post-House Employer	Employer's 2010 Contractor Rank
Abrams, Benjamin S.	Frank Kratovil	Deputy Chief of Staff	Armed Services; Agriculture; Natural Resources	Northrop Grumman	3
Andryszah, Amy	Jim Matheson	Chief of Staff	Energy & Commerce	AT&T	93
Arnold, Mary C.	Committee on Appropriations	Administrative Aide	N/A	AT&T	93
Arnold, Mary F.	John Tanner	Staff Assistant	Ways and Means; Foreign Affairs	AT&T	93
Bertenthal, Laurie M.	Transportation-Infrastructure	Legislative Assistant		Rockwell Collins	53
Blazey li, John T.	Committee on Appropriations	Staff Assistant		Boeing	2
Bumgardner, John T.	James P. Moran Jr.	Legislative Assistant	Appropriations	Boeing	2
Chiller, Matthew R.	Laura Richardson	Deputy Chief of Staff	Homeland Security; Transportation & Infrastructure	CH2M	57
Dugan, Phaedra B.	Candace Miller	Communications Director	Homeland Security; Transportation & Infrastructure	ITT	21
Elliott, Elizabeth J.	Thomas S. P. Perriello	Legislative Director	Transportation & Infrastructure; Veterans Affairs	United Technologies	7
Garner, William A.	Patrick J. Kennedy	Legislative Director	Appropriations	University of Chicago	97
Hughes, Celes E.	Committee on Appropriations	Staff Assistant		ITT	21
Mitchell, James T.	Leonard Lance	Chief of Staff	Energy & Commerce	General Electric	19
O'donnell, John. F	Clerk of the House	Temporary Intern		Lockheed Martin	1
Ratliff, Frederick	Connie Mack	Legislative Counsel	Foreign Affairs; Oversight and Government Reform	KBR	15
Rice, William T.	Bill Young	Legislative Assistant	Appropriations	General Atomics	37
Rich, Joseph W.	Stephen Lynch	District Representative	Financial Services; Oversight and Government Reform	United Technologies	7
Stephens, Nigel	Yvette D. Clarke	Chief of Staff	Homeland Security; Small Business	Accenture	83
Toth, Joseph A.	Christopher Carney	Legislative Assistant	Homeland Security; Transportation & Infrastructure	Unisys Corp	85

 

Before joining these firms, most of the 19 former staffers worked in personal offices. Many of these staffers ultimately left the Hill to lobby for firms with a special interest in House committees on which each staffer’s respective congressperson was a member.

For instance, Rep. Yvette Clarke’s (D-NY) chief of staff, Nigel Stephens, left the Hill to lobby for Accenture—a firm that routinely wins massive Homeland Security Department contracts. Stephens' former boss, Rep. Clarke, sits on the House Committee on Homeland Security.

In another example, Benjamin Abrams, once the deputy chief of staff for former Representative Frank Kratovil (D-MD), left his congressional office to work as a lobbyist for Northrop Grumman. Rep. Kratovil was a member of the House Armed Services Committee, a position that Abrams could potentially use to give Northrop an advantage when dealing with the Committee—whether in soliciting funding for certain programs or pushing for legislation.

It wasn’t just staffers in personal offices who left Congress to lobby directly for top contractors. AT&T, Boeing, and ITT all employed former Committee on Appropriations staffers as lobbyists in recent years, giving their firms direct advantages to receive federal money. Another staffer worked on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure before joining Rockwell Collins, a firm that provides aviation and information technology systems and services to government agencies.

Aside from staffers who went to top 100 contracting firms, others went to lobbying firms that represent contractors. Five former staffers went to Patton Boggs, a lobbying firm that represents both Northrop and AECOM. Another staffer went to Clark, Lytle & Geduldig, a firm that represents AT&T, KPMG, and Deloitte & Touche.

"The revolving door is a complicated issue. People should be able to earn a living, but ex-government officials should not be allowed to cash in on their former positions at the expense of the public interest,” said POGO Investigator Neil Gordon. “Federal conflict of interest and ethics laws need to be strengthened and consistently enforced so that a proper balance can be maintained.”

House staffers have a one-year cooling off period in which they may not lobby or attempt to influence Members of Congress.

Andrew Wyner is a POGO intern.

Image of Rayburn House Office Building via jrgcastro.

Comments

[Not Abramoff]

Don't be so convinced that when a Member retires or loses his or her office that the staff isn't connected. The Hill is a small place and connections to other committees, subcommittees, and personal staff can go along way. I have worked with Congress a lot through the years and most often I meet with a staff directors, counsels, LAs, and other staffers, not the actual elected official. This might be less of a problem in the Senate where there is a two-year cooling off period, but the problem with public servants cashing in and trying to influence their old friends is alive and well in both branches of government.

[Bryan Rahija]

Hi Karen,

Thank you for reading and writing in. It's not just about influence -- it's also about trust and the integrity of our political system. How can we be certain that our legislative process is working in the interest of the public--and not skewed heavily towards the interests of a privileged few--with so many staffers crossing over to the private sector? Are we comfortable with the notion that public service is simply a training ground for the lobbying of special interests?

[Karen Ripple]

You need to consider how many of the House members are still in office. If these former staffers are to wield such influence over Congress from their new positions, then they need an avenue to do that. When a House member retires (Tanner) or is not reelected (Kratovil), then where's the influence?