Ex-lawmakers go to lobbying-related jobs

Fredreka Schouten, USA TODAY | USATODAY

WASHINGTON — Sixteen lawmakers who left Congress recently have landed posts with groups that seek to influence policy — despite rules aimed at slowing the revolving door between Capitol Hill and lobbying firms, a USA TODAY analysis shows.

Former House members are barred from lobbying their former colleagues for a year; and former senators, for two years. There are no restrictions, however, on providing behind-the-scenes advice to corporations and others seeking to shape federal legislation. Ex-lawmakers can immediately lobby the executive branch and officials in state and local governments.

Former Ohio congressman Steve LaTourette, who retired from Congress in January after 18 years in the House, cannot register as a federal lobbyist nor talk to his former colleagues on Capitol Hill. But the Republican heads a new Washington lobbying branch of a Cleveland-based law firm.

"My job is to fashion strategies and give advice," LaTourette said.

His wife, Jennifer, is a veteran lobbyist and serves as vice president of the new firm, McDonald Hopkins Government Strategies.

Launched in January, the lobbying operation already has nine clients — including the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the Association of Public Television Stations, as public television girds for congressional budget battles over its funding.

LaTourette and 15 others of the 98 lawmakers who have retired or were ousted by voters since January 2011 hold lobbying-related jobs, according to the USA TODAY tally. The analysis looked at lawmakers who retired, resigned or lost their seats in the last Congress — along with the handful who left their posts during the first months of the new Congress.

"The Congress-to-K Street connection has been institutionalized," said Sheila Krumholz of the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks lobbying and political money. "It's Plan A for former members of Congress."

Other ex-lawmakers who have recently moved to potentially lucrative second careers with lobbying firms and trade associations include:

• Former Missouri congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson, who resigned from Congress in January to become president and CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

Emerson, a Republican who served on the House Appropriations Committee, was first elected in 1996, and a special election to replace her is scheduled for early June. She was a lobbyist before she entered Congress. Emerson's predecessor at the association, former Oklahoma congressman Glenn English, earned more than $1.7 million in 2011, according to the most recent, publicly available tax filings. Emerson was unavailable for comment.

• Another former appropriator, Montana Republican Denny Rehberg, announced last week he was joining a Washington public-strategy and lobbying firm. Rehberg, who served six terms in the House before losing his bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Tester last November, will be co-chairman of Mercury/Clark & Weinstock's Washington office.

Rehberg, a former state legislator and Montana lieutenant governor, has worked in real estate, ranching and as a lobbyist in the early 1980s for the Montana Association of Realtors. In the U.S. House, he ran an appropriations subcommittee that oversaw spending on federal health programs, such as Medicare. "I like the combination of applying my knowledge and trying to help others understand both business, government and the problems government creates for free enterprise," Rehberg told USA TODAY.

• Former California congressman Howard Berman, who lost re-election last fall, started his new job Monday at Covington & Burling, a law and lobbying firm that is expanding its international practice.

The Democrat is a former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Berman said he'll provide "strategic advice" to clients but doesn't know whether he will register to lobby once the one-year cooling-off period expires. "I don't want to speculate."

The USA TODAY tally shows that one in five of the lawmakers on the recent list of those who Congress departed after one term. Many of them have not announced post-congressional job plans.

One factor: The lackluster economy and corporate belt-tightening have made it harder for less-experienced legislators to land lobbying-related jobs. In addition, lobbying revenue is down as partisan stalemates have stalled action on even routine spending bills. (A recent USA TODAY analysis found the 112th Congress was the least productive legislative session since the end of World War II.)

"This is a really difficult time," said Ivan Adler, a principal at the McCormick Group. He recruits executives and lobbyists for law firms and trade associations, and he has spoken with more than 15 newly departed members of Congress about their job prospects in recent months.

"It's the most challenging for former members who don't have the seniority and haven't been on the money committees," said Adler, referring to congressional panels that oversee federal spending, tax policy and key industries, such as banking and energy.

Former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown, defeated in November after serving part of one term, is one of the relative newcomers to join a law and lobbying firm. Brown, a former state legislator, was the top recipient of campaign contributions from the financial services, insurance and real-estate sector in the 2012 election, according to a tally by the Center for Responsive Politics. He will focus on financial services issues and commercial real estate in the Boston office of the Nixon Peabody, an international law firm.

The firm's lobbying clients in Washington include Goldman Sachs, student lender Sallie Mae and the New York City Housing Authority.

Brown, a Republican, burst onto the national stage in 2010 when he was elected to replace late senator Ted Kennedy in a special election. He was unavailable for an interview last week.

Andrew Glincher, Nixon Peabody's CEO and managing partner, said the firm was drawn to Brown's public service record, his "entrepreneurship" and "relationships with a wide range of companies."

Democrat Kathy Hochul, another lawmaker ousted in November after winning a special election, returned to New York, where she is vice president of government relations for M&T Bank in Buffalo. She did not return phone messages seeking comment for this story.

Some former lawmakers have multiple jobs.

Former Arizona senator Jon Kyl, who left Congress in January as the Senate's No. 2 Republican, joined Covington & Burling this month. He plans to work on tax policy, immigration, defense, health care and cyber-security issues.

Kyl teaches at Arizona State University, appears on Fox News as a contributor and has teamed up with ex-senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut to co-chair a project on American global leadership at a Washington think-tank.

"I'm just as busy," Kyl said of life after Congress. "It's just that I don't have a big staff to help me."