Bottom Line

• EDUCATION. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has inked a lobbying contract with Capstone National Partners. Alan MacLeod, once Rep. Ron Kind’s (D-Wis.) chief of staff, is on the account and will be working to “identify grants for the School of Freshwater Sciences and grants for nanotechnology and manufacturing,” according to lobbying disclosure records. 

Mercury/Clark & Weinstock has signed up with Zero to Three, a nonprofit group that supports early childhood development, to lobby on “Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) … and Early Head Start (EHS) programs.” Deirdre Stach, once a top aide to ex-Rep. Bob Walker (R-Pa.), is lobbying for the group. 

{mosads}• TAX. Even your handy-dandy household appliance maker is watching the tax reform debate on Capitol Hill. Stanley Black and Decker Inc. has hired DLA Piper to lobby on tax reform.

• TELECOMMUNICATIONS. A wireless phone company in the crosshairs of Congress has bolstered its lobbying team. Roberti White has been hired by TracFone Wireless to lobby on issues related to “universal coverage and Lifeline program.” Tracfone has received millions of dollars from the Lifeline program, which subsidizes phone service for low-income families. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) and other lawmakers have sought to end Lifeline’s support for cellphones, arguing the program is wasteful. TracFone has several other lobby firms on its payroll, including Navigators Global. 

• TRANSPORTATION. Once a target of the budget sequester, air traffic control towers are keeping an eye on their federal appropriations. Federal Hill Group has been hired by The Doerrer Group on behalf of the Contract Tower Association to lobby on funding and other issues related to the Federal Contract Tower Program. John Murphy, ex-deputy chief of staff to former Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Pa.), is working on the account.

The Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Board is keeping an eye on Washington. They have hired Baker Botts to “assist in all governmental, administrative, legislative and regulatory matters involving on the federal level.” Jeffrey Munk, once legislative counsel for former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), is representing the airport board.