Bottomline

• DEFENSE. The prominent federal contractor Science Applications International Corp. has hired Vantage Point Strategies to lobby on “Fiscal Year 2015 budget and appropriations issues, cybersecurity, and immigration reform,” according to lobbying disclosure records. Judith Hafner, once a congressional liaison officer for the Transportation Department, is working on the account.

• FOREIGN RELATIONS. The American University of Afghanistan in Kabul has hired HillStaffer to lobby on issues related to higher education and women’s rights in Afghanistan. Joanne Faulkner, a former State Department and Capitol Hill aide, is lobbying for the school. 

• HEALTHCARE. Two ex-lawmakers are lobbying for Boston-based Partners HealthCare on “sustainable growth rate reform; funding for federally supported research. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act; proposals affecting Medicare and Medicaid funding and proposed changes to Medicare hospital reimbursement policies.” Former Reps. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) and Jim Walsh (R-N.Y.) at K&L Gates are among the lobbyists representing the company.

• IMMIGRATION. The online immigration document services provider FileRight has hired two tech-savvy lobby firms: Franklin Square Group and Monument Policy Group. The firms are lobbying on behalf of FileRight on technology issues related to the immigration process. Franklin Square’s Matt Tanielian and Josh Ackil, along with Monument Policy’s Stewart Verdery and Jessica Herrera-Flanigan, are some of the K Streeters working for the company.

An ex-congressman is now lobbying for the Shipyard Communities, a land development company in San Francisco. Former Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.) of Holland & Knight is lobbying for the company on “EB-5 legislation; I-526 petition processing.”

•MEDICARE/MEDICAID. The Partnership for Part D Access — a coalition including Alkermes, Takeda Pharmaceuticals America, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Forest Laboratories and Johnson & Johnson Services — has registered to lobby on Medicare Part D issues. The Partnership has also hired an outside lobby shop, Thorn Run Partners. Lobbyists on the firm’s team include Alex DelPizzo, former legislative director for former Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.); Jessie Brairton, once a senior legislative assistant to Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas); and Gary Palmquist, ex-legislative director for former Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.).