House Energy Committee counsel leaves to lobby

The top lawyer for Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee has jumped to a boutique lobbying firm.

Mike Bloomquist will become a principal at Kountoupes Denham, which represents energy, technology and health clients like Yahoo! Inc., Pepco Holdings Inc. and the Generic Pharmaceutical Association. He was chief counsel at Energy and Commerce.

{mosads}“I am grateful to Mike Bloomquist for his contributions over the years,” Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the Energy Committee, said in a statement Wednesday.

“He honed his legal, parliamentary, and procedural chops under prior committee leadership, and I was honored that he chose to return to my team to help lead our efforts these last three and a half years,” he said.

The Energy panel has a very wide range of responsibility, with oversight over energy, health, food, drugs, technology and trade.

Bloomquist also worked with the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the so-called “supercommittee” formed in 2011 to try to cut the federal deficit.

He has a total of 10 years of Capitol Hill experience, and about as much private practice experience as well, Kountoupes Denham said.

Kountoupes Denham founder Lisa Kountoupes said many of the policies on which Bloomquist worked, including health innovation, toxic substances, energy independence and privacy, are likely to be front and center for its clients next year.

“He is a highly skilled expert on congressional process and committee rules with an extensive network of contacts both on and off Capitol Hill,” she said in a statement. “We know Mike will be invaluable to our clients on day one.”