The Hill
June 30, 2004THE LOBBY LEAGUE
#12 Airlines and Aviation
Each week, The Hill highlights the top lobbyists on a sector-specific basis through conversations with the major players on K Street, congressional staffers and other Washington insiders.
American Airlines: Will Ris
When it comes to lobbying for the major airlines, Ris stands out above the crowd, according to several staffers and lobbyists. Ris was an attorney with the Civil Aeronautics Board before joining the staff of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in 1978. As counsel to the aviation subcommittee, Ris was one of the authors of the Airline Deregulation Act. He has continued to be involved in aviation legislation, leaving Capitol Hill for the Wexler Group, where he lobbied from 1983 until 1996, when he joined American.
American Association of Airport Executives: Todd Hauptli
Everyone involved in aviation issues in Washington named Hauptli as one of the most knowledgeable, connected and easy-to-work-with lobbyists in the industry. Hauptli heads the joint Washington offices of AAAE and the Airport Council International-North America, representing airport interests with authorizers, appropriators and regulators. He is a veteran of the Reagan and first Bush administrations, serving in the latter as a congressional liaison at the Department of Transportation.
Air Transport Association: James May, Lori Sharpe Day, Regina Sullivan
Since joining the ATA last year, May has pulled together a competitive industry and increased the association’s stature in D.C. He is a trade-association veteran, and while his previous experience was not in aviation, May’s time at the National Association of Broadcasters did help him build relationships with members of the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees both broadcasting and aviation. Day, a former Senate GOP aide, and Sullivan, a former Senate Democratic aide, head up the lobbying team.
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz: Linda Hall Daschle
Linda Hall Daschle, wife of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), is a veteran when it comes to aviation issues. During President Bill Clinton’s first term, she served as second-in-command at the Federal Aviation Administration. Before that, Daschle lobbied at the ATA and then the AAAE. So even though she voluntarily does not lobby the Senate, her contacts in the aviation world and her knowledge of the issues are as good as anyone’s in the industry.
Northwest Airlines: Andrea Fischer Newman
Her competitors in the airline industry called Newman one of the hardest-working lobbyists they know, citing her work on the Pension Stability Act, which the president signed in April. Newman cut her political teeth as scheduler to Vice President George Bush during the second term of the Reagan administration. She later advised Michigan GOP Gov John Engler and then joined Northwest at its headquarters in Michigan, her home state. Although she’s been lobbying in D.C. for only a few years, “she has an impressive array of contacts,” another lobbyist said.
Wexler & Walker Public Policy Associates: Tim Hannegan
Hannegan was the lead on aviation issues for the Government Accounting Office for a decade before entering the private sector. His knowledge on aviation issues and the deep bench at Wexler & Walker help Hannegan represent a range of aviation clients, from major passenger airlines to airports to cargo air carriers, as well as the Internet travel site Orbitz.
Denny Miller Associates: Wally Burnett
Burnett was Republican clerk for the Senate Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee before leaving to represent a number of aviation clients. His knowledge of the legislative process and his relationship with Senate Appropriations Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) make him a highly effective lobbyist.
© 2004 The Hill
