LegiStorm

An airline advocate has landed at the office of Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.).

James Longley most recently worked as a global government affairs specialist at Airlines for America, a trade group that's dropped more than $5.2 million on federal lobbying in the last year, mainly on aviation issues.

Longley, who did not register as an Airlines for America lobbyist, is now an LA handling Fitzpatrick's trnsportation portfolio, among other legislative issues.

After three months working the campaign trail in Iowa, a former affordable drug advocate has joined Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's (D-NY) staff as a speechwriter. 

From June to August, Lucy Westerfield served as the Iowa Policy Adviser and Deputy Communications Director for Gillibrand's 2020 bid. Gillibrand bowed out of the presidential race at the end of August. In September, Westerfield joined the senator's staff in D.C. 

Westerfield previously spent two years working for Patients for Affordable Drugs Now Inc., a group that advocates for breaking the "monopoly" on drug pricing. She served as the group's legislative director. 

Westerfield was no stranger to the Iowa presidential trail before joining Gillibrand's team. In the lead up to the 2016 election, she worked as a field organizer for the Iowa Democratic Party.

Last quarter saw the highest federal lobbying activity of any third quarter since 2011.

Lobbyists disclosed 20,444 federal contracts from July through September. While that represents only a modest increase - less than two percent - over last year's third-quarter filing period, the number of Q3 contracts has climbed each year since 2016, which saw 18,318 filings. Last quarter's activity is the highest since 2011, when lobbyists filed 21,004 contracts.

Lobbying on trade and tariff issues account for some of the largest increases, with an increase of 33 percent since last year. Last quarter marked the all-time highest number of contracts on those issues, which have soared in the time since President Trump announced that the U.S. would impose tariffs on China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

Well ahead of the Olympics' return to the U.S., the International Olympic Committee has resumed its lobbying presence in Washington — with the help of a former Senate majority leader.

The governing body has contracted with the Daschle Group for work on a host of lobbying issues: "athletics, foreign policy, health issues, environment, communications/broadcasting, immigration, and human rights," according to a disclosure filed yesterday. The lobbying team includes firm founder and ex-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), as well as his son, firm president Nathan Daschle.

This is the IOC's first Washington lobbying work since 2007. Los Angeles, Calif. will be the next U.S. city to host the Olympics, in 2028.

USAID has added a GOP staffer to its congressional outreach team.

Lindsay Barsky has joined the federal agency, which handles foreign aid and development work, as a congressional liaison specialist.

She was most recently a legislative assistant to Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) and previously worked for Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.V.).