LegiStorm

The Energy and Natural Resources Committee's newest hire has returned to the Senate with environmental lobbying experience.

Melanie Thornton is now a professional staff member under Ranking Member Joe Manchin (D-W.V.). She most recently worked for Defenders of Wildlife, a conservation group, where she lobbied Congress on natural resources and budget issues.

Thornton, who has a PhD in environmental and natural resources sciences from Washington State University, has also served as an American Association for the Advancement of Science fellow to Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.).

One out of seven representatives spent part of the August recess traveling to Israel, thanks to a private sponsor that dropped more than $1.45 million on the trip.

The American Israel Education Foundation, a sister organization to the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobbying group, sponsored the week-long bipartisan trip to Tel Aviv for 27 Republicans, including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), and 40 Democrats, including Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.), plus three of Hoyer's aides. The group met with government and opposition leaders, attended sessions on terrorism and border security and visited historic sites.

AIEF is consistently among the top congressional trip sponsors. It and other interest groups spend such large sums on international travel in the hopes of making and influencing congressional allies. The group has spent another $500,000 on travel to Israel for about 40 staffers so far this year.

So far, 66 members and three staffers have disclosed August travel with the group. However, trip-goers have 15 days to file upon their return, and late filings are not uncommon.

An aide to Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) is putting his back into a new job.

Steve Lieberman is now the United Spinal Association's director of policy and advocacy. The nonprofit, which advocates for those with spinal disease and disabilities, lobbies Congress on veterans, labor, taxation and other issues.

Lieberman had worked for Menendez since 2010, most recently as a legislative correspondent.

Members of Congress spent the last month shying away from angry constituents, holding fewer town halls this year than in non-election-year recesses past, according to LegiStorm data.

Members scheduled 512 in-person, public town halls during this year's August recess. In 2017 and 2015, lawmakers held 616 and 727 town halls, respectively, during the same time period.

Democrats held slightly more events this recess, with 263 towns halls to Republicans' 244 (Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.), who recently split from the Republican Party, held five town halls).

Non-in-person town halls have also declined in recent years. Members held only 20 town halls through Facebook, telephone and other mediums this recess, down from 67 in 2015.

Rep. Andy Barr's (R-Ky.) latest hire is an insurance lobbyist.

Daniel Taylor comes from AIG, where he was most recently director of federal government affairs. He spent the last five years with the finance and insurance behemoth and registered as a lobbyist on a range of insurance, consumer and other issues. He previously worked for lobbying firm Cassidy & Associates, where he registered as a lobbyist for Microsoft.

He's now Barr's financial services policy adviser.