LegiStorm

A legislative assistant for Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) left Congress to bolster the potency of a drug firm's government relations.

Catherine Phillips joined Biogen as a senior manager for public policy and government affairs last month after a nearly three-year stint in Congress. Phillips joined Scott's office in 2013 as a legislative aide covering health policy. At the start of 2014, she was promoted to a legislative assistant position and began focusing on government affairs in addition to health policy.

Before joining Scott, Phillips was an associate with Dutko Grayling, a public and government relations firm. She covered pharmaceutical issues related to Medicaid and Medicare during her time with the firm.

Biogen is a large biotechnology and pharmaceutical company that develops treatments for neurological, autoimmune and hematologic disorders. The most recent lobbying disclosures from the firm show a concern over the Affordable Care Act implementation and FDA reform in the 21st Century Cures Act.

Rep. Pat Meehan (R-Pa.) and his office look to be in good shape after the hiring of a longtime health care lobbyist.

Julie Nolan came on board the congressman's staff as a legislative assistant last month after a nearly 10-year lobbying career. She joins Meehan from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld where she worked for over a year as a policy adviser and lobbied on assorted health care issues.

Meehan took an active role in both opposing and criticizing Obamacare and the Healthcare.gov rollout. More recently, he has promoted the 21st Century Cures Act, which passed the House with bipartisan support in July.

It's a return to the Hill for the health policy specialist, who also served as a staff assistant for former Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) in 2006. Nolan joined Lugar from law firm Patton Boggs, where she started her career in 2005 as a public policy staff member. She only stayed with Lugar for a year though, before heading back through the revolving door to Patton Boggs. She filed her first lobbying disclosure upon her return and advocated for numerous issues as part of the firm's health practice over the next seven years.

Nolan left Patton Boggs in 2014 when the firm merged with Squire Sanders, migrating to Akin Gump along with several others covering health policy at the firm. 

It is Rep. John Boehner's (R-Ohio) last day in Congress after a five-year speakership and a 24-year career. When he first announced his surprise resignation in late September, it was met with empathy, cynicism and some errant cheering from his own party. Now, members this week have paused to give their final farewell as the gavel passes to an apprehensive and unenvied Paul Ryan.

Members spoke on the floor of the House Tuesday in a final sendoff and put out press releases throughout the week offering praise, remembrances and thoughts of the future. LegiStorm has compiled some of the most memorable sendoffs from member press releases below.

"For almost five years, he led this House. And for nearly 25 years, he served it. Not many people can match his accomplishments: the offices he held, the laws he wrote. But what really sets John apart is he's a man of character-a true class act. He is, without question, the gentleman from Ohio. So please join me in saying, one last time, 'Thank you, Mr. Speaker.'" - Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)

"John Boehner has wandered the valley. John Boehner has been to the mountaintop. John Boehner has slid right back into the valley, and then ascended to great heights yet again." - Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

"John Boehner is a good and decent man. His word was always good. And I will miss him." - Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) 

"Former Speaker Boehner served with dignity and integrity, despite the myriad of pressures and challenges he experienced during his tenure. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors." - Rep. Al Green (D-Texas)

"John Boehner talked about the American Dream. John Boehner, you are the personification the American Dream." - Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)

"It's a sad commentary that the most bipartisan this Congress has been was in the last few weeks since Speaker Boehner announced his retirement." - Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.)

"History will be the judge of his success as the leader of his party, but all of us, all of us who have had the honor of serving with him will judge him as we know him, a considerate and thoughtful individual, who is a patriot and cares deeply about this House and the nation it serves." - Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)

"While we all know of the many achievements that this man of the people has accomplished during his illustrious career, and recognize his unquestionable dedication to our nation, many do not realize just how kind, modest and caring he truly is as a person. Someone who always seems to put others before himself." - Rep. Amata Radewagen (R-American Samoa)

"To me John is a person who represented not an ideology, but represented what he thought was best for the country. To me John Boehner was, as so many people have said, just a regular guy." - Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.)

"I'm grateful to my staff ... I've always told them, you never leave Boehnerland, and that certainly goes for me too." - Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio)

"The people's House is only as good as its people. And we have some of the best. Every day, about 10,887 people go to work for the U.S. House of Representatives. And they do so under the care of the Speaker of the House. Without them, he - and we - could not have done this big job." - Office of the House Speaker

A former lobbyist for Citizens Against Government Waste joined Sen. Debra Fischer (R-Neb.) this month and must be looking to prove that he's worth every penny.

Philip Austin has taken the position of legislative assistant with Fischer and will be covering finance, labor, taxation and housing issues for Nebraska's senior senator. This new role follows a position as associate director of policy and government affairs at the think tank and advocacy group, Citizens Against Government Waste. Austin worked for CAGW for four and a half years, starting in 2011 as a policy and government affairs associate.

During his time with CAGW, Austin lobbied for the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, CAGW's lobbying arm, on issues related to budgeting and on numerous House bills. 

Austin's position with Fischer also marks a return to the Hill for the staffer as he held a salaried internship over the summer of 2009 with the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

A defense expert with experience in Congress, the State Department, the Department of Defense and an influential think tank has found a new weapon to influence policy - lobbying.

Stephanie Sanok Kostro left the Center for Strategic and International Studies last month for a lobbying position with O'Brien, Gentry and Scott LLC, a Washington D.C.-based firm specializing in defense contracting. She submitted her first filing last week, and the records show her lobbying on the defense budget for 2016 and on defense acquisition issues.

Before joining CSIS, Sanok Kostro had a long and diverse career of public service. She joined the Office of the Secretary of Defense in 1998 when President Bill Clinton appointee William Cohen held the position and remained as a foreign affairs specialist when Donald Rumsfeld took over under President George W. Bush in 2001.

Sanok Kastro left the Department of Defense in 2005 to become a professional staff member on the House Armed Services Committee. Over the next three-and-a-half years she helped research and draft legislation relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and national security. Leaving Congress in 2008, Sanok Kostro joined the State Department as a strategic analysis officer for a year before transitioning to the private sector and joining the think tank CSIS.

At CSIS, Sanok Kastro has also made numerous media appearances and written articles for a variety of outlets. In 2015, she appeared on C-SPAN and DefenseNews several times to discuss the rise of ISIS and the American response.