LegiStorm

Rep. David Valadao's (R-Calif.) legislative director has taken on a new government affairs job with the National Association of Counties.

Christopher Marklund worked on the Hill for more than eight years for three California Republicans, including Reps. George Radanovich and Ken Calvert. He is now associate legislative director at the national organization representing county governments in Washington.

Marklund got his start as a staff assistant for Radanovich in 2006, rising to become legislative assistant with Calvert before the move to Valadao's office. His new job includes work on public lands issues.

A Democratic health subcommittee staffer has left Capitol Hill for a new federal relations job with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Edward Q. Garcia served as a professional staff member until December on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Health Subcommittee before transitioning to Blue Cross as director of federal relations. He started as a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services detailee in March 2013.

Prior to working for Congress, Garcia was a lobbyist. He filed lobbying papers in 2005 when he was a legislative analyst at Washington Health Advocates, where he worked from 2004-7. He holds a master's in health science from Johns Hopkins University and bachelor's in political science and government from Boston University.

On Inauguration Day, most elected officials take in all the pomp and circumstance with their families in the nation's capital. One senator will be celebrating the start of the 114th Congress, however, with his constituents.

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) plans to continue his "Kansas Listening Tour" with the residents of Johnson County. The Kansas Republican, who according to LegiStorm records had the most town halls among all senators last year, will spend tonight at a fire station in Lenexa, Kan. with local residents. Moran has already hosted two other "Kansas Listening Tour" events since the New Year, in Dighton and Scott City last Friday.

Moran's outreach means he might be less likely to meet the fate of Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), who lost touch with voters, forcing his campaign to scramble unusually hard. Roberts eventually edged his opponent. Moran is up for re-election in 2016.

As President Barack Obama prepared to announce a seismic shift toward Cuba, at least six lawmakers were returning from the latest of dozens of trips to the island nation in the last five years.

Five Democratic lawmakers and a Republican traveled Dec. 12-16 last year to Havana through an organization called the Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba. The trips were a few of the 21 privately funded travels to Cuba in 2014 by members of Congress or their staffs, a number that could climb higher in the next few weeks as members file final travel disclosure reports.

In 2014, Democrats approved 16 of the trips, while Republicans approved five, at a total cost of nearly $70,000. The Center for Democracy in the Americas sponsored all the trips in 2014 except the latest to Havana.

In the December trip, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Barbara Jean Lee (D-Calif.) so far have all filed paperwork showing they participated. The organization sponsoring the trip works to increase cooperation with the U.S., Cuba and elsewhere around the world to improve health outcomes.

In 2013, travel disclosures show only five trips to Cuba along with seven in 2012. Since January 2010, lawmakers and staffers have traveled to Cuba 59 times at a cost to outside groups of more than $150,000.

Of the trips since 2010, 44 were approved by Democrats and 15 by Republicans.

The investment company of a developer who once bribed a congressman and pleaded guilty to campaign violations has now hired a former U.S. senator's firm to lobby in Washington.  

J.J. Cafaro Investment Trust LLC, based in Brookfield, Ohio, has hired former Sen. Spencer Abraham's (R-Mich.) firm Abraham and Roetzel LLC to lobby on unspecified energy and economic development issues. Bob Carey, a one-time legislative director for Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) and senior legislative assistant for Abraham, has registered to lobby for the Cafaro company.

John Cafaro's daughter, Capri Cafaro, serves as a Democrat in the Ohio Senate. The wealthy shopping mall developer once admitted to concealing a $10,000 contribution to her 2004 campaign for Congress. The contribution cap was $2,000 for the primary election and $2,000 in the general election.

John Cafaro later spent five days in jail for the offense before he was sentenced to three years probation and fined $250,000. The contribution was in the form of a loan that was never repaid to a law student considering the campaign manager position with Capri Cafaro, which he later took.

Capri Cafaro has said she was not involved with the transaction.

The mall developer had a run-in with the law in 2002 when he received a $150,000 fine and probation for bribing then-Rep. Jim Traficant, the colorful Youngstown Democrat. He testified against the congressman.