LegiStorm

A lobbyist-turned-House chief of staff has returned to the government affairs industry. 

Adam Brand is now director of public policy and government affairs at Biogen Idec. The biotechnology company's work focuses on the research and discovery of new therapies for neurological and autoimmune disorders. 

Brand most recently served as chief of staff for Rep. Linda Sánchez, (D-Calif.) starting in 2010. He became Rep. Patrick Kennedy's (D-R.I.) chief of staff in 2007, following a three-year stint at lobbying heavyweight Akin Gump. Between 1997 and 2001 Brand worked as a communications aide for then-House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.).

Brand's father is prominent Washington, D.C. lawyer, Stanley Brand. Since founding the Brand Law Group in 1983, Stan Brand has made a name for himself as an inside-the-Beltway power player. A criminal defense attorney, he has developed a speciality in ethics and has represented many members of Congress who have found themselves in hot water. 

Adam Brand earned a BA from Skidmore College in 1997 and a JD from Georgetown Law in 2004. 

Steve Donaldson, a former House policy aide, has left Congress in favor of a position at politically focused law firm HoltzmanVogelJosefiak PLLC.

Formerly a legislative assistant to Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.), Donaldson has joined Holtzman as an associate.  

HoltzmanVogelJosefiak's practice focuses on election law, lobbying restrictions and federal regulations. The firm's partners include husband and wife Alex Vogel and Jill Holtzman Vogel. Alex Vogel, a founding partner of lobbying firm Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, left that firm earlier this summer.

Prior to joining Rokita's staff in 2013, Donaldson spent more than a year working for Mitt Romney's unsuccessful 2012 presidential bid. He holds a JD and a bachelor's in history from the University of Alabama.

The new top aide to Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) is just what the doctor ordered: a recent pharmaceutical lobbyist.

Lea Sulkala, who joined the congresswoman's staff this week, was most recently the senior director of federal affairs for PhRMA. According to lobbying papers filed on July 21, Sulkala most recently lobbied on issues pertaining to H.R. 3220, the Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability and Transparency Act of 2015. The bill, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama two weeks ago, overhauled the VA health care system after the scandal that rocked the agency earlier this year.

Sulkala is a Hill and K St. veteran. She was the manager of government relations for the American Heart Association from 2006 to 2009. The UNC alumna previously served as a legislative assistant and staff assistant for Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-N.C.). Her husband, Matt Sulkala, formerly worked for Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) and is currently the deputy vice president for PhRMA. 

One of the wealthiest members of Congress has filed an encyclopedia-length annual personal financial disclosure of more than 1,700 pages--although it's short by his standards.

Rep. Kenny Marchant's (R-Texas) disclosure for the fiscal year 2013 totals 1,749 pages. Last year Marchant's disclosure was more than 1,900 pages in length. 

Rep. Darrell Issa, (R-Calif.) the richest member of Congress last year according to Roll Call's annual list, filed a disclosure of less than 30 pages using the new electronic filing system.

Marchant opted to use the old paper filing system, as did Rep. Michael McCaul, (R-Texas) who ranks second on Roll Call's 2013 list. McCaul's most recent annual disclosure came in at 132 pages, long by most standards but nowhere close to Marchant's.

Marchant is overly thorough in composing his disclosures, including monthly securities account statements not required by the Clerk of the House.  

The member of Congress caught by a security camera kissing a staffer is instead embracing his constituents this August, topping a list of members throwing town hall events this recess.

Rep. Vance McAllister (R-La.) has scheduled 23 town hall-style events so far this month, four more than the second-leading member, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.).

McAllister's political future was clouded earlier this year when the socially conservative and married lawmaker was caught on tape in his district office in a long passionate embrace with a married staffer. The staffer was terminated after the scandal broke, threatening his reelection effort.

But town halls have helped cement McAllister's position in the upcoming election, with some political observers saying he is now the candidate to beat in a crowded field.

In all, LegiStorm has tracked 418 in-person town hall-style events scheduled in August, with many new events announced every day. Some 301 have been or will be held by Republicans as they seek to build on their strong position ahead of the November mid-term elections.

Of the 15 members included at the top of our list, 12 are Republicans. Only a pair of Democrats made the cut, DeFazio and Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.). Sen. Bernie Sanders, (I-Vt.) who caucuses with the Democrats, also made this list.

Of the six senators on the list, only Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) is up for reelection this November. Now that Roberts has dispatched a tough tea party challenger in the primary, he is expected to win handily. So too are almost all of the members at the top of the town hall list.

The top 15 members ranked by the number of town halls scheduled this August:

Rep. Vance McAllister (R-La.) 23
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) 19
Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) 14
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) 14
Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) 11
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) 10
Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) 9
Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) 8
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) 8
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) 8
Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.) 8
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) 7
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) 7
Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) 7
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) 7