LegiStorm

As Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) sees it, San Francisco Bay Area residents should have another option on their morning commute, so he has proposed extending commuter train service to Washington - as it turns out, only steps from his Capitol Hill office.

Or so you might believe if you read Honda's press release and didn't check today's date on the calendar.

The press release from the desk of Honda's communications director, Ken Scudder, indicates that the 2,831-mile extension of the Bay Area Rapit Transit system to the Capitol South metro station would cost $396 billion.

"While the price tag may seem a little high," Congressman Honda said in a statement, "it would only amount to a little over half of our defense spending in one year alone. I came to Congress to build bridges, not bombs. And that's exactly what I intend to do."

The release notes that the 41-hour journey would cost commuters $347.28. "Commuters will be able to pay with their DC Metro or BART smartcards, or in exact change (coins only)," the release said.

The first client of Sen. Bob Menéndez's (D-N.J.) former top legislative staffer is a giant of the pharmaceutical industry, an industry which Menéndez has championed.

Karissa Willhite, now working as a principal for Ogilvy Government Relations, has filed her first lobbying papers for her activities with AstraZeneca, the multinational with U.S. headquarters in Delaware. The former Hill staffer is helping the European corporation with efforts to reform Medicaid, Medicare and the tax code, among other issues. In 2009, her former boss opposed an amendment that would have enabled cheaper medications from being imported from Canada and other countries. Merck and Co., another pharmaceutical conglomerate, is one of many drug companies throughout the Garden State

Prior to her move to Farragut Square, Willhite served as the deputy chief of staff for policy for the past eight years. She also worked for the New Jersey Democrat as a policy director in the House Democratic Caucus and as a legislative assistant in his personal office. Willhite started her political career with Rep. Charlie Stenholm (D-Texas), first as a legislative correspondent before being promoted to legislative assistant.

A former Democratic Senate Budget Committee staffer has disclosed receiving a signing bonus and a significant raise to become an environmental analyst for Chevron Corp.

The latest financial disclosure by Tyler J. Kruzich, who served as energy and the environment analyst for the Budget Committee, indicates his salary is between $150,000 and $200,000. His signing bonus to be an environmental analyst for air, safety and security was reportedly worth between $15,000 and $50,000. For the 2013 fiscal year, Kruzich received a $130,000 salary from the Senate. He left in December.

This isn't Kruzich's first private industry job. In 2011, Kruzich took a break from the Capitol and headed to Carpi and Clay Inc. as a principal. At the Washington, D.C.-based government relations firm, Kruzich lobbied for varies local government agencies, including the Port of Long Beach Calif. and Los Angeles County, Calif.

For former Rep. Ed Towns (D-N.Y.), it's never too late to start a new career.

The soon-to-be-octogenarian is now lobbying for the nation of Morocco, one of the United States' oldest allies. Towns has filed representation papers on behalf of the Moroccan American Center for Policy, a Washington non-profit created by the Moroccan monarchy to represent its interests in the United States. This represents the first time the former New York Democrat has disclosed lobbying activity since leaving office at the beginning of 2013.

In 2007, Towns joined 168 of his colleagues in signing a letter to President George W. Bush to support the Western Sahara initiative. The proposal would have granted the disputed region more local autonomy, with Morocco maintaining the territory. The question of autonomy has yet to be fully resolved.

Towns' work for Morocco is through Gray Global Advisors LLC. The firm is run by Justin Gray, who used to lobby with his father, former Rep. William Gray (D-Pa.), now deceased. The firm has represented Comcast, McDonald's Corp. and the City of Philadelphia in the past.

A former senior aide for Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has brought some old clients to his new firm.

Josh Kardon left the Capitol Hill Consulting Group in January to join the lobbying firm Capitol Counsel LLC as general counsel. Kardon's clients, the National Parks Conservation Association and Air Products and Chemicals Inc., followed him in his transition to Capitol Counsel LLC, according to lobbying filings. Kardon will be lobbying on issues related to natural resources, energy and budget related issues for these organizations.

Prior to entering the lobbying world, Kardon spent 21 years on the Hill. His most recent stint was with Wyden, serving as his chief of staff for 16 years.