hrobsky
<p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">public citizen bern buddies</font></p><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b> Key Bernhardt Clients and Employers</b></font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck:</b> Bernhardt was head of the natural resources practice at Brownstein Hyatt, a law and lobbying firm. The firm, founded in 1968 in Colorado, has deep ties to industry in the western U.S. and has become one of the largest lobbying firms in Washington. Founder Norman Brownstein is a major political donor and vice president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Bernhardt first worked as an associate at Brownstein Hyatt from 1998 to 2001 after leaving his first job in Congress. After ascending to the role of Interior Department’s solicitor, Bernhardt returned to Brownstein Hyatt as a shareholder in 2009. He has lobbied on development projects and environmental issues that involved the Bureau of Reclamation, the implementation of the Endangered Species Act, and energy and water regulations, all areas he has jurisdiction over as an official in the Interior Department. According to Bernhardt’s financial disclosure form, he earned $1.1 million working for Brownstein Hyatt in the 12 months prior to taking office.</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Given the scale of Brownstein Hyatt’s work for clients with interests before the Interior Department, navigating conflicts has been a challenge. An analysis by the Western Values Project found that Brownstein Hyatt employees had at least 10 meetings with Interior Department officials after Bernhardt started at the agency as deputy secretary in 2017. In September 2018, Bernhardt canceled an appearance at a forum in Colorado on water issues due to potential conflict of interest concerns. The Washington Post reported that a water rights issue involving a Brownstein Hyatt client was to be on the agenda at the conference.</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>The Trump era has undeniably been a huge boon for Brownstein Hyatt, </b>which for the first time was the top lobbying firm in D.C, as measured by revenue, in the second quarter of 2019, according to figures compiled by Politico. With second-quarter revenue of $10.1 million, Brownstein Hyatt edged out Akin Gump. (Akin Gump retook first place in the third quarter of 2019.) According to an analysis by the Center for Western Priorities,<b> Brownstein’s lobbying revenues from the drilling, mining, water and gambling industries have risen more than 300 percent since Bernhardt’s nomination in April 2017</b>. The analysis found that 36 Brownstein clients paid nearly $12 million to lobby Interior, and at least two dozen saw their projects or priorities advance.</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One of Brownstein Hyatt’s clients , Rocky Mountain Resources , has proposed to expand a limestone mine on federally owned land near Glenwood Springs, Colo. The former CEO of the mining company, Chad Brownstein, is the son of Norman Brownstein, chairman of Brownstein Hyatt. In January 2020, Chad Brownstein resigned from the mining firm, which is facing financial troubles, warning investors that an auditor found that the company might not be able to continue operations due to “limited liquidity and lack of revenues.” The Brownstein Hyatt lobbyists working for RMR, Jon Hrobsky and Luke Johnson, both worked at the Interior Department under President George W. Bush and worked as aides to Republicans on Capitol Hill. RMR paid Brownstein Hyatt $100,000 in lobbying fees for two quarters of work in 2019, according to lobbying records.</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">However, city leaders in Colorado oppose the project so strongly that the city has launched a public relations campaign to oppose the mine, saying it will harm tourism in the area. “Our concern is that there is going to be one of the largest mines in Colorado directly abutting our city,” Glenwood Springs Mayor Jonathan Godes told Politico. “And when you have a former lobbyist for one of the largest legal lobbying firms in the extractive industry running DOI … and Norm Brownstein the father of the CEO of Rocky Mountain Resources, it doesn’t take a huge leap of faith to say something ain’t right here.” Interior Department officials say Bernhardt is serious about compliance with ethics rules. An Interior Department spokesman told E&E News that “Secretary Bernhardt is and always has been committed to upholding his ethical responsibilities, and the allegation of undue influence or political favoritism is blatantly false and without merit.”...</font></div><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></p>