July 8, 2020
Sean Callinicos is a policy expert and government relations expert in health care, but he has a special focus in the vaccine industry. He was Assistant Vice President for Federal Government Affairs for Sanofi Pasteur during the avian and swine flu crises, and his work helped open the door for the development of America’s vaccine industry. Steve Gordon and Ramona Lessen interviewed Sean to learn about his experiences at Sanofi Pasteur and to discuss the current state of our vaccine industry. The House of Representatives Financial Services Committee held an oversight hearing last week on the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve’s response to the pandemic. The invited guests were Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell. John McKechnie, Total Spectrum’s Senior Partner and financial services expert, provided a summary and overview, and Ramona Lessen monitored the entire hearing.
Read MoreJune 25, 2020
Steve Gordon and former Congressman Erik Paulsen report on COVID-19 and the pushes and pulls felt by members of Congress as they try to legislate and campaign during a full year of crises compacted into six months. Steve and Erik also include thoughts from Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO). Al Jackson provides his monthly update on Defense and Defense Appropriations. We are preparing a special interview with Sean Callinicos, an exceptional lawyer who has years of public policy experience in healthcare. Sean worked with Congress many years ago to lay the foundation for America’s vaccine industry, and his thoughts on the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine are timely.
Read MoreJune 10, 2020
Steve Gordon and Erik Paulsen discuss the first economic reports from America’s reopening, Congress and the Administration’s view on additional COVID-19 legislation, last week’s signing of changes to the Paycheck Protection Program, two Executive Orders, and a new feature we’re calling ‘This and That’ – all that in Heard on the Hill. Steve Ruhlen, our appropriations expert, provides an update and predictions on the appropriations process during this election year. Steve Gordon responded to protests in his former home state of Minnesota, in Washington, D.C., and throughout most of the country with a special article he calls A Cry for Change. Dana Marston takes a deep dive into a few varied topics, including transportation funding legislation, growth in solar power, mortgage servicing, and WHO funding - and how the U.S.’s departure may impact the organization.
Read MoreJune 5, 2020
As reported by The Yellow Sheet Report, a newsletter that provides pressroom-level access to Arizona politics and government: DiMARIA JOINS DC-BASED FIRM Total Spectrum, a DC-based public affairs firm, is launching an Arizona office, and has picked off longtime CenturyLink lobbyist Michael DiMaria as its partner and Southwest regional director.
Read MoreJune 1, 2020
It is with great pleasure that I announce today that Michael DiMaria has become a Partner and Southwestern Regional Director of Total Spectrum. He will continue to serve on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Michael is one of Arizona’s most effective and respected policy strategists, with a wide array of experience at the federal, state, and local levels. He has an extensive record of accomplishment and a proven ability to both create and execute legislative and regulatory agendas.
Read MoreJune 1, 2020
Steve Gordon, Managing Partner of Total Spectrum/Steve Gordon and Associates, is pleased to announce that Michael DiMaria is now a Partner and Southwest Regional Director in Total Spectrum, a rapidly expanding public affairs firm with offices in Washington, D.C.; Phoenix; Atlanta, Georgia; and in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Read MoreMay 28, 2020
The Senate is out of Washington on a planned home state work week. The House of Representatives is in session, although 70 members of the House have filed public letters with the House Clerk asking to vote by proxy so they would not have to travel to Washington during the public health emergency. Steve Gordon and Erik Paulsen talk about the mood in Washington in this most unusual year, the first signs of economic recovery, the next major COVID-19 legislation and more in Heard on the Hill. With his years of experience working with the Pentagon, defense contractors, and defense appropriation legislation, Al Jackson has filed a report on defense and defense appropriations issues. Dana Marston shares a primer on Congressional coronavirus aid legislation to date.
Read MoreMay 12, 2020
COVID-19 continues to impact our families, our communities, our state, and our country. It created a health crisis, which created an economic crisis – and Washington’s necessary response to both crises may indeed cause a fiscal crisis. Steve Gordon and Erik Paulsen bring you up-to-date on how the Administration and Congress continue to respond to these crises in “Heard on the Hill.” Dana Marston shares highlights of this week’s Congressional hearings, then takes a closer look at the latest unemployment figures, how COVID-19 disrupted this tax filing season, and shares useful briefing sheets on the municipal bond market and the strategic national stockpile.
Read MoreApril 30, 2020
Former Congressman Erik Paulsen (R-MN), a Strategic Consultant to Total Spectrum, is participating on a Bipartisan Policy Center Behavioral Health Integration Task Force to improve the integration of primary and behavioral health care to achieve better health outcomes and reduce costs. A recent poll found that 50% of Americans said that their mental health has been impacted by stress caused by the coronavirus. The Task Force also released on April 30 recommendations to quickly address the urgent need to access behavioral health care as our nation faces the COVID-19 pandemic. We applaud Erik for his involvement. The April 30th press release can be read in full at the below link.
Read MoreApril 29, 2020
It is a pleasure to welcome former Congressman Erik Paulsen to Total Spectrum and to This Week in Washington. Those of you who met Erik when he represented Minnesota in Congress and served on the House Ways and Means Committee know of both his intellect and uncommon common sense. There has been a great amount of discussion about the significant amount of our health care needs that are manufactured overseas. A bipartisan group of Senators passed a bill – which ultimately became part of the CARES Act – that asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to assess the vulnerability and dependence that overseas production of our health care products puts on our country. Steve Gordon and Erik Paulsen interviewed Joe Carson, a supply side expert, to get his thoughts and ideas on this in our cover story. In Heard on the Hill, Steve Gordon writes about our health crisis, our economic crisis, and our fiscal crisis and how Congress and the Administration are reacting to them. Dana Marston looks at COVID-19 in other ways: the USDA’s plans to assist commodity markets, trends in retail sales due to the virus, and concentrations in COVID-19 diagnoses across the country.
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