BGR Holdings LLC

BGR Holdings LLC, previously called Barbour Griffith & Rogers, is a Washington D.C.-based public relations and lobbying company that boasts its operating philosophy is "performance based: a proactive, creative approach to solving problems and aggressively seeking results".

Fundraiser for Wisconsin anti-worker rights politicians
On March 16, 2011, BGR hosted a lavish, Washington, D.C. fundraiser for Wisconsin Republican politicians. Guests were expected to donate a minimum of $1,000 at the door. They could become "sponsors" by donating $2,500 or "hosts" by donating $5,000. Guests included Wisconsin's Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and the state's Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald. The event was held just days after Republicans in Wisconsin's legislature voted 18-1 to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees. The vote was held with no Democrats in attendance. All five Republican members of Wisconsin's congressional delegation were invited to attend the D.C. fundraiser, along with Republican U.S. Senator Ron Johnson.

The fundraiser sparked protest from pro-worker groups and workers' rights supporters who gathered in front of BGR Group offices to draw attention to Wisconsin Republicans' union-busting bill, and their subsequent efforts to raise money from out-of-state corporations in support of their actions.

History
The company was founded in 1991. On its website it states "the firm represents a diverse, blue-chip clientele which includes Fortune 500 companies, international governments, trade associations, non-profits, academic institutions, hospitals, coalitions, and state and local governments. "

In a profile on the company and its strong connections with the Republican Party, Thomas B. Edsall wrote in the Washington Post that "in less than a decade, the Barbour Griffith & Rogers lobbying shop has become one of the most profitable operations in Washington".

According to Haley Barbour, who was sworn in as the Governor of Mississippi in January 2004, the firm was sold to the Interpublic Group of Companies in 1999. Part of the sale deal was that the name remain the same, even though Barbour no longer had a financial stake in the company.

However in June 2004 O'Dwyers PR Daily reported that BG&R was discussing buying a controlling interest in itself back from Interpublic. It reported that "the former Republican National Committee chairman has put his stake in BG&R into a blind trust. He has said that he isn't sure whether he will return to BG&R after he leaves office

In a September 2003 article on his blog site, Josh Marshall wrote that New Bridge Strategies -- a company established to help clients win Iraq reconstruction contracts -- "looks an awful lot like an outgrowth of Barbour Griffith and Rogers". 

In June 2004, O'Dwyers PR Daily reported BG&R recorded $1.6M in fees in 2003, according to Roll Call.

Domestic (U.S.)
In May 2002, BG&R indicated that on behalf of Virginia-based United Defense it would lobby in favor of the Crusader $11 billion artillery system. Despite attending a strategy session in mid-May 2002, BG&R subsequently decided to drop the account. "The White House contacted BG&R when it heard that the firm was going to represent the Crusader. That contact resulted in BG&R dropping the account," O'Dwyers reported.

In October 2002, Haley Barbour headed up a team "on corporate governance issues" for Citigroup, with assistance with Jennifer Larkin, Dan Murphy and Loren Monroe. "Citigroup's Salomon Smith Barney brokerage house faces various probes concerning potential analysts' conflict of interest and how it allocated shares in initial public offerings. On October 14, Citicorp denied charges in a lawsuit filed by New York State Comptroller Carl McCall - who is also running for Governor - that its Travelers insurance unit made improper loans to Bernie Ebbers, the former CEO of WorldCom," O'Dwyers reported.

International
In June 2002, 'O'Dwyers PR Daily reported that BG&R had gained a $30,000-a-month contract with the Embassy of Bolivia "to deal with tactical planning, trade and appropriations matters." The BG&R team was headed by Barbour and also included Keith Schuette, "a former president of the International Republican Institute, and Scott Barnhart. "Bolivia scored a coup on the trade front as Congress agreed to reduce tariffs on canned tuna, textiles and cut flowers to encourage it, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to fight the drug trade," reported O'Dwyer's.

In July 2004, the Kurdish Democratic Party retained BG&R, "to ensure that Iraqi Kurdistan maintains its autonomy from Baghdad in the new Iraq Government" and for the "return of oil-rich Kirkuk, which Saddam Hussein had "Arabized" as the capital of the region, to Kurdistan." 

In February 2005, O'Dwyers PR Daily reported that the government of Qatar had "hired Barbour Griffith & Rogers to a $300K pact to smooth relations with the Bush Administration."

In August 2006, the Washington Post reported that BG&R was working for the "National Dialogue Party of Lebanon and its chairman, Fouad Makhzoumi. The Republican shop registered to lobby for the Lebanese party in mid-June, with an effective start date of April 15." After armed hostilities between the Israeli government and Lebanon-based Hezbollah militia began in July 2006, BG&R started promoting "Makhzoumi's message of support for a cease-fire and a diplomatic solution to policymakers in Washington." The contract totaled $300,000 over six months.

BG&R had also registered with the State Department "to 'provide guidance and counsel' on foreign policy to the embassy of Eritrea. That contract, which paid $65,000 a month for six months, or a total of $390,000, expired last month," the Washington Post reported in August 2006. 

BGR’s involvement and efforts in 2007 in ousting Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, to replace him with former interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, were documented in hundreds of emails sent in Allawi’s name, Think Progress reported in 2007.

Allawi was called “Saddam lite” by Slate in 2004 for his “mostly rhetorical” toughness and alleged courting of insurgents. Robert Blackwill, the lead BGR lobbyist on the account, oversaw the creation of the new Iraqi government, National Public Radio reported in 2007.

BG&R landed a $60,000 a month contract to represent Serbia. The contract, which was signed by Serbia's Minister for International Economic Relations, Milan Parivodic, runs until January 2009. Serbia has been criticized for being half-hearted in its cooperation with investigations into war crimes committed during the 1990's. (sub req'd)

BGR has also had extensive contact with the Embassy of Poland in 2008-2009.

Client List
New clients since 2004, according to Lobbying Disclosure Act Database, accessed March 16, 2011:


 * Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance
 * Weil Gotshal and Manges
 * LMVH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton
 * WE Energies
 * Loop Capital Markets
 * Laurinburg Institute
 * ACS-XEROX
 * USEC
 * Uranium One
 * Trust for the National Mall
 * Thomson Reuters Inc.
 * Pew Charitable Trusts
 * American Chamber of Commerce
 * Kenyon Energy
 * AIT Worldwide Logistics
 * Tamares Management, LLC
 * T.Y. Lin International
 * Sxp Analytics, LLC
 * State of Qatar
 * Arrow General Supplies and Services Company
 * RFA Management Company LLC
 * Jeeran Holding Company
 * Revere America
 * Reliance Industries Limited
 * Ingenieria y Control Remoto, S.A.
 * IMS Government Solutions
 * Reed-Joseph International Company
 * Housing Finance Alliance
 * Health Data Insights
 * PJSC Trustbank
 * Association for Homeowners Across America
 * Patni Computer Systems
 * Oversight Systems, Inc.
 * Health Data Insights
 * National Restaurant Association
 * GSS Netglobal Security System
 * MR Ray Ruddy
 * Gas Natural SDG
 * Broward Health
 * American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai
 * Business Software Alliance
 * Monument Strategies, LLC
 * Children’s Hospital and Health System, Inc
 * City of Cottonwood Heights, Utah
 * MEAB sal
 * Freedom Capital, Inc
 * FMS, LLC
 * Lean Flame, Inc
 * Lanmark Technology, Inc
 * First View, LLC
 * King Engineering Associates, Inc
 * Kinetic Concepts, Inc
 * Claremont Group
 * Amsterdam and Peroff
 * Andrew L Asher
 * JM Eagle
 * Innovida
 * Embassy of Poland
 * Electronic Knowledge Interchange
 * Dupont
 * DuPage County
 * Delos Living
 * D-J Engineering
 * Eko Rail
 * Berwick Development I, LLC
 * Coventry Health Care Inc
 * Bird Law Group

As listed on the company website January 2004, except where referenced:
 * Abiomed Inc
 * Adams Respiratory Therapeutics
 * Affiliated Computer Services
 * Akindale Farms
 * Alan Kilkenny
 * Alexian Brothers Hospital Network
 * Alfa Bank
 * Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care
 * Alliance for School Choice
 * Alticor Inc
 * American Association of Preferred Providers Org
 * American Maritime Congress
 * American Network Of Community Resources
 * Amway/Alticor Inc
 * Antonov Aircraft Corporation
 * AT&T Inc
 * Austin Clean Water Program
 * BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc.
 * Better World Campaign
 * Bomgar Corporation
 * Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
 * Broadcast Music, Inc.
 * Brown & Williamson Corporation
 * Camp, Dresser & McKee
 * Camp Dresser & Mckee
 * Canadian National Railway
 * City of Madison, MS
 * City of Waukesha Water Utility
 * City of Waukesha, WI
 * Clarian Health Partners
 * Classical Optical Laboratories
 * Coalition of Community Bankers
 * Cobalt Corporation
 * CollectCorp, Inc
 * Commonwealth of Kentucky
 * Comprehensive NeuroScience Inc
 * Consolidated Contracting Company
 * Consumer Data Industry Association
 * Darden Corporation
 * Deloitte Consulting
 * Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
 * Delta & Pine Land Co
 * Delta Air Lines
 * Don Quijote Airport
 * Eli Lilly & Co
 * Embassy of Eritrea
 * Embassy of Honduras
 * Energy Enterprise Solutions
 * Englewood Hospital & Medical Center
 * FM Policy Focus
 * Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
 * Flambeau River Biorefinery
 * Forest County Potawatomi Community
 * GlaxoSmithKline
 * Government of Qatar
 * Government of Serbia (Sub req'd)
 * Grocery Manufacturers Association
 * Hard Count Inc
 * Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation
 * Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals
 * I Can Learn, Inc.
 * IBM Global Services
 * IBM Corporation
 * Illinois State Board Of Education
 * Indonesian National Shipowners Association
 * Intelsat
 * International Building Systems, LLC
 * International Swaps & Derivatives Assiation
 * Interpublic Group of Cos
 * JohnsonDiversey Inc
 * Kinetic Concepts
 * Kurdistan Regional Government
 * LVMH Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesey Inc
 * Lakeworth Drainage District
 * Lockheed Martin
 * Loews Corporation
 * Logistics Health
 * Lorillard Tobacco Company
 * Lucent
 * MassMutual Financial Group
 * Maximus Inc
 * MedCath Inc
 * MLBA Services Inc
 * Moneygram International
 * Morris & McDaniel
 * Morrison & Foerster
 * Mortgage Insurance Companies of America
 * Mortgage Insurance Companies of America
 * MPI Corporate Holdings
 * MWW Group
 * National Association of Software & Services Companies
 * Norilsk Nickel
 * Northrop Grumman
 * O2 Diesel Inc
 * Oracle Corporation
 * Orlando Regional Healthcare System
 * Osi Outsourcing Services
 * Oxygenated Fuels Association
 * Public Broadcasting Service
 * Peninsula Gaming
 * Pfizer Inc
 * PhRMA]
 * Professional & Scientific Assoc
 * Qioptiq
 * Qwest Communications
 * Raytheon Company
 * Republic of India
 * Res-Care Inc
 * Reynolds American
 * Rompetrol Group
 * Rual Trade
 * SAP Public Services, Inc.
 * Select Medical Corp
 * Sellers-Feinberg
 * Sigma International Construction
 * Southern Company
 * Starrett City Assoc
 * State Street Corporation
 * The National Dialogue Party of Lebanon and its chairman, Fouad Makhzoumi
 * Republic of China/Taiwan
 * Taxpayers Network
 * Thaksin Shinawatra
 * Trasta Komercbanka
 * Triad
 * UnitedHealth Group
 * University of Florida
 * University Of Mississippi
 * University of Mississippi Medical Center
 * University of Southern Mississippi
 * USMP Group
 * VeriSign Inc
 * Verizon Communications
 * Village of Johnsburg, IL
 * Wisconsin Energy Corporation
 * XL Health

Former Clients

 * Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs  In April 2007, O'Dwyer's PR Daily reported that "Taiwan has ended its PR contract with Barbour Griffith & Rogers, a year before the three-year pact was set to expire."

Political contributions
Lanny Griffith, Chief Executive Officer of Barbour, Griffith and Rogers, is a Bush Ranger having raised at least $200,000 for Bush in the 2004 presidential election.

Barbour, Griffith and Rogers gave $73,603 to federal candidates in the 2006 election through its political action committee - 100% to Republicans.

Personnel
Current staff:
 * Elliot S. Berke, General Counsel, Former Counsel to Speaker J. Dennis Hastert
 * Robert D. Blackwill, President, Former Deputy Assistant to George W. Bush and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Planning
 * Eric Burgeson, Vice President, Former chief of staff at the Department of Energy and in several high-level positions in the White House under George W. Bush
 * Bryan Cunningham, Former Senior Technology Policy Advisor and Legislative Assistant to Senator John Ensign (R-NV)
 * Todd Eardensohn, Chief Financial Officer, served as deputy treasurer of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and assistant controller for the Bush-Quayle ’92 campaign
 * Lanny Griffith, Chief Executive Officer
 * Ingrid Belton Henick, Vice President, Former Deputy Executive Director for the U.S.-India Business Council at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
 * Brant Imperatore, Principal, Former legal and policy advisor to Congressman Richard Baker (R-LA)
 * Jennifer A. Larkin, Principal, Former top aide to former Rep. Bob Dornan (R-CA), a nationally known leader of the conservative movement who sometimes filled in as a guest host for Rush Limbaugh
 * Loren Monroe, Chief Operating Officer, Former legislative aide to Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-NM)
 * Dan Murphy, Principal, Former Chief of Staff to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Mel Martinez in the George W. Bush administration
 * Andrew Parasiliti, Vice President, Former Foreign Policy Advisor and Personal Staff Representative to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
 * Stephen Rademaker, Vice President, Former Policy Director for National Security Affairs and Senior Counsel for former Senate majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN)
 * Mary Lacey Reuther, Vice President, Former Special Assistant to the Administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
 * Walker Roberts, Vice President, Former Deputy Staff Director under Chairman Henry J. Hyde (R-IL)
 * Ed Rogers, Chairman, founded the firm with Haley Barbour in 1991, Former Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States under the first Bush administration
 * Shalla Ross, Vice President, Former Policy Director to the House Republican Conference Committee under Chairman Deborah Pryce (R-OH)
 * Bill Viney, Director of Legislative Affairs
 * Bob Wood, President, Former Chief of Staff to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Tommy Thompson in the second Bush administration
 * Philip D. Zelikow, Senior Advisor, Former Counselor to the U.S. Department of State 2005-2006

Former staff

 * Haley Barbour - former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Note that in February 2011, BGR founder Barbour refused to publicly denounce a Mississippi license plate idea proposed by the white supremacist group, "Mississippi Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans". The license plate would honor Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was "a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army and is believed to be one of the earliest members of (and first "Grand Wizard" to) the white supremacist group Ku Klux Klan."


 * Bradley A. Blakeman, Vice President
 * Ambassador Richard Burt, International Director
 * Raissa H. Downs, Vice President
 * Keith E. Schuette, Director of International Affairs
 * Bill Stiers, Associate

Contact information
Barbour Griffith & Rogers Tenth Floor 1275 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20004 Tel: (202)333 4936 Fax: (202)833 9392 Email: information AT bgrdc.com Web: http://www.bgrdc.com