Wexler and Walker Public Policy Associates

Wexler and Walker Public Policy Associates are a Washington D.C. lobbying and consulting firm specializing in "international affairs and trade advocacy". It is an independent unit of Hill & Knowlton.

It was founded by Anne Wexler and others in 1981. Wexler was an assistant to President Jimmy Carter for Public Liaison.

Earlier incarnations of the company were:
 * Wexler, Reynolds, Fuller, Harrison and Schule
 * The Wexler Group, and
 * Wexler and Walker (at this stage it was taken over by Hill & Knowlton and gained its current name)
 * Wexler and Walker Public Policy Associates.

Personnel

 * Anne Wexler
 * Joel Malina
 * Peter Holran

In 2009, former Alabama Congressman Bud Cramer joined the lobbying and consulting firm Wexler and Walker Public Policy Associates. "Under House ethics rules, Cramer can't personally lobby his former Capitol Hill colleagues for one year, but he can provide behind-the-scenes guidance and strategic advice," reported the Associated Press. Wexler can also use the $1.5 million reported in his election account, after he left Congress, "for donations to the former colleagues he will now be lobbying." Wexler and Walker's clients include Ball Aerospace & Technologies, Comcast, Nuclear Energy Institute, General Motors and Wyeth.

History
According to its website, Wexler and Walker staff have "worked on every major trade bill considered by Congress since 1983" including the North American Free Trade Agreement, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and trade relations with China.

Wexler and Walker state they "managed large grassroots campaigns to develop support for the trade generally, for NAFTA and GATT, and for the USA Engage (unilateral trade sanctions) project. As a result, we have developed an extensive network of relationships on key congressional committees that have jurisdiction over trade policy and international affairs".

According to their website, Wexler & Walker "assisted the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) in developing a grassroots campaign in support of Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China (PNTR). They have campaigned for China's Most Favoured Nation status.

"On behalf of our clients, we have stopped bad legislation in its tracks", Wexler and Walker boast on their website about their prowess in handling energy and environmental issues. Their "proven" track record in this area they state, is demonstrated by their unspecified work on:


 * Clean Air Act legislation
 * Superfund legislation
 * Clean Water legislation
 * National Energy Policy Act
 * Hydroelectric Licensing Reform
 * Regulatory Reform legislation
 * Property Rights
 * Land use and development near Federal lands
 * Product liability
 * Electric Utility Restructuring legislation
 * Clean Air/Particulate Matter and Ozone regulations
 * Clean Air/New Source Review regulations
 * Alaska National Wildlife Refuge
 * Alaska Clean Coal Technology Project

Clients
Wexler and Walker state that it has "represented foreign and domestic clients on a host of business, trade, and international affairs issues". On its website it has a 'representative' list of current and former clients which includes:


 * ABB
 * Advanced Navigation & Positioning Corporation
 * AES Ironwood
 * Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.
 * AlliedSignal
 * Alaska, State of
 * Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
 * Alliance USA
 * America Leads on Trade
 * American Airlines
 * American Association of Airport Executives
 * American Association of Retired Persons
 * American-Australian Free Trade Agreement Coalition
 * American Bar Association
 * American Coalition for Trade Expansion with Canada
 * American Forest & Paper Association
 * American Dental Association
 * American Dietetic Association
 * American Home Products Corporation
 * American Institute for Foreign Study
 * American Insurance Association
 * American Mobile Satellite Corporation
 * American Public Transit Association
 * American Trucking Association
 * Amgen
 * Analytical Graphics
 * Anheuser-Busch Company, Inc.
 * Association of American Railroads
 * AstroVision
 * AT&T
 * Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO)
 * Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica
 * Blue Shield of California
 * BP
 * Breitling USA
 * British Airways
 * British Columbia, Province of
 * BC Hydro and Power Authority
 * BF Goodrich
 * Burger King Corporation
 * The Business Roundtable
 * California Correctional Peace Officers Association
 * Cargo Airline Association
 * Caterpillar, Inc.
 * Catholic Health Association of the United States
 * Center for Energy & Economic Development
 * Century Council, USA
 * chaotic.com
 * Chattanooga Metro Airport Authority
 * Chicago Transit Authority
 * Children's Television Workshop
 * Coalition to Eliminate Abusive Securities Suits
 * Columbia Univ. - Lamont Doherty Geol. Observatory
 * Comcast Corporation
 * Command Security
 * Consortium of State Maritime Schools
 * Coopers & Lybrand
 * Crow Tribe
 * CSX Corporation
 * DCH Technologies
 * Defense Rations Manufacturers Association
 * Digimarc
 * DigitalGlobe (Earthwatch)
 * Digital Media Association
 * Dreamtime
 * Drexler Technology Corporation
 * Eastman Kodak Company
 * Edison International
 * Electric Fuels
 * Electronic Industries Alliance
 * Eli Lilly
 * Evergreen International Aviation
 * FirstEnergy Corporation
 * First Hartford Realty
 * Florida Hospital Group
 * Florida Space Authority
 * Foothills Pipe Lines, Ltd.
 * General Motors Corporation
 * Greater Des Moines Area Chamber of Commerce
 * Guardian Industries
 * Heinz Family Foundation
 * Hoffmann-Laroche
 * Hong Kong Trade and Development Council
 * Hydroelectric Licensing Reform Task Force
 * ImmuCell
 * Immunex Corporation
 * IMS Health
 * Insurance Information Institute
 * Intermountain Rural Electric Association
 * InVision
 * Ionosphere Technologies
 * Iowa State University
 * Johnson & Johnson Company
 * Joslin Diabetes Center
 * JP Morgan
 * Kaiser Ventures
 * Kansas City Southern Industries, Inc.
 * Kiboga Systems
 * Lincoln Airport Authority
 * Lockheed Martin Corporation
 * Lumber Coalition
 * MacArthur Foundation
 * Mammoth Mountain
 * Martek Biosciences
 * Martin-Baker Aircraft
 * Massachusetts Biotechnology Research Institute
 * Massachusetts Center for Excellence Corporation
 * MetPath, Inc.
 * MCA, Incorporated
 * MCI
 * Midwest Express Airlines
 * Ministry of Environment, Catalonia Spain
 * Mitre Corporation
 * Mobile Satellite Ventures
 * Monet Mobile (Burst Wireless)
 * Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, Discover & Co.
 * Motion Picture Association of America
 * Museum of the American Indian-Heye Foundation
 * Music Educators National Conference
 * NAMM-International Music Products Association
 * National Air Traffic Controllers Association
 * National Association of Social Workers
 * National Association of Community Health Centers
 * National Cable Television Association
 * National Energy Security Coalition
 * National Foreign Trade Council
 * National Gypsum Company
 * National Hydrogen Association
 * National Stone Association
 * NetChoice
 * Network Solutions / VeriSign
 * New England Aquarium
 * New England Electric System
 * Newspaper Association of America
 * NovaCare, Inc.
 * Oceanic Institute
 * Ogden Products
 * O'Hare Airport
 * Oracle Corporation
 * Orange County School District
 * Orbitz
 * Oregon, State of
 * Owens Corning
 * P. H. Glatfelter
 * PacifiCare
 * PaineWebber
 * Pew Charitable Trust
 * Pitney Bowes
 * Port Authority of Allegheny County
 * Portland General Electric
 * Powerex
 * Promontory Financial Group
 * Prudential Securities
 * Raytheon Company
 * Recording Industry Association of America
 * Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
 * Rocket Development Company
 * Rosemount Estates
 * Rosenbaum Trust
 * SAIC
 * Safe Building Alliance
 * Sallie Mae
 * The Science Coalition
 * Sechan Electronics
 * SEGA of America
 * SI International
 * SITA
 * SpaceDev
 * Susan B. Komen Foundation
 * Shivwitz Band
 * Suntex International
 * Taser International
 * Telstra
 * Texas A&M University
 * Titan Corporation
 * Trimble Navigation
 * Union Camp Corporation
 * United Ostomy Association
 * United Parcel Service
 * University of Maine
 * Univision Communications Inc.
 * US Bioscience
 * U.S. Chamber of Commerce
 * USA*ENGAGE
 * USA NAFTA
 * Vermont Student Assistance
 * Virginia's Center for Innovative Technologies
 * Visa
 * Wasatch Front Regional
 * Wenner Media, Inc.
 * Whirlpool, Inc.
 * Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
 * Washington Consulting Group
 * The Washington Post
 * The Williams Companies
 * Wyeth-Ayerst
 * XM Satellite Radio
 * youbet.com

Wexler are currently running the campaign for the American-Australian Free Trade Agreement Coalition (AAFTAC), a US-based business lobby group promoting the negotiation of a free trade agreement with Australia. "The coalition and trade team at Wexler & Walker started in 2001 to build the U.S. business coalition -- AAFTAC -- supporting an FTA with Australia", its website states. In 2002, Anne Wexler was made an honorary member of the Order of Australia.

The State of Alaska hired Wexler and Walker to lobby to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration. 

Contact information
The Wexler Group 1317 F Street, NW Suite 600 Washington, DC 20004 Tel: 202-638-2121 Fax Number 202.638.7045 Web: http://www.wexlergroup.com

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Bud Cramer
 * Government-industry revolving door
 * Lobbying

External articles

 * John Garnaut and Marian Wilkinson, "Plum jobs for US trade deal advisers," Sydney Morning Herald, July 27, 2004.
 * "Ken Silverstein, "The Small World of Lobbyist Ann Wexler", Multinational Monitor, May 1998, Volume 19, Number 3.
 * Ken Silverstein, "A Tough Act to Follow, Mother Jones, April 28, 1998.
 * Ken Silverstein, "Counting on Your Friends", Mother Jones, April 28, 1998.
 * Ken Silverstein, "A Lobby Shop's Bottom Line, Mother Jones, April 28, 1998.
 * Elizabeth Drew, "The Corruption of American Politics", The Overlook Press, 1999. (Drew, a correspondent for New Yorker magazine, interviewed Wexler part of which is recounted in this chapter posted to the web. The extract relates to the rise of PAC's and their influence on American politics).
 * Larry Persily, "Alaska counting votes for ANWR", Petroleum News, September 28, 2003, page 4.
 * Public Citizen, "Delay, Dilute and Discard: How the Airline Industry and the FAA Have Stymied Aviation Security Recommendations", October 2001. (There is a passing mention of Ann Wexler as lobbyist for American Airlines).
 * Public Citizen, "How Special Interests Make Law: GAF Corporation Tries to Buy Liability Protection From Asbestos Claims", undated, accessed February 15, 2004. (Wexler and Walker are listed as having received $80,000 from GAF on asbestos-related work).
 * Anne Wexler, "U.S. Lobbying and the AUSFTA", Late Night Live, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, February 17, 2004
 * Hamilton Nolan, "ANALYSIS Corporate Case Study: Taser facing uphill battle to safeguard its image", PR Week, May 9 2005. (Sub req'd.)
 * David R. Sands, "Famed lobbyist Anne Wexler dies of cancer," Washington Times, August 7, 2009.