GekeVenn: AARP

The AARP, which used to be known as the American Association of Retired Persons, is known for lobbying heavily for government programs that benefit its membership, namely Social Security, Medicare, and the Older Americans Act (which funds services like meals and caregiving for the elderly).

This particular interest group focuses primarily on government appropriations via the two Congressional Appropriations Committees (House and Senate). Bills passed in these committees determine how much money the federal government spends on various programs and the AARP has a lot of influence with appropriations, including two former Appropriations Committee staffers that now work in-house: Timothy Gearan and Beverly Gilyard.

Gearan is described in AARP media as the organization's appropriations lobbyist. He assisted Senator DeConcini (D, AZ) on the Senate Appropriations Commitee for eight years and points out on his LinkedIn page one highlight of his time with the Senate: “managed $2.6 billion Social Security taxation amendment to 1993 Budget Act – key vote leading to enactment of Clinton balanced-budget agreement.” Similarly, Gilyard's bio describes her work on the House Appropriations Committee: “[S]he authored legislation, secured millions in appropriations for district/state projects, [and] developed and implemented legislative strategies.”

It can't be stressed enough that lobbyists for special interest groups -- like Beverly Gilyard -- actually write much of our federal legislation.

Another AARP in-house lobbyist, Joyce Rogers, fails to disclose whom she worked for in Congress, and there's good reason for that. It turns out her former boss was Representative Corrine Brown, who faced federal indictment for running a fraudulent charity, the One Door for Education Foundation. Instead of using the foundation's funds as scholarships to underprivileged students, Brown used the funds personally, depositing much of it in her own bank account. In 2017, Brown was convicted on 18 of the 22 corruption charges facing her. She continues to receive her Congressional pension while in a Florida prison.

Also of note is Blake Kelly, the former Associate Director of the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee. This Congressional committee exists to facilitate meetings between lobbyists or businesspeople and Senate Democrats.

And finally, in-house lobbyist Rhonda Richards worked directly on the Senate Aging Subcommittee, to which she now regularly testifies on behalf of the AARP.