Healthcare Giants Dominate Lobbying in Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, healthcare profiteers top the list of the most aggressive spenders on lobbying in the state. In 2022, nearly $30 million was spent on direct healthcare lobbying, about $11 million was spent on Medicare and Medicaid, and over $13 million was spent on insurance lobbying. Together, that’s more than the total lobbying spending on energy, the state budget, and education combined.

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Pa. DEP and PUC heads keynote gas industry events

This fall, Blank Rome LLP, a Pennsylvania-based law and lobbying firm, held two events titled “Environmental Issues Affecting Midstream & Downstream Oil & Gas Development.” The events, one in Philadelphia and one in Harrisburg, were co-hosted by Hull & Associates, a shale oil and gas project management and consulting firm, and featured a slew of …

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Pennsylvania DEP Secretary Krancer exits through revolving door

Pennsylvania Secretary of Environmental Protection Michael Krancer announced last week that he was leaving the agency to lead the energy, petrochemical, and natural resources practice at Philadelphia-based law firm Blank Rome LLP, where he was a partner from 1992 to 1999. Krancer’s administration of the Department of Environmental Protection during the fracking boom was mired …

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New DEP water contamination policies (again) raise the specter of political interference

This past March, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection faced controversy when an e-mail leaked to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette revealed a new agency policy requiring any Marcellus Shale permitting or enforcement action to be approved by DEP executives and cleared by Secretary of Environmental Protection Michael Krancer. Under the new policy even notices of violation, …

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