Help With the Nitty-Gritty

The Akin Gump team's Republicans included Lauch Faircloth , former senator from North Carolina; Bill Paxon , former House member from New York; Travers Garvin , a former congressional staffer; Jeffrey D. McMillen , a former House Ways and Means subcommittee staff director; and Ladd A. Wiley , former counselor to then-Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson .

Thompson, now a partner at Akin Gump, was not part of the lobby team.

The Democratic lobbyists included Victor H. Fazio , former House member from California; Joel Jankowsky , a former aide to former House speaker Carl Albert ; Jorge Lopez Jr. , legal adviser to President Bill Clinton; and J. David Carlin , former assistant secretary for congressional relations at the Department of Agriculture.

The main issue is over for now. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a rule that was "less severe in cuts" than the original proposal, Jankowsky said.

But there are other potential CMS rules that may attract industry attention, he added.

Here and There

Faryar Shirzad left the White House last week for Goldman Sachs, where he's the new vice president and director of international policy. Shirzad was deputy assistant to President Bush and deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs; he was the president's representative to the Group of Eight.

Earlier, he was assistant secretary for import administration at the Commerce Department, international trade counsel for the Senate Finance Committee and a lawyer at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom .

Also on the move around town . . . Christopher Bowlin has signed on with the American Medical Association as vice president for government affairs. He previously was at the MWW Group and the Health Insurance Association of America, the Department of Labor and the National Association of Manufacturers. Earlier he had been an aide to Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio).

Julia Gustafson , congressional liaison at the National Association of Realtors and earlier legislative director for Rep. Dennis Rehberg (R-Mont.), has joined EarthLink Inc. as director of congressional affairs.

Melissa Salmanowitz , who was a media strategist for the liberal watchdog group Media Matters for America, and more recently was at Burson-Marsteller , has joined M+R Strategic Services , a public affairs shop whose clients include the Save Darfur Coalition and DC Vote. At Media Matters, Salmanowitz helped lead the group's coverage of Pat Robertson's call for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.