Maybe Just Name the Building's Lobby After Her?

Smith and USAA said the donation to Smith had nothing to do with the legislation. USAA noted that Krier is a state lobbyist, not a federal one, and does not decide which federal officeholders get donations. A Smith spokeswoman said that the congressman had not even been aware of the contribution until he was contacted by The Washington Post.

Besides, Smith surely knows what's right and wrong on these sorts of questions. In 1999 and 2000, he chaired the House's ethics committee.

Nevertheless, the bill has been returned to a Senate subcommittee for closer examination. We'll keep an eye on it, too.

No Sorrows to Drown on K

Attacks on lobbyists from the presidential campaign trail have not soured the spirits of K Street. Quite the contrary.

A couple of weeks ago, the Raben Group, a fast-growing Democratic lobbying firm, held its annual celebration at the Park at Fourteenth. It drew 650 people, many of them congressional staffers, for a night of dancing and drinking.

The featured drink: the Rabentini, a sweet combination of orange vodka, orange juice, Grand Marnier and Sprite.

Hires of the Week

Two lobbying firms have lured senior Democratic aides from Capitol Hill.

American Continental Group has hired Sheryl V. Cohen, the chief of staff to Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.). Until January, Cohen, 41, managed Dodd's unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The health-care lobbying firm Tarplin, Downs & Young has grabbed Michelle Easton, 40, the chief health staffer to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.). She has been a congressional aide, on and off, since 1995. For part of 2005, she worked as a vice president for the main drug lobby, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.