Industry Expertise

Healthcare

QGA has a robust healthcare practice. Our healthcare team guides clients through complex regulatory and legislative challenges. We also help clients by leveraging our experience and contacts with key committees in Congress, the White House, Office of Management & Budget, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service. QGA has represented the entire sector of healthcare interests, including large employers, hospital systems, long term care providers, insurers, and drug and biotech companies.

Energy & The Environment

With climate and energy issues at the top of the national agenda, a growing number of energy-related trade associations and companies have turned to QGA for our issue expertise. QGA has played an integral role in shaping many important issues—climate change legislation; energy reliability and infrastructure; expansion of biofuels; and renewable energy standards.

International Governments

QGA has helped heads of state, ministry officials and ambassadors from an array of regions with services ranging from campaign strategy to government affairs to media relations.We have worked on behalf of clients in Africa, Asia, the Balkans, Central America, Western Europe and Southeast Asia. QGA has provided government relations services to sovereign entities on issues including EU accession, NATO accession and trade and investment-related issues. We assist clients in outreach to key policymakers in the foreign affairs arena, including at the Commerce Department, State Department, Treasury Department, Office of the United States Trade Representative, the National Security Council, Congress and international community representatives.

Trade

QGA has been a pivotal partner to clients in some of the largest cross-border transactions involving the United States, ranging from mergers and acquisitions, trade dispute resolution, anti-trust investigations and corporate positioning. Through our unique approach, combining expertise in communications, strategy and government relations, we have ensured our clients’ interests have been accurately presented to the U.S. Government, shareholders and key industry stakeholders on critical efforts including Bilateral Investment Treaties (BIT), Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFA). We also have successfully advised our clients throughout the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review process to gain approval on the merits of each deal.

Financial Services

QGA has represented a broad range of financial services clients including insurance companies, banks, hedge funds and other stakeholders. Most of our professionals have been and are involved with multiple financial services clients – as such we have deep familiarly with most of the relevant Administration officials, regulators, congressional committees and issues.

Transportation

QGA has represented leading transportation companies before the Department of Transportation and its agencies, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and with Members of Congress particularly interested in automotive, rail, maritime and aviation issues. In addition to helping clients address policy concerns, we have helped them showcase and educate key policymakers about safety, security, environmental readiness and innovation.

Tax Policy

QGA has extensive experience with the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees. We have had numerous successes on tax policy, including deductibility of mortgage insurance premiums, earnings strippings and repatriation.

Telecommunications

QGA has offered strategic guidance to a variety of clients on telecom and spectrum policy. We have relationships with FCC, Administration and congressional telecom policymakers. We have delivered valuable analysis, insight, and forward-thinking intelligence on telecom policy and Internet regulation, spectrum allocation wars and broadband issues.

Technology

QGA has worked with large and small technology companies and understands the unique nature of the issues faced by the high-tech community, having worked with several technology firms – both large and small – and industry coalitions, including Americans for Computer Privacy which successfully reformed U.S. export control policy. The firm also worked with the online advertising industry to help forge landmark self-regulatory privacy principles for online preference marketing.

Food & Agriculture

QGA has worked with food and agriculture companies on a diverse range of issues. We have represented some of America’s largest food processors and retailers on matters including food safety, tax, employment law and farm programs. We have also worked with coalitions of smaller agricultural producers to protect their interests at the federal and state levels. As in other areas, QGA’s work in this sector has involved both political and communications counsel focused on achieving tangible results for our clients.

Education & The Workforce

QGA has assisted in the development of a number of critical education and workforce initiatives including pension, tax reform and appropriations-related matters. Our professionals have significant experience working on behalf of our science and education related clients, as well as several top federal student loan program participants. QGA has in recent years represented three of the leading student loan companies, and a coalition of universities in retaining a provision related to the school as lender program. The firm also played a lead role in a campaign advocating the need for education reform. 

Intellectual Property & Antitrust

We advise clients on IP-related antitrust issues and have been involved in lobbying efforts at the government level on behalf of clients in connection with trademarks, patents and other intellectual property.

Oversight & Investigations

QGA offers clients unmatched capabilities when it comes to dealing with one of the more daunting processes of the federal government: the oversight and investigations process. The firm has acute appreciation for the unusual dynamics involved in a government investigation and understands that all business aspects—legal, internal communications, investor/shareholder relations, external communications, media, and government relations/advocacy—need to be carefully and strategically coordinated.

 

top
Lawsuit abuse in various state courts led a large business federation to call on QGA to manage its Class Action Reform Coalition. With QGA’s leadership, ground-breaking legislation was passed, allowing interstate class action lawsuits to be moved from state to federal court. This was a significant step in the effort to combat lawsuit abuse.
On behalf of the membership organization representing U.S. composers, songwriters, lyricists and music publishers, QGA has been instrumental in raising awareness of the organization and its focus on intellectual property issues among key lawmakers on Capitol Hill. For the past five years, QGA has organized, managed and executed a major two day fly-in event for the group. QGA also helped the organization host a high-profile “Songwriter Night” evening event which featured named entertainers, government officials and the media.
QGA provides public relations, coalition management and government relations services to a non-profit organization of more than 40 of the leading research universities in the U.S. who work to expand and strengthen federal government investment in basic research. QGA executes Capitol Hill and media events and outreach, writes and distributes materials, maintains the group’s web site and provides administrative support.
QGA has worked on behalf of one of the world's largest food processors on the company’s communications and public policy challenges for a number of years. The firm was first retained to assist with communications challenges surrounding a successful defense against federal charges in a highly-publicized immigration case. In the ensuing years, QGA has assisted this client on matters as diverse as food safety, charitable giving, international trade, biofuel issues and country of origin labeling.
QGA worked for a multinational technology company to successfully change a “pay for” considered for inclusion in the Farm Bill of 2008. The provision was intended to target “treaty shopping” and “tax havens” by forcing multinational companies to pay holding-company-physical-domicile rates instead of treaty rates.
A major technology company was competing with a well-financed, politically connected competitor lobbying Congress and the FCC to force the sharing of exclusive spectrum bandwidth — and to do so at no cost. Over the course of four years, QGA successfully defeated more than 10 attempts to include spectrum sharing language in various pieces of legislation. In the end, the competitor was defeated.
QGA successfully worked on behalf of a major U.S. multinational technology firm to pass a one-time exemption for foreign income repatriated to the U.S. This protected the company from the higher tax rate that otherwise would have been due on repatriated foreign funds.
Since 2001, QGA has worked with one of the nation’s largest real estate trade associations on a range of issues, including advocating for creative tax incentives to spur home buying in the current economic crisis and health care policies affecting the self-employed.
QGA worked on behalf of a major U.S. airline to help ensure that an attempted take-over by a rival airline. A bi-partisan lobbying team from QGA helped develop a strategic plan for the House and Senate, worked with committee staff and individual members to help shape the Congressional hearings and conducted an intensive outreach effort on Capitol Hill to educate Members of Congress about the problems associated with the take-over proposal.
QGA advised a large automaker as Congress worked out details of the CAFE standards in the 2007 energy bill (H.R. 6), a difficult but balanced compromise to reduce the auto industry's carbon footprint. QGA helped the automaker engage in the legislative process to work on the common goal of lessening America’s dependence on foreign oil while preserving American jobs and maintaining consumer choice.
Since the founding of our firm in 2000, QGA has worked for a leading provider of industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services. Over the years, our work has included helping to position the company as a responsible player amidst a difficult reputational and regulatory environment for the industry, and providing strategic assistance, communications support and direct lobbying at the SEC and on Capitol Hill.
A trade dispute involving the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world led a natural resources client to call upon QGA for strategic advice. QGA represented this client on Capitol Hill and helped advocate their position before key U.S. policymakers. After years of negotiations, a long term trade agreement was reached in 2006.
QGA advised and supported a European government in pursuing a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and Visa Waiver Program with the United States to demonstrate continued bilateral interests. QGA provided communications services and outreach to the U.S. business community for this country’s prime minister, who wanted to attract investment and create a stable business climate in his country. QGA also advises the country’s ambassador in his work with the National Security Council, the Department of State and Congress as he works for successful resolution of an issue currently being mediated by the United Nations.
A large energy and power company was faced with billions of dollars in costs to rebuild damaged power lines in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Working together with QGA, the company made a compelling case to Congress and the Administration that federal support was appropriate. The company was awarded funds to rebuild its damaged infrastructure in the region.
QGA worked on behalf of a coalition of 40 coal producers, utilities, and railroads to promote the group's interests before Congress during consideration of climate change legislation. QGA oversaw the launch of the coalition, successfully promoting the rollout of its policy principles to Capitol Hill. QGA effectively worked on behalf of the coalition to promote climate change legislation that balances environmental and economic concerns.
QGA developed and implemented a successful strategy to handle Congressional oversight hearings for a long-term care insurance company. QGA helped raise the company’s profile with key decision makers at the Department of Health and Human Services, within the presidential campaigns and in Congress.
On behalf of a multi-hospital healthcare system, QGA worked successfully to extend financial relief to certain hospitals affected by the Medicare “imputed rural floor wage” index formula. This CMS regulation will allow these hospitals to more fairly compete for patients and employees with hospitals in neighboring states.