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James A. Sartucci

Jim Sartucci, a government affairs counselor in the firm's Washington, D.C. office, has over a decade of experience lobbying federal agencies (especially the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Maritime Commission, Maritime Administration, and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) and the Congress on behalf of a wide variety of clients. He has extensive experience working with clients in the maritime, transportation, fisheries, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export industries.

Jim is recognized as one of a handful of maritime policy experts in Washington, D.C. and has been involved in the development and enactment of virtually all significant maritime legislation since 1994. He coordinated an industry coalition that led to enactment of reforms to Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund spending and is a key member of another industry coalition advocating for reforming the regulation of ballast water and discharges incidental to the normal operation from commercial vessels. He has successfully advocated on behalf of several individual clients on a wide variety of policy and legislative matters.

During his Congressional staff career, Jim played an integral role in enacting significant authorizing legislation for nearly every mode of transportation. This includes establishing and reauthorizing the Maritime Security Program, reforming ocean shipping regulation, enacting multiple Water Resources Reform and Development Acts, comprehensive surface transportation authorization bills, Federal Aviation Administration and NASA reauthorization bills, and enacting pipeline safety, Amtrak reauthorization, and rail infrastructure bills. He also helped negotiate and shepherd through the Congress legislation establishing the Department of Homeland Security, several Maritime Transportation Security Acts, natural disaster preparedness and response reform legislation, the establishment of offshore oil production revenue sharing with coastal states, and two reauthorizations of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act.

Prior to joining the firm, Jim spent nine years as Legislative Director for Senator Trent Lott (R-MS), during which he advised the Senator on a wide range of legislative activities and negotiated several bills that were enacted into law. He developed considerable experience in the areas of maritime and other modes of transportation, land and water resources infrastructure, appropriations, disaster preparedness and response, energy, environment, and telecommunications policy.

From 1994 through 1998, Jim also served as a Professional Staff Member and Coast Guard Fellow on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, where he was the lead staff member for merchant marine and maritime issues and legislation and supported the Committee’s work on Coast Guard, oceans, and fisheries issues and legislation.

Jim spent 17 years as a commissioned officer in the United States Coast Guard, holding a variety of operational and staff assignments during that time, including six years of sea duty.

  • U.S. Chamber of Commerce Transportation, Infrastructure, and Logistics Committee, Member
  • Propeller Club of the Port of Washington DC Board of Governors, Member
  • National Waterways Conference Board of Directors, Member
  • “Navigating Waterways Policy in the 115th Congress”, 2017 National waterways Conference Legislative Summit, Washington, DC, March 7, 2017
  • Speaker, “Elections’ Wake…Opportunities and Challenges in a New Washington,” Great Lakes Waterways Conference, February 14, 2017
  • Panel moderator, “Vessel Design,” Regulation, Policy and Technology: Next Steps, LNG As Fuel Seminar, Seattle, WA, January 29, 2014
  • "Navigating Waterways Policy in the 113th Congress," National Waterways Conference Legislative Summit, Washington, DC, March 13, 2013
  • "2012 Election Analysis," National Waterways Conference monthly meeting, Washington, DC, November 15, 2012
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