Former U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela to lobby for Port of Corpus Christi on Capitol Hill

Editor's note: This article was edited after publication to clarify the current position of George P. Bush. Bush will continue serving as Texas Land Commissioner until early next year.

The Port of Corpus Christi Authority hired a lobbying firm that employs former U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, who gave up his congressional seat earlier this year, to push the port's legislative agenda on Capitol Hill.

The Brownsville Democrat represented the 34th Congressional District of Texas for nine years before resigning in March, opting not to finish his fourth term and to take a job at Akin Gump, a prominent lobbying firm in Washington.

Vela, 59, and two other lobbyists can advocate for bills relating to the environment, energy, maritime and fishing and economic development and will focus on the port’s transportation and infrastructure initiatives, according to lobbyist registration paperwork filed last month by the firm.

Ethics experts who spoke with the Caller-Times said Vela's shift from holding elected office to lobbying was not illegal unless he lobbied the House or Senate members. Lobbying regulations mean the former congressman is legally barred from lobbying Congress for a one-year "cooling-off" period.

He is, however, permitted to engage the Executive Branch.

The ethics experts said that "loophole" is a symptom of weak regulations governing when the country’s most pivotal and influential officials can lobby in Washington. They call it the "revolving door," referring to the continuous movement of high-level officials from public-sector jobs to private-sector jobs and vice versa.

"The 'revolving door' is one of the most pernicious influence-peddling tools available to wealthy special interests and corporations, especially," said Craig Holman, a government ethics lobbyist at the liberal watchdog group Public Citizen. "It is a rampant problem here on Capitol Hill."

The contact lists and prestige accrued during an elected official's time in Congress make them some of the most highly valued lobbyists in Washington, Holman said. That influence can be used to great effect on behalf of businesses, corporations or wealthy special interest groups.

"Former members of Congress are so valued as revolvers because they've got the connections on Capitol Hill that open doors and get returned phone calls that other lobbyists don't have," he said.

Regulations barring some officials from jumping into lobbying right after leaving the public sector exist, but they are "weak and full of holes," Holman said. The law states former House members must wait one year to engage in compensated lobbying efforts.

In an email to the Caller-Times, Vela said he would not be lobbying the House and Senate until April 2023, saying he takes "compliance obligations seriously and will continue to comply with applicable post-employment restrictions." By law, he would not engage Congress until March 2023.

Vela did not answer whether lobbying for the port was his only assignment with Akin Gump. Instead, he said that information would be disclosed in the firm's next quarterly disclosure in July.

In a heated meeting before Corpus Christi City Council this week, the longest-serving city-appointed port commissioner, David Engel, told city representatives he was confident the port would secure the remaining federal funding needed to complete the Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project.

In March, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers earmarked $157 million to finish the project, which began in May 2019 to widen and dredge the channel to a depth of 54 feet to accommodate larger vessels capable of carrying a greater amount and wider variety of goods.

The deepening is being done alongside the construction of the new Harbor Bridge, which will be tall enough for the larger vessels to clear the bridge.

What will Vela lobby for?

On April 19, the port authority voted to approve a services contract with Akin Gump for federal lobbying services from May 1, 2022, to April 30, 2023, for an amount not to exceed $186,000.

In a statement to the Caller-Times, a port spokesperson said the port retained Akin Gump for "their substantial experience in assisting entities such as the City of Houston and the Port of Long Beach in navigating the regulatory and political environment in Washington."

"With tens of billions of grant dollars appropriated under the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act at stake, the Port of Corpus Christi is establishing a world-class framework for large-scale carbon capture, use and storage, and hydrogen production hub status," the statement reads. "Akin Gump is assisting the Port of Corpus Christi in the pursuit of these highly competitive and coveted grant funds."

Questions sent to the spokesperson about the decision to hire Vela, who is the only Akin Gump lobbyist of three named in a contract approved by the port authority, were not answered.

Vela said his efforts would be focused on securing funding for port deepening and maintenance projects and "positioning the port for the energy transition," he wrote in an email to the Caller-Times.

The port's director of government affairs, Nelda Olivo, provided background to the port commissioners on the May 19 agenda item, saying the firm would advise the port authority on "all facets of the energy transition" and aid efforts to secure federal funding for port projects.

"The firm will also advocate PCCA’s energy transition goals to the Executive Branch, Members of Congress and Congressional committees of jurisdiction," Olivo wrote.

In the lobbying registration paperwork, Akin Gump stated Vela was one of three total lobbyists working on behalf of the Port of Corpus Christi Authority.

Holman said the other two lobbyists could be permitted to engage the House and Senate. The port spokesperson did not answer questions about this.

Who is Akin Gump?

Akin Gump is one of the most profitable and respected lobbying firms in the nation.

The firm has represented clients on both sides of the political spectrum and has employed many high-profile Texas officials over the years, including at one time Texas General Land Office Commissioner George P. Bush, former U.S. Rep. Joaquín Castro, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro and others.

"They definitely are one of the big dogs," said Dan Auble, a senior researcher at the nonprofit OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan organization that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying.

So far in 2022, Akin Gump was hired by 265 clients for a total amount of just over $13 million, according to OpenSecrets data. In 2021, the firm was paid more than $53.7 million by 264 clients for the entire year.

The port authority so far in 2022 has spent $160,000 in lobbying efforts, the nonprofit reported. In 2021, it spent $450,000 in total.

Similarities to former U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold?

Auble compared Vela's shift to lobbying to that of disgraced Corpus Christi congressman Blake Farenthold, a Republican who represented Texas' 27th Congressional District. That seat is currently held by U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Victoria.

Though Farenthold resigned under different circumstances than Vela, the two instances are similar in that the former representatives exited Congress and then picked up jobs to lobby for port authorities in South Texas.

Farenthold, who resigned amid sexual harassment allegations in 2018, took a job as a legislative liaison for The Calhoun Port Authority in Point Comfort, about 80 miles up the Texas coast from Corpus Christi.

"Blake Farenthold left (Congress) for a different reason," said Auble. "There was a big blowback about (his new job), which probably won't happen in this case. But it just struck me how similar their paths were."

Amid a Texas Open Meetings Act lawsuit accusing the Calhoun port of covertly hiring the former congressman, Farenthold resigned from the position the following year. (The Victoria Advocate, the newspaper that filed the lawsuit, reported an appellate court dismissed the lawsuit following his resignation.)

The two congressmen were able to lobby and avoid the one-year "cooling-off" period in different ways.

Because Farenthold was employed directly by the Calhoun Port Authority, the restrictive one-year period did not apply. That was because the restriction excludes employees or officials of federal, state or local governments.

Vela, conversely, is employed by a lobbying firm retained by the Port of Corpus Christi Authority. For the former Brownsville congressman, the one-year restriction only applies to the House and Senate — not the Executive Branch, Holman said.

Vela's time in the House

Vela served the heavily Hispanic, solidly blue 34th Congressional District of Texas for nine years before resigning in March.

In the summer of 2016, Vela captured national headlines when he voiced raw criticism of then-presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Speaking of Trump’s rhetoric on illegal immigration and plans to construct additional miles of border wall on the state’s southern border, Vela wrote a letter telling the real estate magnate to “Take your border wall and shove it up your ass."

In 2018, Vela notably sided with his more progressive colleagues in the House when he signed a letter opposing Speaker Nancy Pelosi's efforts to be reinstated as House speaker.

In 2019, Vela was tapped to serve on the prestigious Armed Services Committee, which was seen as a big get in South Texas because of the multiple military installations in the region.

A special election called to select Vela's successor in his district and finish the remainder of his term took place last week, pitting Republican candidate Mayra Flores against the leading Democrat, Dan Sanchez.

In an upset, Flores won the seat and will become the first Mexican-born woman in Congress. The GOP believes the win signals the party is making inroads in South Texas.

Vela, who handily won the district in 2020 by about 14 points, declined to comment on the special election's outcome.

Chase Rogers covers local government and industry in South Texas. Contact him at chase.rogers@caller.com or on Twitter @chasedrogers. You can support local journalism with a subscription to the Caller-Times. 

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Port of Corpus Christi hires former U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela as lobbyist