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Gregory D. Burns

Vice President

Greg Burns is a Vice President at Van Scoyoc Associates with an extensive background in lobbying and politics, experience in a wide range of issues, an insider’s view of the legislative process, and contacts throughout Washington.

Representing local and regional government entities and non-profits is a particular interest of Mr. Burns, and it fits well with his emphasis on forging personal connections with his clients and people in government.

“I like to spend a lot of time during the initial phases of a relationship, learning about my clients and their specific challenges. I need to know a community or non-profit well before representing it,” he said.

That attention to detail pays off in many ways. “I value the personal ties with my clients that develop over time and generally become very strong,” Mr. Burns said.

Mr. Burns lobbies Congress and the Executive Branch on issues such as Federal funding, water resources, transportation, economic development, public safety, and not-for-profit issues. His clients come from states as diverse as California, Florida, Oregon, and Texas.

Mr. Burns believes that policy or programmatic victories can often have a bigger impact on a community than a simple Federal earmark.  And over the last few years, as earmarks have fallen out of favor, Mr. Burns’ approach has been validated.

For example, he worked with one client to secure a two-year extension of the Preferred Risk Policy (PRP) rate for residents who must purchase new Federal flood insurance.  With more than 8,000 new residences in the flood plain and PRP rates at least $1,000 lower than regular flood insurance rates, the community may save nearly $16 million in collective flood insurance premiums over two years.

In another example, he assisted a client in successfully securing $2,941,500 from a Department of Energy competitive grant program to create a local Solar and Energy Efficiency revolving loan program.  As another client summarizes, their “successes with the Federal government can be directly attributable to the efforts of Mr. Burns.”

In the House of Representatives, Mr. Burns served on the legislative staff of former Rep. Darlene Hooley of Oregon, where he was responsible for telecommunications, health care, campaign finance reform, judiciary, and science. He also worked in the fields of financial services, transportation, foreign affairs, defense, and the environment during his time on the Hill.

Outside of Congress, Mr. Burns implemented and executed a lobbying agenda for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group in Washington, D.C. Before joining Van Scoyoc Associates, Mr. Burns was a lobbyist with Marlowe & Company, also in Washington, helping that company grow substantially.

Mr. Burns graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts in Government and English, where he mixed his interest in campaign finance reform with a lifelong love of 20th century literature.