In 2015, Congress approved the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Pub. L. No. 114-94), legislation reauthorizing the nation’s transportation programs.  Working on behalf of Intoximeters, Inc., the nation’s largest manufacturer of alcohol breath testing equipment, the Bockorny Group overcame opposition from the powerful Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to successfully add legislative language into the FAST Act creating parity between the ignition interlock devices and 24/7 Sobriety Programs.  This legislative change removed impediments preventing states from implementing alternative sobriety programs featuring ignition interlock devices to combat impaired driving and permitted states to receive federal grants to add 24/7 as an option to impaired driving countermeasure programs.

Prior to 2014, individuals with disabilities were unable to proactively save money in saving accounts without threatening the loss of their Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and other beneficiary employment benefits. Numerous attempts were made in previous Congresses to pass legislation creating a tax-free saving account for Individuals with disabilities. However, despite bipartisan support, these efforts fell short as the proposal never achieved the momentum necessary to be reported out of the respective tax-writing committees.

In 2014, The National Down Syndrome Society retained the Bockorny Group to develop and implement a broad-based advocacy and grassroots campaign to pass the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act. After collecting 380 cosponsors in the House and 78 in the Senate, the ABLE Act was signed into law in December 2014. Today, parents of/and people with disabilities are able to use a tax-free savings account cover qualified disability expenses such as education, housing and transportation.

In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the market dried up for commercial insurance to protect companies against losses from terrorist attacks exposing businesses to billions of dollars in potential losses. The Bockorny Group organized and led a 75-member coalition of Fortune 500 companies and business associations and pushed for the creation of a federal reinsurance backstop to cap insurance company losses and allow the insurance market to function. Despite conservative opposition, we have been able to win repeated Congressional approval of legislation ensuring terrorism risk insurance coverage is available to the business community.

In response to the 2010 Wall Street “Flash Crash” and the release of award-winning author Michael Lewis’ book, Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt, our firm developed a robust education, public relations, and digital campaign for a leading proprietary trading firm promoting the liquidity and pricing benefits of high-speed, electronic trading.

Moreover, the Bockorny Group was instrumental in the creation of the Modern Market Initiative (MMI), a coalition of quantitative trading firms, which today is recognized as the leading education and advocacy organization for the industry.  As a result of these efforts, needless and counterproductive legislation and regulations have been avoided.

Privatizing the country’s air traffic control system (ATC) has been a long-held goal of the influential commercial airline industry.  In 2017, House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) introduced Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization legislation (H.R.2997) containing language handing over control of the ATC system to a private, non-profit corporation effectively controlled by commercial airline companies and other groups aligned with them. Compounding the problem for opponents of ATC privatization, President Trump embraced the concept as part of his overall plan to boost infrastructure.

Concerned that ATC privatization could result in restrictions to general aviation access to airports and airspace and burdensome user fees, the Bockorny Group worked with the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) to help craft and execute a multi-pronged advocacy campaign to defeat the proposal.  Using a combination of traditional lobbying, grassroots, and a comprehensive communications campaign, the initiative successfully cast doubt on the alleged benefits of ATC privatization resulting in waning Congressional support.  In March of 2017, Chairman Shuster conceded defeat and removed the ATC privatization language from the FAA package.