William Pierce, senior vice president of APCO Worldwide, joined in 2005. Mr. Pierce specializes in providing strategic advice and counsel, tactical execution and representation to a wide range of clients facing challenging circumstances as well as great opportunity. He helps clients develop strategies and tactics that combine media relations, policy, advocacy and alliances in campaigns to achieve definable objectives. Areas of expertise include health care reform, policy development, the FDA regulatory process, Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP policy, public health, Bio-terrorism, the CDC and NIH. His work includes media relations, policy development, issues advocacy, message development, coalition and third party development and management and crisis communications.
Previous to joining APCO Worldwide, Bill served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) beginning in 2001. At HHS Bill had the unique opportunity to be at the forefront of some of the country’s most challenging and unexpected health policy and public health debates. Beginning with President Bush’s 2001 announcement regarding a new stem cell policy, the 9/11 and anthrax attacks, through the Medicare debate, passage and implementation, to the flu shortage and the debate over Medicaid reform, Bill stood at the frontlines as the spokesman for HHS and one of HHS’ key public affairs advisors.
Pierce received his appointment to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA) as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs in June 2001 after serving for four and one-half years with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) as Director, Public Affairs. Previous to working at BCBSA he served three and one half years as the Press Secretary for Congressman Bill Thomas (R-CA). Prior to joining Rep. Thomas’ staff, Pierce was Press Secretary for then Rep. (now Senator) Olympia Snowe (R-ME). Before working on the Hill, Bill was Director of Communications for the National Taxpayers Union, an Account Executive for Hill & Knowlton and a Research Associate with Government Research Corporation. He began his career in Washington as a Research Analyst for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
At HHS, Bill was responsible for managing the press, speechwriting and Freedom of Information Offices. His duties included helping to develop strategic and tactical media strategies and messages. He was a spokesman for HHS and HHS Secretaries Tommy G. Thompson and Michael O. Leavitt. Bill was the ASPA liaison with several key HHS agencies including CMS, FDA, NIH, and CDC. He was also the ASPA representative on the Secretary’s Privacy Council, HIPAA Council, Global Health Policy Core Group and other ad hoc policy committees within the Office of the Secretary. Bill has been an official member of several US delegations to World Health Organization meetings and taken part in international trips including a 5-nation visit to Africa. Bill also was public affairs representative on two Better Benefits Tours in the summer of 2002 and 2003, four city tours promoting the need for better benefits in Medicare that included then FDA Commissioner Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., Surgeon General Richard Carmona, M.D., CDC Director, Julie Gerberding, M.D. and NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, M.D. During 2004, Bill acted as the temporary Director of the Public Affairs Office at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
At BCBSA, Bill was responsible for developing and implementing the Association’s strategic public affairs campaign for all advocacy and policy efforts. This included issue advocacy advertising campaigns, public opinion surveys and message development. Bill was the spokesman for the Washington office of BCBSA as well as a spokesperson for the entire Association.
In Rep. Thomas’ office, Pierce was his chief spokesman and press contact for Thomas in his role as Chairman of the Health Subcommittee of the Ways and Means Committee and Chairman of the House Oversight Committee. In Rep. Snowe’s office Bill was also the speechwriter.
Since 1988 Bill has attended all Republican national nominating conventions acting in various capacities. In 2008, Bill volunteered in the convention communications operations, in 2000 attended in his capacity as Director of Public Affairs for BCBSA. He has staffed Members of Congress in 1992 and 1996, worked with the National Young Republicans in 1996 and volunteered with the 1988 George Bush for President campaign. Bill has contributed chapters to the books, Communication in a Healthcare Crisis and Risky Business? PAC Decision-making in Congressional Elections.
Previous to coming to Capitol Hill Bill worked in the private sector focusing on legislative and political analysis developing experience in budget, tax, energy and defense policy as well as conducting political research.
Bill earned his Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Science and English and a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Pittsburgh. In 1998, he also earned the designation of Professional from the Academy for Healthcare Management. In 2000, Bill became a founding member of the George Mason University Mercatus Center’s Advisory Council for Capitol Hill Programs – a center providing educational programming on a wide
variety of issues to Capitol Hill staff and Members of Congress. Bill has been a volunteer mentor with the Hoop Dreams Foundation; a mentoring program for college-bound Washington, D.C., inner-city students.
Because of the insular nature of Washington politics, elected officials run the risk of losing sight of who is really in charge. Massachusetts voters reminded Washington what the answer is to that question. Voters are in charge.
So now what do Democrats and Republicans do when it comes to health care, which was on the verge of becoming law? While the path is still a bit cloudy, we should have a pretty good idea in the next 48-72 hours.
There are several paths they could travel.
• Drop health care reform altogether: highly unlikely. The president and Democrats have invested a huge amount of political capital in passing legislation. Dropping reform would be the equivalent of waving the white flag. Republicans would use their “victory” in defeating reform in the 2010 November elections as part of their attack on Democrats. There is this to also consider, many Democrats believe that the reason they lost the majority in the House of Representatives in 1994 was not because the Clinton health care bill was a weight around their necks, but was because they failed to pass the bill. If that’s true then surrendering now makes no sense.
• Bring the current Senate bill to a vote in the House paired with a reconciliation bill that reflects the results of the current House-Senate negotiations. This path is very unlikely. More and more moderate Democrats were expressing discomfort with the whole process before the election. With the election of Brown, opposition to such a move is growing, and I would guess privately they are concerned they could be the next Martha Coakley. There are also too many issues they could not settle (i.e. abortion, exact nature of exchanges, excise tax, etc.) through a reconciliation bill.
• Wait (a few weeks or months) and pull together a consensus bill that is directed at those with health insurance who felt they were getting nothing out of the current bill and move it forward. Such a bill would have to be much less expensive, and I mean much less. I’d also talk about the annual cost, not the 10-year cost. This strategy would likely happen as part of a bigger bill, or even as part of a couple bills, such as a jobs bill and/or reconciliation. This is the most likely path Democrats will follow. In President Obama’s first public reaction during an interview with ABC News he indicated this was the way forward. What will be interesting is watching what Republicans do. What path they will take, cooperate or continue to oppose.
For Sen.-elect Brown, he was clear in his campaign that he was not opposed to reform, what he was opposed to was the legislation under consideration in Washington. That bill is now no longer under consideration. So what does he think reform should look like? He has about a week or so to shape this debate. Once he is sworn in, his power and influence will begin to diminish as he makes choices and stakes out positions through his votes. What is also interesting and important—politics aside—when you look at policy issues there are many that Democrats and Republican generally agree on.
The basic political issues that will determine which path is followed are:
• For Democrats, the question is which choice will hurt less or conversely benefit them politically/electorally? Failing to pass a bill or passing a bill? Many Democrats feel they cannot let this issue go by given all they have staked on passing reform. The president, based on his most recent remarks, seems to fall into this category.
• For Republicans, it is a similar question: Do they genuinely cooperate on a consensus smaller bill, or do they continue to oppose? Which strategy helps them most at the polls in November?
If Republicans continue to oppose, Democrats could make them take some painful votes by teeing up the most popular provisions, i.e. the insurance reforms including eliminating pre-existing conditions clauses, for votes. So this decision will not be easy. Also, given that the Senate was where bi-partisanship was most likely, Democrats could pursue this route with not only the Senator-elect from Massachusetts, but also with Sens. Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins and Chuck Grassley and perhaps other wild cards such as Sens. George Voinovich, Lindsay Graham and John McCain.
The wild card is this: The wave Scott Brown rode into office is not a wave that Republicans control. While he rode the wave, he did so barely running as a Republican. This wave could change direction before next fall and/or it could throw the GOP off at any point.
Finally, Democrats are still working out what path to follow. Watching it unfold is similar to the various stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. While the political version is not exact there is still a process they must go through, which is why there is still discussion about trying to salvage the current bill despite the fact there is no way they can pass it. Some Democrats, specifically those on the far left have not yet accepted what happened and are in denial, others have moved on and are trying to figure out a bargain, while some are just plain angry and are looking for someone to blame. In the end, they’ll either accept what happened and move on to a new bill and path, or they won’t and health care will be dead for this year.
William Pierce is Senior Vice President for APCO Worldwide, Inc.
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