When Liz Fowler was rushing to the Senate floor one day on an urgent mission for Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), she forgot her jacket, preventing her from entering the chamber.

[IMGCAP(1)]“The floor staff wouldn’t let me on,” Fowler told Climbers in an e-mail. The Senator was nearby, however, and quickly offered Fowler his jacket.

But that wasn’t going to work.

“I’m sorry Senator, but then we wouldn’t allow YOU on the floor,” Fowler recalled the floor staff explaining to her boss.

“That was the last time I forgot my jacket,” the Wichita, Kan., native said.

Nevertheless, Fowler has been rehired by Baucus as the new senior counsel on the Senate Finance Committee, which he chairs. Fowler previously worked for the Senator on the Finance Committee from 2001 to 2005 as the chief health and entitlements counsel for the Democratic staff. In the interim before Baucus lured her back, she was vice president for public policy at WellPoint Inc., a health benefits company.

Her main issue in her new role will be health care reform.

Fowler has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University and a law degree from the University of Minnesota.

“I was grateful for the opportunity to work on the Hill before, and I am doubly grateful for the chance to come back,” she said.

Fowler’s first job out of college was with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — then the Health Care Financing Administration — as a Medicare analyst. She’s held numerous other jobs in both the public and private sectors. She practiced law at Hogan & Hartson, was a health services researcher at Health System Minnesota and worked as principal with the D.C.-based consulting shop Health Policy Alternatives.

Fowler’s earlier experience on the Hill includes work on the Finance Committee under then-Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) and on the Joint Economic Committee under Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.).

Her career goals are to “continue to work toward national health reform that provides universal coverage while also tackling issues related to cost and quality.”

“I have wanted to work on health policy, and more specifically health reform, since I was a sophomore in college and learned that the U.S. was the only developed country without a national health system,” she said.

Fowler belongs to the Capitol Hill Running Club, the D.C. Tri Club and the Y-Tri Club. She is married to Jon Rolfe, an attorney.

Guest Relations Guru. The Senate Republican Conference has a new staffer. Emily Hill will work on member and guest relations for the Conference. Hill, 22, is from Crossville, Tenn., and has a degree in journalism and electronic media from the University of Tennessee.

In her new role, she will work on legislative issues, compiling news articles and supervising and training interns.

She previously interned for Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and was an intern in the White House Office of Speechwriting.

[IMGCAP(2)]Her favorite political advice comes from Alexander’s “Little Plaid Book.”

“I highly recommend it,” she said.

From Intern to Staffer. Scott Stinson is the new executive assistant for Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.). He previously served as an intern for Moore and also has experience working on campaigns and with the Kansas Democratic Party.

“My staff is made up of very talented and dedicated people who work very well as a team,” Moore said in a statement. “I’ve known Scott for several years and I’m confident that his enthusiasm and dedication will make him an excellent addition to our team.”

Stinson earned a degree in international relations from the College of William & Mary in 2005. In his spare time, he volunteers with the D.C. Urban Debate League, a program aimed at helping middle and high school students improve their reading, writing and speaking skills. He also enjoys running and being outside “as much as possible.”

The 23-year-old is from Overland Park, Kan.

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