It’s good to be an appropriator, or better yet, an appropriations staffer.  

Shockey Scofield Solutions, a growing lobbying firm founded by former House Appropriations Committee aides, has added Martin Delgado, the staff director for the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee as a principal. As our colleague Kate Ackley reports, the firm is one of several smaller lobbying shops enjoying a growth period , even as the big firms see a decline in business.  

Delgado, who was the subcommittee’s main man for six years, joins a firm helmed by Jeff Shockey and John Scofield, both former longtime House Appropriations senior aides. Maybe all the scorn heaped on the purse-keepers by the tea party over the past couple of years hasn’t changed the fact that people who know what they’re talking about when it comes to federal spending are in high demand.  

Delgado has also worked for the House Military Construction-VA Appropriations Subcommittee and the Senate Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee. He began his career back in 1989 at the Agriculture Department as a budget analyst, according to the firm’s announcement of his hire.  

“We couldn’t be happier for Delgado to join our team. His knowledge of FDA, food and agriculture policy is unparalleled in this town. There is a lot of opportunity in the FDA and food arenas and Delgado’s expertise and experience will enable us to maximize those opportunities,” Shockey said in the release.