Why It Matters

The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village terminated its lobbying relationship with Dennis M. Hertel & Associates, according to a first-quarter 2026 LDA termination filing signed April 30. The lobbying client termination was effective January 1, 2026, closing out a relationship that dates to 2003. The Dearborn, Michigan, museum paid Hertel's firm a total of roughly $665,000 over the course of the relationship, though the retainer had shrunk considerably in recent years. From 2016 through 2024, the museum paid a steady $5,000 per quarter. In 2025, that dropped to a single $5,000 payment in the first quarter before going to zero.

The Henry Ford was not a major revenue driver for the firm. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the firm's other client, historically billed at $40,000 per quarter, dwarfing the museum's modest retainer. With the LDA filing termination now on record, the museum represents the second of the firm's two known clients to show a zero-dollar filing in the first quarter of 2026, leaving the firm's active revenue picture notably thin.

The museum did not wait for the Greenfield Village lobbying relationship to end before lining up a replacement. Van Scoyoc Associates Inc. registered as a new client in the first quarter of 2025 and billed $10,000 in the third quarter of that year, $30,000 in the fourth quarter, and another $30,000 in the first quarter of 2026, for a total of $70,000 since the relationship began.

Broader Context

The original and most specific work Dennis M. Hertel & Associates performed for the museum was lobbying for federal funds to restore what filings described as "the US's oldest Farmer's Market building dating from the 1860's," sought through the Transportation and HUD Appropriations Bill. That project is done. The Detroit Central Market pavilion reopened at Greenfield Village in April 2022 following roughly $2 million in restoration work.

After that project concluded, the Greenfield Village lobbying work shifted to more general advocacy across education, transportation, and agriculture appropriations, at a fraction of the earlier billing rate. The museum's lobbying disclosure termination, in that sense, reflects the natural end of a relationship whose central purpose had already been fulfilled.

A Hostile Funding Environment

The broader federal landscape for museum funding has deteriorated sharply. The National Endowment for the Humanities faced staff reductions of up to 80 percent under the current administration, with millions in previously awarded grants canceled. A survey of museum directors found that roughly one-third reported losing federal grants in 2025. The Institute of Museum and Library Services, a primary federal funder for institutions like the Henry Ford, has also faced budget pressure.

For a not-for-profit museum that draws more than 1.7 million visitors annually and has faced reported budget shortfalls, lobbying for federal appropriations in this climate carries diminishing returns.

The Model T Coin Bill

The one piece of legislation tied to this lobbying relationship, the Model T Ford Automobile Commemorative Coin Act, was introduced in the 110th Congress in 2007. The House version, H.R. 1619, was sponsored by then-Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and attracted 52 co-sponsors. The Senate companion, S. 587, was introduced by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). Neither chamber moved the bill past committee referral, and no similar legislation has been reintroduced since.

The Bottom Line

Van Scoyoc Associates is a full-service Washington lobbying firm with a broad practice across appropriations and education policy. The two lobbyists named in the museum's registration filing are Norma Krayem and Albert Kammler. The firm's work for the museum has focused on agriculture issues, including nutrition and school lunch programs, STEM and K-12 education, and federal appropriations monitoring across multiple spending bills.

In the first quarter of 2026, that included tracking the Senate Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act for 2027, along with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, and the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations law. The firm also flagged H.R. 7567, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, in connection with the museum's agriculture-related interests.

The Hertel Calculus

Dennis Hertel served six terms in the House representing a Michigan district and has been a fixture in Democratic political circles in the state. The lobbying disclosure filings show him as the sole named lobbyist on the museum's account throughout the relationship. His value in the appropriations process has historically depended on Democratic relationships on Capitol Hill, and with Republicans controlling both chambers and the White House, that alignment is a structural mismatch for a client trying to secure federal funding.

The museum's pivot to Van Scoyoc, a larger firm with a wider bench, reflects the scope of what the institution is now asking for: not a single earmark, but ongoing monitoring of multiple spending bills across education, agriculture, and science, alongside farm bill negotiations and school nutrition policy. That is a different kind of engagement than the one Hertel was hired to perform two decades ago.

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