Alexander Hecht
ML Strategies - Executive Vice President & Director of Operations
+1.202.434.7333
Alex is Executive Vice President & Director of Operations, ML Strategies, Washington, DC. He is an attorney with more than 10 years of senior-level experience in Congress and trade associations.
Alex assists clients with their legislative and regulatory needs on a wide range of issues, including health care, telecommunications, cybersecurity & privacy, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), technology, energy, and federal procurement. Prior to joining ML Strategies, Alex served for over six years as chief counsel for Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) on the US Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship. He was the lead policy counsel for Senator Snowe on health insurance market reform, individual and employer-based insurance, ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, and health care tax incentives. He worked on numerous bills, including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009, Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, Small Business Health Fairness Act, and Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Act. He advocated for health care legislative and regulatory issues before Senate Finance, HELP, Commerce, and Homeland Security Committees, as well as the US Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Labor. Along with health care policy, he advised Senator Snowe on energy, financial services, innovation, and technology matters.
Alex is regarded as one of the leading congressional staff specialists on the regulatory process and how federal agencies promulgate rules and regulations. He has developed numerous bills and amendments reducing the regulatory compliance burden of business.
Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Alex was a legislative analyst, with a focus on health and environmental regulatory issues, at the National Multi Housing Council. He was also a research clerk at the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, studying Medicaid reimbursement and long-term health insurance planning. Alex was also the chief articles editor for the Houston Journal of Health Law & Policy at the University of Houston Law Center.
viewpoints
The National AI Research Resource and the CREATE AI Act — AI: The Washington Report
August 4, 2023 | Blog | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Raj Gambhir
Leaders of the Congressional Artificial Intelligence Caucus introduced a bill that would create a National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) to provide AI-related resources to spur innovation and US competitiveness. Mintz Antitrust Practice Co-chair Bruce Sokler and ML Strategies’ Alex Hecht and Christian Fjeld discuss the bill and the three-year push for the NAIRR.
The White House’s Voluntary Framework for Ensuring Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI — AI: The Washington Report
July 27, 2023 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Raj Gambhir
Read the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI, including the White House’s voluntary framework for ensuring safe, secure, and trustworthy AI.
The FTC Is Lurking — AI: The Washington Report
July 12, 2023 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Raj Gambhir
Read the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI, including the FTC’s enforcement actions and guidance related to AI.
The National AI Commission Act — AI: The Washington Report
July 5, 2023 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Raj Gambhir
Read the latest edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, and regulatory activities related to AI, including the newly introduced National AI Commission Act that seeks to establish a commission to formulate a legislative framework on AI.
Advancing the SAFE Innovation in the AI Age Framework — AI: The Washington Report
June 23, 2023 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Raj Gambhir
The accelerating advances in AI have heightened legislative, executive, and regulatory activities focused on its implications. In a series of articles, Mintz and ML Strategies explore the federal government’s actions in this area, such as the national AI strategic plan and upcoming US Senate forums aimed at forging consensus and informing future legislation.
New AI Disclosure Bill and AI Strategic Plan Update — AI: The Washington Report
June 13, 2023 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Raj Gambhir
Read the second edition of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, or regulatory activities related to AI.
National Priorities for Artificial Intelligence — AI: The Washington Report
June 8, 2023 | Article | By Bruce Sokler, Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Raj Gambhir
Read the inaugural issue of AI: The Washington Report, a joint undertaking of Mintz and ML Strategies covering potential federal legislative, executive, or regulatory activities related to AI.
Look Ahead: Upcoming Congressional Work Period – July 2022
July 11, 2022 | Blog | By Alexander Hecht, Christian Tamotsu Fjeld, Anthony DeMaio, R. Neal Martin, Pamela Mejia
Summer 2022 Is Here – Do You Know How the FDA User Fee Legislation Is Going?
June 2, 2022 | Blog | By Joanne Hawana
Anyone who has spent any time around health care policymaking circles in Washington, D.C. has heard about the intense five-year cycle Congress goes through in order to reauthorize the biggest user fee programs at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Mintz previously published this wonderful explanation of the process complete with an estimated timeline for how this year’s reauthorization was likely to go. As a reminder, the current authorization for FDA’s various human product user fee programs – with the exception of the over-the-counter drug program that was freshly created in 2020 – will expire on September 30, 2022 with the end of the federal government’s fiscal year, unless they are renewed by Congress before that time.
Webinar Recording: Telehealth Regulation & Enforcement: 2021 Year in Review & 2022 Outlook
December 7, 2021 | Webinar | By Alexander Hecht, Ellen Janos, Karen Lovitch , Kate Stewart
News & Press
ML Strategies Boss Steve Tocco Hands Over The Reins At Lobbying Shop
January 30, 2023
The Boston Globe covered the change in leadership structure of ML Strategies. The article highlights the promotion of Steven Baddour to Executive Vice President & Director of Operations in the Boston office.
Mintz Named Top Firm in Energy and Eleven Attorneys Featured in JD Supra’s 2017 Reader’s Choice Awards
March 20, 2017
ML Strategies Vice President of Government Relations to Speak at 2016 PACE TCPA Washington Summit
September 13, 2016
Telemedicine Momentum Picking up Steam as New Legislation Introduced in U.S. Senate
February 29, 2016
Events & Speaking
Telehealth Regulation & Enforcement: 2021 Year in Review & 2022 Outlook
Mintz & ML Strategies
Online Event
Telehealth: Keeping Up with the Fast-Moving Federal and State Regulatory Landscape During the COVID-19 Pandemic
View the Webinar Recording
Health Care & Cybersecurity: A Powerful Combination
ML Strategies, 701 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20004
ATA Annual Telemedicine Meeting and Trade Show
American Telemedicine Association
Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, MN
Recognition & Awards
JD Supra Readers' Choice Awards: a Top Author on the Affordable Care Act (2016)
Champion of Small Business Innovation: "For Exemplary work on behalf of America's SBIR Community" - Presented by Small Business Technology Council and National Small Business Association (2012)
The Council for Excellence in Government: Cutting the Red Tape Excellence Award