Jon Etherton has 30 years of experience working in and with Congress and the Executive Branch on national security funding and policy issues.
He served 18 years as a staff member in the United States Senate, including 14 years on the professional staff of the Senate Armed Services Committee. On the Committee staff, Jon Etherton was responsible for managing public policy and budget issues before the Subcommittee on Acquisition and Technology, including; acquisition policy, funding for technology base and research and development programs, industrial base policy and selected defense trade issues. Serving as the principal Republican committee staff member for acquisition policy and reform from 1985 to 1999, he played a leading role in the development and enactment of such legislation as the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 and the Federal Acquisition Reform Act of 1996 (also known as the Clinger-Cohen Act).
From 1992-1999, he had responsibility for advising the Members of the Committee on policies and detailed funding decisions on the technology base programs (6.1, 6.2, 6.3, and 6.5 research and development programs) of the Department of Defense and Military Services accounting for nearly $10 billion of the annual defense budget. Jon Etherton developed integrated procedures with the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee to ensure funding of Member priorities in the budget process.
Prior to working for the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jon Etherton was legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Roger Jepsen (R-Iowa), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Manpower and Personnel Subcommittee, from 1981 to 1985, serving as an advisor on national defense, foreign policy, veterans' affairs and intelligence issues.
After leaving Capitol Hill in February 1999, he succeeded in significantly increasing the influence of the aerospace industry in Washington over a seven-year period, first as Assistant Vice President, then Vice President for Legislative Affairs at the Aerospace Industries Association of America.
Widely recognized as an expert on the congressional process, technology policy, and defense acquisition policy and procedures, Jon Etherton is sought out for advice and counsel by individuals and organizations in industry, Congress, the Executive Branch and academia. He has been a frequent lecturer on congressional issues for such organizations as the Brookings Institution, the Government Affairs Institute, the Defense Acquisition University, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces as well as for professional organizations such as the National Contract Management Association. He served as a member of the Acquisition Advisory Panel, a Federal Advisory Committee appointed pursuant to section 1423 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 to review and make recommendations on all Federal acquisition laws, policies and regulations.
Jon Etherton has received special recognition and several awards, including a Federal Computer Week Federal 100 Award in 1995, the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) Procurement Innovation Award in 1999, and the David D. Acker Skill in Communication Award from the Defense Acquisition University Alumni Association in 2004. In 2005, The Hill newspaper recognized Jon Etherton as one of the top 50 national trade association lobbyists for his work at the Aerospace Industries Association.
Active in the community, Jonathan Etherton is president of Etherton and Associates, a firm providing services in Federal relations to clients in the defense, intelligence, aerospace and services industries.