Kent, Jonathan H.

Jon Kent is an experienced lobbyist before the Congress and the federal regulatory agencies. Specializing in trade, customs, IPR and transportation legislation, much of the legislation in these areas passed in the last fifteen years bears his imprint and that of Kent & O'Connor clients. More recently, client concerns have been focused on the customs provisions in various statutes, notably customs authorization legislation recently passed by the Congress.

Coming from Capitol Hill, where he served as Chief of Staff to one Congressman and Appropriations Committee staff for another, Kent founded Kent & O'Connor, Incorporated, with Patrick O'Connor in 1979. Since then, Jon Kent has become the acknowledged private sector spokesperson for several companies and associations in the import-export business. As a legislative representative for the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association, Kent has been closely involved in CBP’s and TSA’s regulatory and legislative agendas. An area of particular concern has been the evolution of the Administration’s post-9/11 approach to homeland security, where the association’s efforts have focused on keeping newly emerging policy in harmony with commercial trade.