Lobby Tracker
Who's lobbying for geoengineering — and who's taking their money. Federal filings, anti-ban testimony, and state-by-state data. Every filing below links to its primary source on LDA.gov, OpenSecrets, or state disclosure databases.
$870K+
Federal lobbying spend (2024–2025)
5+
K Street firms hired
25+
States with ban bills facing opposition
2
Federal bills targeted by lobbying
Rainmaker Technology spent $450Kon federal lobbying in 2025 — 3x increase from 2024 to 2025. Their top priority: defeating the Clear Skies Act (H.R. 4403), which would criminalize what they do. They hired 3 K Street firms and briefed the White House and Pentagon.
The Lobbying Machine
These are the lobbying firms hired by geoengineering companies to influence federal policy. Each entry is sourced from LDA.gov filings or investigative reporting.
LLSN Partners
Part of $450K totalClient: Rainmaker Technology Corporation · Mid-2024 — present
LSN Partners
Part of $450K totalClient: Rainmaker Technology Corporation · Mid-2024 — present
- •One of the first firms hired by Rainmaker when it began federal lobbying in mid-2024.
- •Lobbied Congress and the FAA on drone waivers, certification for Rainmaker's Elijah quadrotor drones, and drought control policy.
Issues lobbied:
Target agencies:
Congress, Federal Aviation Administration
CCapitol Pillar LLC
Part of $450K totalClient: Rainmaker Technology Corporation · Mid-2024 — present
Capitol Pillar LLC
Part of $450K totalClient: Rainmaker Technology Corporation · Mid-2024 — present
- •Led by Casey Hammond, who served as acting Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management in the first Trump administration.
- •Met with lawmakers and Interior Department officials on "water resilience solutions and education."
- •Classic revolving-door hire: former Interior official now lobbying Interior on behalf of a weather modification company.
Named lobbyists:
Casey Hammond
Issues lobbied:
Target agencies:
Congress, Department of the Interior
Red flags:
- • Casey Hammond moved directly from regulating land and mineral resources at Interior to lobbying the same agency for a weather modification company.
CCrossroads Strategies
Part of $450K totalClient: Rainmaker Technology Corporation · 2025 — present
Crossroads Strategies
Part of $450K totalClient: Rainmaker Technology Corporation · 2025 — present
- •Hired in 2025 to provide "water resilience" briefings to the White House, Pentagon, and Departments of Commerce and State.
- •Salim A. Alameddin is a former staffer for Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).
- •Registered under the "Natural Resources" lobbying category.
- •Rainmaker's lobbying escalation — bringing in a firm with White House and Pentagon access — signals the company is moving beyond Congress to the executive branch.
Named lobbyists:
Salim A. Alameddin, Mathew P. Lapinski
Issues lobbied:
Target agencies:
White House, Pentagon, Department of Commerce, Department of State
HHolland & Knight LLP
UndisclosedClient: Stardust Solutions · Q1 2025 — present
Holland & Knight LLP
UndisclosedClient: Stardust Solutions · Q1 2025 — present
- •Holland & Knight is one of the largest law and lobbying firms in the U.S. — a K Street powerhouse.
- •Hired by Stardust Solutions in Q1 2025 but "inadvertently" failed to disclose the relationship as required by the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
- •Holland & Knight spokesperson Olivia Hoch attributed the failure to a "clerical error."
- •Declined to say how much Stardust paid or the specific issues lobbied on.
- •Stardust CEO Yanai Yedvab claimed the firm is "informing members of Congress about its work and the need for appropriate oversight."
- •Holland & Knight PAC raised $867,845 in the 2023–2024 election cycle and made $2.2M in total organizational contributions.
Issues lobbied:
Target agencies:
Congress
Red flags:
- • Months of secret, undisclosed lobbying — a violation of the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
- • A $75M geoengineering startup hiring one of K Street's biggest firms while claiming they're just "informing" Congress.
SSilverLining (in-house)
$420,000Client: SilverLining · 2018 — present
SilverLining (in-house)
$420,000Client: SilverLining · 2018 — present
- •SilverLining spent $420,000 on lobbying in the 2024 cycle — nearly double the World Resources Institute ($220K) and more than the Wildlife Conservation Society in the same period.
- •Founded in 2018 by Kelly Wanser, a former tech executive who led data networking startup Luminus Networks.
- •Only the second organization in a decade to disclose lobbying on solar geoengineering (after Carnegie Mellon University in 2013).
- •Successfully lobbied Congress to direct NOAA to develop the Earth's Radiation Budget program, which grew from $4M (FY2020) to $9.5M (FY2023).
- •Helped persuade Congress to include SRM research directives in the FY2020 appropriations bill.
- •Its advocacy contributed to the White House OSTP's June 2023 "Congressionally-Mandated Report on Solar Radiation Modification."
- •Funded by Lowercarbon Capital (Chris Sacca), Rachel Pritzker / Pritzker Innovation Fund, and Quadrature Climate Foundation.
Named lobbyists:
Kelly Wanser
Issues lobbied:
Target agencies:
Congress, NOAA, White House OSTP
Red flags:
- • Spent more on lobbying than major established environmental organizations.
- • The same investors who fund SilverLining's lobbying also fund the deployment companies that would profit from the research programs SilverLining lobbies for.
Fighting the Bans
When states try to ban geoengineering, the industry shows up to fight. Here are the specific documented instances of companies lobbying against ban legislation.
Rainmaker Technology
FLTarget: SB 56 (Geoengineering and Weather Modification Activities Act)
CEO Augustus Doricko personally testified against the bill in committee, arguing that banning weather modification in Florida would "set a precedent to deprive farmers in even more arid regions of the country from getting access to water from cloud seeding." Suggested regulation instead of a ban.
Who: Augustus Doricko (CEO, age 24) · March 2025
Outcome: Bill passed anyway — Senate 28-9, House 82-28. Signed by Gov. DeSantis. Took effect July 1, 2025 as a felony.
WLRN — Weather modification ban moves forward→Rainmaker Technology
FederalTarget: Clear Skies Act (H.R. 4403)
Hired three lobbying firms and spent $450K in 2025 with a top priority of "chipping away at support" for the Clear Skies Act, which would criminalize releasing chemicals into the atmosphere to change weather. Briefed the White House, Pentagon, and Departments of Commerce and State.
Who: LSN Partners, Capitol Pillar (Casey Hammond), Crossroads Strategies · 2024–2025
Outcome: Bill still pending. Introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), co-sponsored by Reps. Tony Wied (R-WI) and Tom Massie (R-KY).
E&E News — Rainmaker lobbying Congress→Salt River Project
AZTarget: Geoengineering ban bill
A lobbyist for Salt River Project testified against Arizona's ban bill, stating: "We see great potential in cloud seeding as a viable way to generate more precipitation from clouds in the form of rain and snow."
Who: Salt River Project lobbyist · 2025
Duane Morris — State-Level Geoengineering Bans→Wyoming Mining Association / Trona producers
WYTarget: Cloud seeding ban proposal
The Wyoming Mining Association and trona producers defended the state's cloud seeding program, testifying that cloud seeding is a critical tool for water supply. Wyoming's existing cloud seeding program has run for decades.
Who: Wyoming Mining Association · 2025
Wyoming Public Media — Lawmakers contemplate nixing cloud seeding→SilverLining
FederalTarget: N/A — proactive lobbying for federal research funding
Spent $420K lobbying Congress to fund NOAA's Earth's Radiation Budget program and direct federal research into solar radiation management. Successfully got Congress to include SRM research directives in FY2020 appropriations. The NOAA program has grown to ~$10M/year.
Who: Kelly Wanser (Executive Director) · 2018–present
Outcome: NOAA Earth's Radiation Budget program funded at ~$10M/year. White House OSTP published SRM report June 2023.
E&E News — Blocking sun rays finds support in the Senate→The Pipeline: Research → Lobbying → Profit → Protection
This is how the same money flows through every stage — from funding the research to lobbying for government programs to investing in deployment companies to fighting the bans.
Fund the Research
Philanthropists and VCs fund academic research on solar geoengineering.
- • Bill Gates / FICER → Harvard SGRP
- • Quadrature Climate Foundation ($40M)
- • Simons Foundation ($50M)
Creates the scientific foundation that lobbying cites.
Lobby for Government Programs
SilverLining spends $420K lobbying Congress and NOAA to create publicly funded research programs.
- • SilverLining → NOAA Earth's Radiation Budget (~$10M/yr)
- • SilverLining → White House OSTP SRM report
- • SilverLining → Congressional appropriations
Government funding validates the field and creates a market for deployment.
Invest in Deployment Companies
The same investors fund startups that would profit from the research programs.
- • Lowercarbon Capital → Stardust Solutions ($60M Series A, Oct 2025)
- • Lowercarbon Capital → Rainmaker
- • Awz Ventures → Stardust Solutions ($15M seed, defense/intel-connected VC)
Sacca funds both the lobbying (SilverLining) and the deployment companies.
Fight the Bans
Deployment companies spend $450K+ lobbying to block legislation that would ban their operations.
- • Rainmaker → 3 K Street firms fighting Clear Skies Act
- • Stardust → Holland & Knight lobbying Congress
- • Rainmaker CEO → Testified against Florida felony ban
The companies use lobbying to protect the market that was created by lobbying.
Timeline
How geoengineering lobbying has escalated from a single nonprofit to a multi-firm industry operation.
2018
Kelly Wanser founds SilverLining to advocate for solar geoengineering research.
CleanTechnica — SilverLining profile→2019
House appropriators direct NOAA to begin "observations, monitoring, and forecasting of stratospheric conditions and Earth's radiation budget" — language shaped by SilverLining's lobbying.
Grist — Climate policy milestone buried in the 2020 budget→June 2023
White House OSTP releases "Congressionally-Mandated Report on Solar Radiation Modification" — the first federal report scoping SRM research. SilverLining praised it.
White House OSTP — SRM report→Mid-2024
Rainmaker Technology begins federal lobbying, hiring LSN Partners and Capitol Pillar LLC.
E&E News — Rainmaker lobbying Congress→April 2024
Tennessee becomes the first state to sign a geoengineering ban (SB 2691).
SRM360 — US State Bans Tracker→Q1 2025
Stardust Solutions hires Holland & Knight to lobby Congress. H&K fails to disclose due to a "clerical error."
E&E News / POLITICO — Geoengineering startup secretly lobbying Congress→March 2025
Rainmaker CEO Augustus Doricko testifies against Florida SB 56 in committee. The bill passes anyway.
WLRN — Weather modification ban moves forward→March 2025
Montana SB 473 passes Senate but is killed on House floor (45-55 vote). Closest any failed ban bill has come to enactment.
Duane Morris — State-Level Geoengineering Bans→June 2025
Gov. DeSantis signs Florida SB 56 — geoengineering is now a felony in Florida. Rainmaker's opposition failed.
Daily Caller — Weather Control Latest MAHA Battleground→July 2025
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene introduces the Clear Skies Act (H.R. 4403) — would criminalize weather modification nationwide. Co-sponsored by Reps. Tony Wied (R-WI) and Tom Massie (R-KY).
Congress.gov — H.R. 4403 Clear Skies Act text→July 2025
Central Texas floods kill at least 137 people. Conspiracy theories blame Rainmaker, though experts and government officials say cloud seeding cannot cause floods at that scale.
Al Jazeera — Texas flooding death toll→2025
Rainmaker hires Crossroads Strategies for White House and Pentagon briefings. Total 2025 lobbying: $450K (3x its 2024 spending).
Legislative Insight — Rainmaker hires Crossroads→November 2025
E&E News / POLITICO reveals Holland & Knight had been secretly lobbying for Stardust Solutions for months without disclosure.
E&E News / POLITICO — Geoengineering startup secretly lobbying Congress→January 2026
Iowa senators advance a ban on geoengineering and weather-altering activities.
Iowa Capital Dispatch — Iowa senators advance geo ban→Look Up Your State
Select your state to see ban status, lobbying activity, and industry opposition. If we don't have data for your state yet, you can help us research it.
What You Won't See Here
Lobbying disclosure has real limits. We show only what's in the public record. Here's what the system doesn't capture:
501(c)(4) dark money
Organizations classified as 501(c)(4) "social welfare" groups are not required to disclose their donors. If geoengineering interests funnel money through these entities, it won't appear in any public database.
Venture capital and philanthropic funding
The $150M+ in VC funding (Lowercarbon, Awz Ventures) and philanthropic money (Quadrature $40M, Simons $50M, Gates/FICER $8.5M) does not appear in lobbying disclosures. This is the bulk of the money shaping geoengineering policy, and it's technically not "lobbying."
State-level data gaps
State lobbying disclosure quality varies wildly. Some states have excellent electronic filing systems; others are paper-based or have no expenditure reporting at all. We show what's publicly available, but the real picture is likely bigger.
Academic influence
Funding university research that shapes policy narratives is not classified as lobbying. Bill Gates' FICER funded Harvard's Solar Geoengineering Research Program with $8.5M+ — that research is cited by policymakers but never appears in lobbying disclosures.
"Strategic communications"
PR campaigns, media placements, and grassroots organizing designed to shift public opinion are largely unregulated and unreported. Rainmaker ran gold-framed Metro ads at the Capitol South station in January 2026 targeting lawmakers with "We Build Rain" messaging, but this spending doesn't appear in lobbying filings.
Red Flags
Patterns in the lobbying data that should concern anyone watching this industry.
Secret lobbying for months
Holland & Knight lobbied Congress on behalf of Stardust Solutions — a $75M geoengineering startup — for months without filing the required disclosure. They blamed a "clerical error." The Lobbying Disclosure Act requires registration within 45 days.
Source: E&E News / POLITICO — Geoengineering startup secretly lobbying Congress→Spending $450K to fight the bill that would ban what they do
Rainmaker Technology's top lobbying priority is defeating the Clear Skies Act — the bill that would criminalize releasing chemicals into the atmosphere to modify weather. That is literally Rainmaker's business model. They spent 3x more on lobbying in 2025 than all of 2024.
Source: E&E News — Rainmaker lobbying Congress→Revolving-door hire at Capitol Pillar
Rainmaker hired Capitol Pillar, led by Casey Hammond — who served as acting Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management in the first Trump administration. Hammond now lobbies the same Interior Department he used to run, on behalf of a weather modification company.
Source: LegiStorm — Casey Hammond biography→Same investors fund the lobbying AND the profit
Lowercarbon Capital (Chris Sacca) funds SilverLining's lobbying for federal geoengineering research programs AND invests in Stardust Solutions and Rainmaker — the companies that would profit from those programs. The lobbying creates the market; the investments capture it.
Source: CleanTechnica — SilverLining's Geoengineering Techno-Optimism→SilverLining outspends major environmental groups
SilverLining spent $420K on lobbying in the 2024 cycle — nearly double the World Resources Institute ($220K) and more than the Wildlife Conservation Society. A small nonprofit with a focused geoengineering agenda spending more on lobbying than established environmental organizations.
Source: CleanTechnica — SilverLining's Geoengineering Techno-Optimism→CEO personally testified against a felony ban — and lost
Rainmaker's 24-year-old CEO Augustus Doricko testified against Florida's SB 56, arguing the ban would hurt farmers. The bill passed the Senate 28-9 and the House 82-28 — overwhelming bipartisan margins. Having the weather modification industry show up to fight the bill proved the point that this is real and worth regulating.
Source: WLRN — Weather modification ban moves forward→Pentagon and White House briefings for a cloud seeding startup
Rainmaker hired Crossroads Strategies to brief the White House, Pentagon, and Departments of Commerce and State on "water resilience." A cloud seeding startup briefing the Pentagon raises questions about the military applications of weather modification technology.
Source: E&E News — Rainmaker lobbying Congress→Holland & Knight PAC: $2.2M in political money
Holland & Knight — the firm secretly lobbying for Stardust Solutions — has a PAC that raised $867K and the organization contributed $2.2M in political contributions in the 2024 cycle. When your lobbyist also funds political campaigns, the line between "informing" and "influencing" disappears.
Source: OpenSecrets — Holland & Knight organizational profile→Holland & Knight: lobbying for a company that won't say what it's spraying
Holland & Knight LLP — one of the largest lobbying firms in the U.S. — is representing Stardust Solutions, an Israeli-American company whose founders come from Israel's Dimona nuclear facility. Stardust refuses to publicly disclose the composition of the particles it plans to release into the stratosphere, calling them proprietary "magic" particles. Holland & Knight secretly lobbied Congress for months without disclosure, and still won't say how much Stardust paid or what specific issues they lobbied on.
Source: E&E News / POLITICO — Geoengineering startup secretly lobbying Congress→Verify It Yourself
Every data point on this page can be independently verified through these public databases:
Federal Lobbying Filings
Campaign Finance Data
State-Level Disclosure
Investigative Reporting
Company Funding & Filings
Government Documents
- White House OSTP — Congressionally-Mandated Report on Solar Radiation Modification (June 2023)→
- NOAA Climate Program Office — Earth's Radiation Budget program→
- NOAA CSL — U.S. building early warning system to detect geoengineering→
- Congress.gov — H.R. 4403 Clear Skies Act full text→
- House Oversight — Hearing wrap-up on weather engineering transparency→
The Bottom Line
Geoengineering companies are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight the very laws designed to protect you. The same investors who fund the lobbying also fund the deployment companies. When your legislator says there's no need for a ban, ask them to check the lobbying filings.
Every item on this page is independently verifiable through public records. We're not asking anyone to believe anything — we're showing you what's in the filings.