A thirty-two-year veteran of Capitol Hill, Steve served as senior staff to two Members of Congress working with defense, space, aerospace, technology, homeland security, and natural resources issues. Steve worked closely with Congressional Armed Services Committees and Defense Appropriations Subcommittees in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, as well as the Department of Defense and other executive branch agencies.

Steve has experience in the formation of community support groups, and successfully defending communities during four rounds of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) process in the 1990s and 2005. He led efforts to preserve the solid rocket motor industrial base, fund cruise missile advancements, assure the strategic metals stockpile, and bolster the military industrial depot system and workforce. He was responsible for drafting legislation to further public-private partnerships and preserving test and training ranges in the Western U.S.

He also served as Deputy Chief Counsel to the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee, as Staff Director for the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, and as a part of House Leadership staff as a House Rules Committee Associate.