2. Goals
• Why lobby?
• Understanding of the legislative process.
• Logistics: how, why, when, where, who, what?
• Effectively communicating your message.
• How to conduct a successful lobby visit.
3. Why Lobby?
• “The best policy in the world
isn’t going anywhere if it’s
not supported by human
relationships based on
repeated interactions.”
Welling Hall, Plowshares Professor of Peace Studies at
Earlham College and former fellow at Representative Keith
Ellison’s office.
4. So, why are Members of
Congress so important?
Because they can vote.
6. Understanding the Lobbying
Disclosure Act
• Charities, foundations, unions, and 501(c)(4)s that influence
federal legislation, regulations, nominations, contracts and
permits need to be aware of the Lobbying Disclosure Act
(LDA), a federal law that imposes registration and reporting
obligations on individuals and entities that lobby various
federal officials once certain thresholds have been
exceeded.
• For More information: Contact Alliance for Justice at 866-
NPLOBBY www.allianceforjustice.org
7. 501(c)(3) vs 501(c)(4)
permissible activities
• Under federal tax law, partisan political
activity cannot be the primary purpose of a
501(c)(4) organization.
• When engaging in political
activity, organizations must
comply with federal, state,
and local election law.
8. Some Relevant Agencies
• Environmental Protection
Agency
• Department of Interior (NPS,
USFWS, USGS)
• Depart of Energy
• Department of Commerce
(NOAA)
• Department of Agriculture
(USFS, NRCS)
• Department of Defense (Army
Corps)
• Department of Transportation
9. Authorizing vs. Appropriating
• Authorization Bill: Creates a program, a
law, and “budget authority”.
• Appropriations Bill: Directs expenditure of
funds from the Treasury for various
purposes “authorized” to be spent.
10. Authorizes Project
Appropriates Funds
ACOE
Project
(Projects listed in
Committee Report)
Water Resources
Development Act
Energy & Water
Appropriations Act
Authorizes
Appropriations
By Lump Sum in Law
(Cmte Report shows project level detail)
Projects listed in Law
Authorizing vs. Appropriating
11. Authorizes Program
Appropriates Funds
Forest Legacy
Project
(Projects listed in
Committee Report)
Parameters set in Law
Forest Legacy Program
(Forest Title/Farm bill)
Interior & Rel Agencies
Appropriations Act
Authorizes
Appropriations
By Lump Sum in Law
Authorizing vs. Appropriating
13. Legislative Process
Floorvote
options become increasingly limited
What can you do?
Subcommittee
mark-up*
Committee
mark-up*
Hearing(s)
Bill is introduced
Committee
report filed
15. Timelines
• Appropriations - annual
• Defense Authorization - annual
• Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)
- every 2 years
• Transportation Bill - every 6 years
• Farm Bill - every 5-7 years
17. The Ladder of Engagement
You have a relationship.
Meet Face to face
Meet a staffer
Attend a public event
Engage the media
Message from a group
Send letters, emails, and faxes
18. How to Make an appointment
• Home district vs. Washington, DC
• Phone numbers: www.senate.gov and
www.house.gov
• Check legislative calendar
• Staff vs. Member
• Ask for the staff member who works on your
issue
• Be flexible on time and place
19. Personal Office staff
Chief of Staff or AA
DC Staff:
• Legislative Director
• Press Sec./Comm. Dir.
• Scheduler
• Legislative Assistants
• Legislative Correspondent (Senate)
• Staff Assistant
• (Interns)
District/State Staff:
• District Director
• Projects Director*
• Caseworker(s)
20. Committee staff
Full Committee - Staff Director
Full Committee:
• Professional Staff
• Communications Director
• Staff Assistant
• (Interns)
Subcommittee:
• Staff Director/Clerk
• Professional Staff
• Fellows
• Staff Assistants
• (Interns)
22. Prepare For Your Visit
• Make an appointment
• Do your homework
– Know their voting record and bills they are
cosponsoring
• Find a “thank you”
• Define your “ask”
– Know status, prognosis, supporters, opposition
• Build your coalition (<4)
- Assign jobs (note taker, photographer, leader)
- Rehearse message ahead of time
23. The Successful Lobby Visit
- Eight to thirty minutes long
- Deliver anecdotes and specific facts that
reinforce your message
- Ask for a commitment
- Leave behind 1 page fact sheet and other
supporting material (contact information)
- You don’t have to be an expert
- Follow up
26. Decide on your “ask”
• Your ask might be one of the following:
– Sponsor your proposal
– Co-sponsor a bill
– Take a lead in a funding initiative
– Vote against something in committee
– Speak publicly on a topic
– Hold a hearing
– Support letter for grant application
– Assist in agency coordination
27. Develop Your Message
To develop a message:
- Consider your strongest themes
- Consider the likely arguments against
your position and neutralize them
- Put it all together into a few short,
simple lines.
28. Develop Your Message
Message Building Blocks
- Be concise (1 or 2 issues)
- Identify yourself
- Don’t assume the audience has
knowledge of your subject
- Be truthful and believable
-use facts
- Be polite and positive
- Make a clear ask
- or is it an informational meeting?
- Ask for commitment and reply
29. Dear Senator Isakson,
You people in Congress can’t seem to agree on anything
these days, even on something as important as
preventing genocide and mass atrocities in places like
Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This
should be a national priority. Why can’t you provide
leadership and work together on something like the
Genocide Prevention bill instead of all this
partisanship?
Here’s hoping,
Suzy McDaniels
Anywhere, Georgia
30. Dear Senator Isakson,
I want you to support the bipartisan Genocide Prevention bill. Prevention of
genocide and mass atrocities is a very important because it could save both
lives and money.
Now the U.S. is involved in a military conflict in Libya. It concerns me that
diplomatic methods of resolving this conflict were not fully exhausted before
military actions were taken.
The action in Libya was taken just as important discussions about the budget
were happening. I support those in Congress who were trying to cut the
budget in ways that would not wreck the economy, lose jobs, or hurt
vulnerable people.
As a constituent, I urge you to take action on all these important issues of peace.
Sincerely,
Albert Green Someplace, Georgia
31. Dear Senator Isakson,
I am a voter in the Midtown neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. My children attend Spurwood
Elementary School, where I am the head of the PTA, and I am a member of the United Methodist
Church. I greatly appreciate that you voted in favor of the START Treaty in December.
I am writing to urge you to use your position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to support
practical legislation that will address policy gaps that fail to prevent genocide. For years the US
has underinvested in diplomacy, development, and international cooperation, crippling our
ability to prevent conflict. This is costing us countless lives and resources. Research demonstrates
that every one dollar invested in preventing conflicts from turning deadly would cost sixty dollars
in crisis response once violence erupts.
In December 2010, the Senate passed a resolution (S. Con. Res. 71) calling for specific steps to
improve US capacities to prevent genocide and atrocities. I want you to support bipartisan
legislation that would strengthen key government capacities addressed in this resolution. I look
forward to a commitment and a reply from you on this matter.
Sincerely, Debbie Dowd Atlanta, GA
32. What happens to my message?
• No difference between written and email
messages.
• Tallying.
• Personalized messages treated differently.
• Brief messages with clear asks are the easiest to
deal with.
33. NGO efforts to influence U.S. Senator Scott
Brown to support full funding for LWCF
• Constituent Contacts
• Grasstops Contacts
• Briefing book
• Media
• Polling Results
• Direct Contact
37. Follow up
• Consider an award (frame/photo)
• Write a thank you note
• Provide additional information (if you said
you would)
• Repeat your ask
• Follow their actions and thank
them if they do what you asked
• Consider thanking publically
– (LTE, newsletter, FB, twitter…)
38. Resources
• House and Senate (Members, Calendar, Schedule, Votes)
– www.house.gov and www.senate.gov
• Library of Congress (Research Legislation)
– https://www.congress.gov/
• Government Printing Office
– http://www.access.gpo.gov
• Environment and Energy Study Inst.
– http://www.greenwire.com
– http://www.eedaily.com
• Alliance for Justice’s “Bolder Advocacy”
http://bolderadvocacy.org/
• www.grants.gov – find and apply for Federal grants
• National Journal
– http://nationaljournal.com
Editor's Notes
Understanding of legislative process (and how that bears on lobbying strategy)
And we vote too.
“This graphic shows the results of a December 2010 survey of Congressional staffers on what influences members of congress’s decisions. Is there anything here that surprises you? What conclusions can we take from this?”
This looked at undecideds on an issue, but we can use the same tactics for affirmation.
{D} Some points to clarify:
* “Individualized” means that the messages are not part of a mass campaign – people identify themselves, and speak in their own words.* In-person lobby visits from constituents are very effective – significantly more powerful than a visit from a lobbyist.* To be clear, phone calls can be very effective in the days just before a vote.
In Welling’s experience at Representative Ellison’s office, if Ellison was asked to co-sponsor a bill and he was seriously considering doing so, they would go and look to see if they had received any messages from constituents on the issue. If they had, they would be much more likely to co-sponsor. If not, they probably wouldn’t. They weren’t looking for 2,000 letters---just one letter could make the difference.”
The Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) of 1995 was passed after decades of effort to make the regulation and disclosure of lobbying the federal government more effective. It clarified key concepts subject to regulation. For example, the definitions of “lobbyist” and “lobbying activities” subject to regulation had previously been so ambiguous that even the courts were unclear as to whom the law applied.
It provided a quantifiable threshold for when lobbying registration and reporting is required and required that lobbyists and organizations file bi-annual financial activity reports.
TNC, CT River Watershed Council, AMC meeting with FWS about funding for Conte.
Specifies general aim and conduct.
Unless “such sums” places a ceiling on funding
Usually enacted before $$ is appropriated.
More limited. Heavier lift. More political clout needed.
Conference is not done for every piece of legislation - only MAJOR bills.
small bills/low budget impact measures don’t typically get conferenced.
Both Houses must complete the process so you get a couple shots at it.
How can we look at bills for funding? Agency mtgs. Talk about continueing resolution and omnibus.
Know where you are.
“This is the Ladder of Engagement. You want your member of Congress or their staff to know who you are and what you care about, and you should think about your interactions with them as part of a cohesive whole. The end goal is building a relationship.”{D} Have audience call out; choose a few to explain what they did specifically:“Where do you fit on the ladder of engagement?
How many of you have ever written a letter to your elected officials?
Have you ever written a letter to the editor that mentions a member of Congress?
Have you ever organized others to do the same?
How many of you have lobbied a member of Congress or their staff?
Don’t necessarily need to start at the bottom.
Once you have the relationship, much easier to accomplish goals.
District: staff: economic development, grant support letters, case work (Veterans, Social Security benefits, passport issues).
May be able to get the Member for easily for an event. More casual.
DC: Policy staff.
Discuss relative rank of staff.
Relationships are important. Today’s LAs or LCs are tomorrow’s Legislative Directors/Chiefs of Staff.
Also mention that Committee staffs are a little different. Who are they, what do they do.
Discuss relative rank of staff.
Relationships are important. Today’s LAs or LCs are tomorrow’s Legislative Directors/Chiefs of Staff.
Also mention that Committee staffs are a little different. Who are they, what do they do.
If you are aiming for a Member meeting in DC, pick a day that Congress is in session.
If you want a Member meeting in district, pick district work week. Or, sometimes Mondays or Fridays.
Consider schedule for staff meeting. May take vacation when Member is not in DC. Eg. August. Fridays with Member gone can be more casual.
7000 bills per year only a small percentage become law. You may be first contact on a bill and need to educate them. May not be familiar with issue/bill.
Notes on interesting coalition.
Space limitations for staff
Homework: don’t ask them to cosponsor something they already have. Research their district.
Don’t have to be an expert. It’s okay to get back to them. Don’t bluff.
Get right to the point. Right be called to a floor vote at anytime!
- How do legislators and agencies interact? Advocate for fair treatment, but no magic wand.
Members conflict adverse, a whole constituency to think about.
Focus on 1 or 2 issues
Identify yourself. Use examples.
Find something to thank them for, if possible.
Make a clear ask. Eg. bill number
Members of Congress receive on average about 4000 communications per week. Staffers who read them are extremely busy, so you need to make it as easy as possible for them to understand what you are trying to convey, and use a tone that makes them want to respond or move your request forward.
“Pretend that they are a busy Congressional staff member. How would you react to this message? What are your feelings about it? What do you think you would do after reading the letter?”
{D}: Call on members of the audience to tell you how they might react to this letter. Lead them to the point: Be polite and professional.
Ask participants to pretend they are a busy staffer for a member of Congress, and critique the letter from this perspective.
The point:*Focus on one particular issue.*Have a clear, concise ask that refers to a specific piece of legislation.*Use a few statistics and facts to back up your position.
Critique. The author identifies themselves – influential in community, may even know elements of community. Letter has a specific asks. And, asks for follow-up.
The point: Identify yourself as a member of the community and share why you care.
Every member of Congress has a different way of dealing with messages, but many of them view both written and email messages on a screen.
A staffer sorts through them and categorizes them by subject area; sometimes tallying them “for” or “against,” although this can be very roughly divided—unless there is a specific bill number mentioned. Some offices also categorize by constituent, so they could most likely pull up all the messages they’ve received from “John Doe.”They can very easily tell if the message is part of a campaign or if it’s been written in someone’s own words, and these messages are treated differently. Some messages are passed forward to be seen by the member of Congress, particularly if it has a good story.
This is an abridged record our MA-based conservation NGO efforts to influence U.S. Senator Scott Brown to support full funding for LWCF.
Constituent Contacts
Through a patch through calling effort we generated almost 600 constituent calls into the DC offices of Senator Brown
Ran multiple action alerts through statewide NGOs asking members to call Senator Brown in support of LWCF, including: Appalachian Mountain Club, Environmental League of Massachusetts, MassAudubon, Mass Land Trust Coalition, Massachusetts Rivers Alliance, Trustees of Reservation, and others.
Contacted local conservation organizations in municipalities in Senator Brown’s former State Senator District and asked them to speak with Brown when they saw him in the district
Grasstops Contacts
Identified grasstops contacts by:
Asking board members of conservations NGOs to contact Senator Brown
Comparing lists of members of conservation NGOs and large contributors to Senator Brown and Republican Party
Collaborated with Governor Patrick’s Administration and DC-based staff
Multiple joint sign on letters for conservation NGOs targeted Senate candidates and Senators
Created a briefing book for Senator Brown with MA-Specific Deliverables
Fact sheet on history, examples and benefits of LWCF
Fact sheet on history of stateside funding providing examples
Fact sheet on economic benefits of LWCF
Questions and Answers document
Media
Ran LWCF banner ads (Screenshots) on websites of major New England newspapers urging people to call Senator Brown.
Placed two Opinion Editorials in The Cape Cod Times and Springfield Republican (ghost-written by TNC and we also found signatories)
Convinced Boston Globe to run an article on the top favorite places in New England which receive LWCF funds
Polling Results:
TNC conducted a poll of likely voters in MA, ME, NH, about their support of LWCF, National Endowment for Oceans and desire of voters to want their senators to “have an independent voice.” In sum, Massachusetts’ voters showed approximately 80 percent support for continuing to use offshore oil and gas drilling fees for conservation via LWCF. In addition there is strong support for creating ocean funding (that would dovetail nicely into MA’s Ocean Trust account). The support crossed party, gender and age lines. You are welcome to use the polling data for your needs.
TNC’s DC staff and our pollster presented the polling data to Senator Brown DC staff last week .
Direct Contact
Mike Gildesgame of Appalachian Mountain Club arranged for a meeting with Senator Brown’s district staff to introduce ourselves and make a pitch LWCF. Jack Clarke of MassAudubon and I also attended.
TNC Trustee Bob Durand secured a Boston-based meeting with Senator Brown attended by CEOs of TNC, MassAudubon and Mass Land Trust Coalition
Multiple meetings between conservation NGOs and Senator Brown’s DC-based staff
