Working Effectively with Congress

This panel on working effectively with Congress had a deeply knowledgeable veteran lineup: Neal Denton, Vice President, Government Relations and Public Policy, American Red Cross; The Honorable Martin Frost, Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson International Center; John McNulty III, Chief, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, U.S. Marshals Service; Moderator: Kenneth Gold, Director, Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University

Kenneth Gold kicked off the session with some sobering statistics:

Hill Staffers
1980: 8,000
Now: 20-22K

Registered Lobbyists
1982: >1000
2006: 15-35K (120K+ individuals working in lobbying)

Congressional approval rating: 23% approval rating of

Congressional incumbent return rate in 2004 election: 99%

Email + postal mail received in Congressional offices in 2005: 200 million+

Earmarks in Transportation bill
1982: 10
2005: 6000+

Here are some highlights from the conversation:

- Most contact that Members have with agencies is when there is a problem in district that Members want resolve – they want to meet with the decision maker who can actually solve the problem. Members are much less likely to meet personally with agencies on legislative issues. Agencies can win friends by making Members look good in their districts.

- DoD and State currently have a problem dealing with Congress because many Members feel like they were mislead by the information they were presented prior to voting the authorization for the Iraq War.

- A major obstacle to dealing effectively with Congress is communication – agencies like DoD use too many acronyms and too much jargon, leaving member or staffer totally in the dark.

- Martin Frost: I can’t count the number of times after agency presentations I had to say to the agency representative or my staff, “Now, explain this to me in English.” Young staffers in particular are very unfamiliar with agency jargon.

- It’s very important to understand the target audience of Hill staffers – many are very young and they are all overworked. Thick reports and acronyms rattled off do not impress them. They want the whole thing in one page, with access to additional information. Agencies should strive to become the best resource for a quick 15 minute briefing on issues or topic areas.

- Agency think they need to focus on experienced committee staff and that they can ignore young personal staff – but young staff will be committee staff in the future.

- Most committee decisions are viewed through the election prism, so it’s necessary to have a dialogue with the chief of staff and district directors.

- Each member’s office is different – some may have a chief of staff who is only political, while others have a chief who is partially on the committee payroll and who does legislative work.

- More experienced staff know the issues and the facts – they are in it for the love of politics.

- Only the director of an agency will typically get time with Members – and you need to provide the read ahead so Members can learn about the issue in advance.

- If you’re going to ask for a Member’s time, better make sure it’s important.

- Army Corp of Engineers is one of the best agencies that Congress deals with. They have the district director/engineer come to Washington at least once a year to give a simple presentation of every Corp project going on in Member’s district. Members can spend 30 minutes and get all of their questions answered.

- The Social Security Administration also has a great reputation for working with Congress. They are skilled at dealing with members and staff, and responding to inquiries in a prompt way. They put on regular seminars and open houses, and invite congressional staff to local offices for updates on changes in the law and how to better respond to constituent inquiries.

- The US Marine Corp is another top agency when it comes to working with Congress. The congressional liaison staff takes guidance direcly from the Commandant of the Marine Corp. They focus on about 5 issues, and they work those issues very methodically. They have identified every former Marine in Congress. They are always accommodating. Also good at getting favorable press treatment.

- Members of Congress are not the enemy – they are highly motivated to serve the public good. They want the country to be successful and want to do what’s necessary to us a better country.