Deep Dive Breakout 1: Cutting Through the Noise with a New Congress

The 118th Congress has been messy and its unclear whether the 119th Congress will be any better. What are some strategies to build visibility and awareness when a new Congress is in session? How do you assess changed committee and party leadership? How can you begin successful relationships with new members and their staff, and educate them on your priorities?

Natalie Cook, Tennessee Valley Authority
Elizabeth Parks, National Federation of Independent Business
Ashley Smith, CARE
Jamie Werner, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (moderator)

Notes:

Timeline for Year 1 for Freshman

• The majority of offices are often not fully staffed until after Q1 of the new year
• When engaging with a new member of Congress, be considerate of their staffing capacity as they’re hiring in Q1 of their first year

Map It Out – Internal Calendar

• By Quarter
  • First quarter: offices staff up, internal budget, etc.
• Committee Markups
• Key Deadlines
• District Work Periods
• Communicate Before You Need Something
  • Don’t go straight into the ask

Advice:

• Strategically map out when to reach out to an office.
• Map out internal deadlines in advance.
• Make sure you wait until the Member has an LA to staff the meeting to yield a meaningful result.

Lame Duck

• The time to get your policy priorities across the finish line
• Continue relationship-building with re-elected members
• Take action in August, September, and October, as it is hard for Congress to pass post-November

Pre-November: Build Relationships Early

• Anticipate potential movement and establish or strengthen relationships before the election and before you need something.
  • For example, many members are retiring this year, so you can anticipate which districts will have new members.
• Initiate contact with new members/staff ASAP to position your organization as a resource while they get their feet under them.

Early Days: Be Helpful Before You Need Something

• Provide your position and credibility.
• During lame duck, build relationships when they’re candidates and can offer to brief them before the election.

How Do You Educate Advocates About a New Congress?

• Know your audience
  • Use multiple channels of communication to educate your advocates. Examples: In-person and virtual events, newsletters, and desktop advocacy
    • Tailor your messaging to your audience, mix it up, and keep it updated
  • Focus
  • Be honest and realistic with expectations
  • Keep mission/goal front of mind

Education Never Stops

• Training advocates about advocacy best practices is a year-round activity
• Identify your advocate leaders now so you can activate them early in the new Congress
• You can create a toolkit for advocates to build relationships with their Members of Congress

Orient Partners and Coalition

• Educate on the new makeup of Congress, key new members, leadership changes, and new policy landscape.
• Hold issue briefings to update on the organization’s priorities and impacts on the legislative outlook.
• Brainstorm ahead of time on areas that the new Congress will impact and orient partners ahead of time.

Using Committees As A Way To Get Advocates to Engage

• Tailor your messaging via desktop messaging.
• Use the subject line to capture the committee’s attention. For example: “The XXX Committee Is Important. Here’s Why.”

In-Person Meetings

• Do your homework
• In conversation, have advocates show that they are in the know
  • Congratulations on your new role
  • Congratulations to your boss…
• Offer to be a resource and follow up consistently
• Power of advocate stories
  • Don’t underestimate the power of your advocates and their stories, as they can help move the needle.
  • Offices already know policy, processes, and legislative/legal jargon, but they don’t have advocate stories.

Coordinate Messages with Partners

• Evaluate the landscape with partners and understand their advocacy targets
• Assess new challenges, opportunities, and relationships
• Educate Members on their specific roles and how it impacts your organization
  • Brief new Members on their new jurisdiction/oversight

Electoral and New Committee Leader Targeting

• Target potential new committee leaders now through issue education and electoral advocacy
• Build support through independent expenditures.
  • Target members who will be important in the new Congress and continue to build relationships

Launching Policy Priorities

• Now is the time to communicate your policy priorities with advocates and members
  • Use lame duck time effectively to hone messaging ahead of Day 1
• Launch priority issue advocacy campaigns to build momentum
  • Focus on top issues and educate advocates on them ahead of the new Congress

Leverage Strengths to Position Priorities

• Play to your unique mission.
• Bridge from members’ diverse interests related to your operations to your priorities
  • Brief the member and educate them on the importance of your issue and how it translates back to their committee assignment and district.
  • Build bridges as you make relationships.
• Executive engagement and events to reinforce relationships
  • Having a face for the brand can be beneficial for organizations
  • Hill-facing publications and earned media can be used to strengthen relations

Lean In To Your Mission and Goals

• Focus on your 360-degree strategy
• Ready to act when crisis strikes
  • Be nimble and have advocates be ready to take action
  • For example, Cancelled Hill meetings can be pivoted to phone calls, letters, etc.
• What is your organization’s position? Bipartisan convener, nonpartisan, partisan?

Questions and Answers

• What’s the right balance to approach new members of Congress?
  • Fundings and appropriations always kick off in March, so organizations can ground their in-person meetings around concrete timelines.
  • March can be a sweet spot for organizations to schedule fly-ins. If an office isn’t ready to accept letters it doesn’t mean your advocates can’t write them.
  • Target members that work for your organizations as not all are the same
• Recommendations for a late January immovable fly-in?
  • Not all offices are the same.
  • Organizations should set expectations with advocates and give them template language to send if they can’t meet with staff members.
  • The firehose will continue regardless.
  • Put your efforts where it matters.
  • Follow up if you can’t meet with them in late January and ask for a meeting in a different month.
  • Staff are always moving. Keep an eye out for the directory as people move often.

Final Takeaways: Plan strategically and focus as much as possible amidst the noise.