How to Lobby Effectively When You Can’t Be in the Room Where It Happens
By Mila Becker, Chief Policy Officer, Endocrine Society/ CHF Board Member/Hamilton Fan
On May 4, 2020 The Hill reported on what the “new normal” would look like on Capitol Hill as Congress adjusts to social distancing to prevent further spread of the coronavirus, and it felt like the floor fell out from under me. “Members will be advised to meet with constituents and lobbyists over video- or teleconferencing rather than in person for the next 12 months.”
While the pandemic has already upended daily routines and legislative calendars, forcing lawmakers to adapt to virtual hearings and cloistered campaigning, and it was to be expected that the upheaval will extend to all facets of life in the Capitol complex, it still came as a blow. How would I be able to influence policy when I could not – to borrow a line from Hamilton – be in the room where it happens?
Luckily, ironically enough, I had two experiences that helped prepare me for creating a plan and rise up to this challenge. As a lobbyist for a small medical society, I had come to rely and look forward to annual Hill Days where I would bring my members in from around the country and take to the Hill with our advocacy messages. A couple of years ago a March snowstorm necessitated a last-minute switch from Hill Day visits to telephone calls and just last month we experimented with a virtual Hill Day when we had to cancel our Spring visits and thought this virtual environment would be much more short-lived.
Here’s what I learned for how to organize a virtual Hill Day:
Start with Timing - It is even harder to get the attention of Congress now. It is key to schedule a virtual event for the time Congress is actually considering the issue you care about. For example, originally, our Spring Hill Day was going to focus on various clinical issues and extender legislation we expected in May. With COVID-19, we pivoted and switched our messages to issues we wanted included in the COVID-19 relief legislation Congress was currently working on.
Participation & Who Tells Your Story – Participants for our virtual Hill Day changed. Originally, we brought members to DC who were part of certain Society committees. For our virtual Hill Day, we selected participants by first identifying who in Congress would be making decisions on the legislation and then finding our members who lived in those congressional districts or states and could provide personal examples justifying our recommendations. Then, we created three tiers of Society participants:
Tier 1 – Society members who were a constituent of a key Member of Congress and who we could schedule a phone call with a senior congressional staff person in that office;
Tier 2 – Society members who were a constituent of a key Member of Congress and who we could not schedule a phone call for, but who could write a personalized, detailed letter and send directly to a senior congressional staff person in that office;
Tier 3 – All other US Society members who we would ask to participate in an online advocacy campaign.
Our plan yielded success: We were able to connect directly with congressional offices, including the Speaker of the House, both the Senate Majority and Minority Leaders, and House and Senate leaders of key committees. Our online campaign generated almost one thousand letters to Congress within 24 hours. Additionally, we received positive feedback from congressional offices who appreciated getting information that was needed in an efficient way, and we even got press coverage in Bloomberg News about our virtual lobbying approach.
Preparation – Part of a Hill Day was always the breakfast and prep session before visits where our members would review the issues, learn how to talk less and smile more, and break into groups to prepare for their day of visits. A virtual Hill Day means virtual preparation, but this preparation is even more important because unlike our Hill Day when a staff member would accompany every group of members on their visits, for virtual Hill Day our members would be making their calls on their own, and we didn’t want to throw away our shot. Each participant, instead, was asked to send us an email following the virtual visit confirming it happened and letting us know if any follow-up was requested. Coordinating a time to have a virtual prep also posed a challenge with participants calling in from multiple time zones, so we organized prep calls for the East Coast, West Coast, and those in between.
Materials – The standard “leave-behind folder” with fact sheets was not going to be possible. Even though it felt like we were writing all the time, this is how we handled the development and dissemination of materials:
Confirmation of meeting – When we sent an email confirming our virtual meeting, time, call-in information, and attendees, we attached a letter we had sent to the Hill outlining our “asks.” This provided the opportunity for congressional staff could review the information before the virtual visit.
Talking points – We created not a script, but talking points for our participants making sure they knew what our asks were and could personalize them.
Thank-you email – Along with the talking points, we provided each participant with a thank-you template and asked them to personalize and send within 24 hours of their virtual visit.
Follow-up – Our staff was responsible for following up on any questions or requests and sent an email with the information and copied the constituent.
Tips & Tricks — We arranged all visits as one-on-ones because it would have been too difficult to rearrange schedules if we were working with groups. This allowed us to be nimble, to engage more of our members from different locations, and to cover more congressional offices.
Tips we gave to our participants:
Be sure to dial in on time. Congressional staff have tightly scheduled days and calling in late will limit the time you have to cover your messages.
Be aware that your call may be short, as Congressional staff are very busy.
The purpose of your call is to connect the office with a constituent who can amplify our message by talking personally. Don’t forget to take time to introduce yourself and connect with the congressional staffer. It is so important to personalize the “ask” and give an example of why this is important to you. Staff want to hear from constituents about what is happening at home because they are not there to see it for themselves.
We’ll make it right for you. When you complete your visit, send the congressional office a personalized thank you email based on the template we provided; email us with how it went and what follow-up is needed and we will take it from there.
Conclusions — In conclusion, and with apologies to Lin Manuel Miranda, you can get a lot farther by working a lot harder, by being a lot smarter, by being a self-starter and creating a virtual Hill Day.
Our members loved participating virtually and are excited to do this again. The virtual Hill Day is not the same as a traditional Hill Day, but it can work and can engage more of our members and more congressional offices.
Meeting materials have to be even more brief and compelling than they were before.
Talking points have to be even more brief and compelling than they were before, but participants must take time to personalize the message. Participants need to connect in a virtual meeting and also act as the staffer’s eyes on what is happening back home.
It is still possible to take photos and to use them in social media.