Educating Congress Without Lobbying: Government Public Affairs

 

You see them at congressional hearings, sitting behind the high government official testifying on widget regulations, goat herding policy or a budget request.

No, not the gent in the tailor-made suit or the woman in the St. Johns suit.  We mean the men and women in charcoal suits, clutching binders containing talking points and Statements of Administration Policy.  Yes, we mean the shy and elusive government public affairs professionals (GPAP) who attend every congressional hearing impacting their agency, shy away from reporters and "facilitate" briefings for congressional staff.

Before we go any further, it is important to note that Federal Employees are prohibited from lobbying Congress by the Anti-Lobbying Act (18 USC Section 1913, originally enacted in 1919.  The law prohibits agencies from  using appropriated funds, or resources secured with appropriated funds, to lobby any federal, state, or local government official with respect to any pending or proposed legislation, resolution, appropriation, or measure. 

 

As noted by the National Institutes of Health on its website, “It is important to note that these provisions are not intended to inhibit the necessary flow of information and communication between the Executive and Legislative Branches of government; they are intended to prevent any inappropriate or undue influence on the legislative process.” 

Under the Anti-Lobbying Act, government employees as part of their official work may: 

• Communicate through normal channels with Members of Congress and State and local officials and their staffs in support of Administration or Department positions. The Act does not apply to such direct communications.

• Communicate with the public through public speeches, appearances and published writings to support Administration positions.

• Communicate privately with members of the public to inform them of Administration positions and to promote those positions -- but only to the extent that such communications do not involve the prohibited activities listed above. 

 Put another way, educating lawmakers is OK.  So is asking them to support the Administration's position.  Telling stakeholders to "call Congress" is verboten and is a great way to get fired.

There are several species of GPAP:

•  Political appointees, who usually have the title of "special assistant to the Secretary"; 
• Junior flunkies who maintain the databases containing contact information for the ever-changing corps of legislative assistants to Members of Congress and know THOMAS (the legislative website run by the Library of Congress) better than I know the menu at Starbucks; and,  
•  My personal favorite, the mid-level bureaucrats who can translate government jibber jabber into legislative speak.

Joining the Club

So how does one become a GPAP?  Not surprisingly, the special assistants often work on the President's campaign (this is the same in every administration) or from Capitol Hill.  At the low end of the spectrum are the bright-eyed twenty somethings who dislike the internal politics of trade associations and have had their fill of handing out name tags at fundraisers held by their law firm or lobby shop employers.

Working as a junior GPAP for a Federal agency means lots of grunt work that actually serves a purpose.  While scouring Roll Call and National Journal for congressional staff changes and verifying email addresses can be mind-numbing, there is a certain thrill when you send a blast email to dozens of staffers and you get an immediate response from the Appropriations Committee staffer who manages your agency's budget. 

Photocopying Your Way to the Top

Did we mention that that you will become best friends with the copy machine?  Congressional committees require 50-70 hard copies of testimony to be provided in advance of hearings.  Every Hill briefing requires handouts and every internal PowerPoint briefing requires - you guessed it -  copies of the slides.  So much for a paperless government. 

You will do substantive work as well.  Junior GPAPs monitor congressional schedules and circulate legislative calendars.  They will attend hearings (or watch them online) and prepare summaries that are distributed to senior staff and executives.   Legislative monitoring, which is the tracking of a bill as it moves through the congressional meat grinder, is a key part of the GPAP's portfolio.

Another key duty is testimony prep.  Congressional hearings are usually orchestrated by committee staff, who dread witness surprises. Committee staff will reach out to Administration witnesses to discuss hearing topics.  It is the job of the GPAP to negotiate the hearing topic and suggest questions for committee members to ask both the Administration and other witnesses.

Once the topic is set, it's time to begin drafting testimony.  The initial draft is usually developed by the subject matter experts, then circulated for comment throughout the agency.  Think edits.  Lots and lots of edits.  If you work for a agency within a larger Department, the testimony will be reviewed by the Office of the Secretary before being sent to the Office of Management and Budget.

While the clearance process is underway, the GPAP is working with committee staff to develop questions for committee members to ask witnesses.  There is also the last minute ritual of getting advance copies of testimony submitted by other witnesses.  Finally the big day comes.

High ranking GPAPs and subject matter experts get to attend the hearing and sit behind the witness, reading to pass a note containing vital information needed to respond to a difficult question.  Mostly, though, they sit and try to look thoughtful. just in case C-SPAN or the committee's web cam  happens to pan in their direction.