Persuading Congress

What happens in Congress affects all of our lives and extends into every corner of the economy. Because so much is at stake there, businesses and other interest groups spend billions of dollars each year trying to influence it.

Yet, most of these efforts are doomed to futility from the outset. Only a small percentage of the bills introduced in Congress actually become law, and most interested parties do not fully understand why those few bills succeed. More importantly, how to get Congress to do what they want remains a mystery to them. It is as if everyone in the place is speaking in the ancient Greek of the first democracy.

This book will help you understand Congress. Written from the perspective of one who has helped put a lot of bills on the President’s desk and helped stop a lot more, this book explains in everyday terms why Congress behaves as it does. Then it shows you how you can best deploy whatever resources you have to move Congress in your direction.

You need no longer wonder what goes on in Congress. The book will allow you to read the news every day and understand what drives congressional actions. More importantly, you will no longer waste your time and money on lobbying and advocacy strategies that do not help your cause or, worse yet, actually hurt it. You will also learn when congressional actions can and cannot happen allowing you to spend your resources elsewhere if necessary.

Because you have limited time, this book sticks to the basics and its chapters are short so that it can be digested rapidly in smaller chunks. Its advice applies to anyone who wants to affect the outcomes in Congress.

Complete Table of Contents online at PersuadingCongress.com

Ch. 1   What You Don't Know About Congress Can Hurt Your Organization

Ch. 2   How to Use This Book
 

Part I: How Congress Works

A. The Internal Dynamics of Congress

Ch. 3   Members of Congress

Ch. 4   Party Leaders

Ch. 5   Committees, Chairs, and Ranking Members

Ch. 6   Staff

Ch. 7   The Rules

B. External Influences on Congress

Ch. 8   The President

Ch. 9   The Departments and Agencies

Ch. 10  The Courts

Ch. 11  The News Media

Ch. 12  Interest Groups and Lobbyists

Ch. 13  The Public and Public Opinion

Ch. 14  Elections
 

Part II: How You Can Influence Congress

A. Facts of Life

Ch.  15  Self-Interest

Ch.  16  Ego

Ch.  17  Ideology

Ch.  18  Credit

Ch.  19  Inertia

Ch.  20  Size of Majority

B. Personal Tools

Ch. 21  Constituency

Ch. 22  Reputation

C. Intellectual Tools

Ch. 23  Goals

Ch. 24  Timing

Ch. 25  Positioning

Ch. 26  Quality of Ideas

Ch. 27  Facts and Arguments

D. Environmental Tools

Ch. 28  Signals

Ch. 29  Allies

Ch. 30  The Champion

E. Practical Tools

Ch. 31  Money

Ch. 32  Grassroots

Ch. 33  Grasstops

Ch. 34  The Internet

F. Opportunities

Ch. 35  The Meeting

Ch. 36  The Hearing

Ch. 37  The Markup

Ch. 38  Floor Consideration

Ch. 39  The Conference

Ch. 40  Crisis

G. Long-Term Considerations

Ch. 41  Patience

Ch. 42  Intensity

Ch. 43  Courage

Ch. 44  Understanding

Ch. 45  Conclusion

Appendices

A.  The Constitutional Basics

B.  Tips on Hiring a Lobbyist

C.  The Roles of Party Leaders

D.  How a Hearing Works

E. How a Markup Works 

Index

Complete Table of Contents online at PersuadingCongress.com