How Does the Election Affect Your Advocacy?
By Stephanie Vance, CEO, Advocacy Associates | July 11, 2022
The perfect storm of redistricting, a nearly unprecedented number of Congressional retirements, ongoing COVID- and security-related access restrictions, and the likelihood of a leadership change in the House will make the 118th Congress particularly challenging for scheduling capitol fly-ins. Here are five tips to help you navigate these treacherous waters.
Consider a later event: Between the new census-related Congressional district lines and the time needed for legislators to hire staff and move offices, expect a highly chaotic environment in the first few months of the 118th Congress. Some members won’t even be able to move into offices until late February! You’ll have a much more successful event if you’re able to hold off until mid- to late-March.
Manage advocate expectations: If you must have your event in January, February, or even early March, be prepared for fewer and lower-quality meetings. Because many offices won’t have all their policy staff in place, you may find that your advocates will be meeting with people unlikely to handle your policy issues in the future.
Be prepared for hybrid meeting approaches: Although we’re hopeful that access to House and Senate office buildings will improve in the 118th, challenges related to both COVID and security concerns have created a new normal on Capitol hill. As such, you may find that you’ll need a cache of video-conferencing lines along with a whole lot of flexibility to achieve your goals.
Expect late meeting confirmations: We’ve found that in his hybrid environment, many offices don’t confirm meeting times until the week of the event, and we don’t expect that to change even as we go to in-person events. Although we’ve still maintained our high overall meetings scheduled percentage, 70 percent of those meetings are confirmed much later than in previous years.
Expect changes on the fly: The start of a new Congress is hectic, not just for individual members, but for Committee leaders and overall leadership as well. Hearings and votes will often be called at the last minute, requiring offices to change meetings with little notice. Be sure to have a process in place for keeping advocates in the loop on a minute-by-minute basis.
Arranging Capitol fly-ins is always stressful and will be even more so in the 118th Congress. Hopefully these tips and strategies will help you achieve the daunting goal of putting together a successful event!