Bryce Harlow Foundation

Today’s post comes from Bryce Harlow alumni fellow, Sarah McDonald.

When I first applied for the Bryce Harlow Fellowship, I knew that I had a passion for public affairs and the desire to make a difference in the advocacy world, but had not considered lobbying itself as a profession, having always worked on and enjoyed the administrative and grassroots side of advocacy.  However, through the networking opportunities I engaged in as a fellow, including “People You Should Know” luncheons, the interaction with the board of the foundation, and the peer to peer relationships with the other fellows, I began not only to learn more about lobbying, but also to realize that my strengths and education would be well-suited for a career in this other, very interconnected but different, aspect of advocacy.

I was incredibly fortunate to be offered the Bryce Harlow Fellowship for two years, and felt comfortable setting up one-on-one meetings with my mentors and candidly expressing my plan for career growth in the influence industry.  I also found that the content, organization, and scheduling of Bryce Harlow events made attendance not only possible, but a very beneficial use of the limited extra time available to working professionals who are also studying for their Masters’ degrees.

The Bryce Harlow Fellowship is invaluable to any student and professional studying and working in the advocacy field, and I am proud and grateful that I can say the fellowship has directly helped me in my career.  In January of this year, I was promoted to Manager, Government Relations to be a federal lobbyist.  While I know I earned this promotion through hard work and dedication, one of the first emails I sent after learning of the promotion was to thank Linda Dooley, president of the Bryce Harlow Foundation, for allowing me to be a fellow and giving me the ability to take on my new role with confidence.

Today’s post comes from James A. Thurber, whose latest publication Rivals for Power examines the ongoing power struggle between the president and Congress.

President Obama has fought the influence of lobbyists since the inception of his political career, beginning as the ethics and lobbying reform leader in the Senate in 2006-07 and continuing through his candidacy and eventual presidency. The combination of rising campaign spending and lobbying expenditures, public malevolence toward lobbying, and a general resentment toward Congress have created the perfect political environment for reform.

The president has only fueled these feelings by publicly and repeatedly calling for transparency in the lobbying industry. Chapter 7 from my most recent publication, Rivals for Power: Presidential-Congressional Relations, analyzes whether the president has been successful in his attempts to change the way both Congress and Washington work.

The president has found it difficult however to tame lobbying because of its
size, adaptability, and integral part it plays in America’s pluralist democracy.
Although the number of registered lobbyists has decreased since January 2009, it is
estimated the number of people in DC who are either lobbyists or associated with
the advocacy industry is more than 100,000. And although President Obama has
decried lobbyists for hindering or stopping his policy agenda, undermining
democracy and the public interest, he has publicly praised his stakeholders from
organizations such as the AARP, pharmaceutical industry, and the health insurance
industry in passing his health care reform legislation.

The only difference between lobbyists and these non-registered stakeholders
lies in President Obama’s rhetoric; both cite the first amendment as the cornerstone
of their industry. Throughout my publication, I use examples from President Obama’s
presidency and political career as a whole to draw my final conclusion: that he has
tried to reform lobbying and Congress as a senator, candidate and president, but he
has failed to meet the high expectations of the American public to change the role of
lobbyists and specialized interests in congressional policy making.

When I tell  people who live outside of Washington, DC  that I am a lobbyist,  I get a mixture of reactions ranging from deep respect to choleric anger and everything in between.  Regardless of the reaction, I am always struck by how little the public understands about the role of lobbying and the lobbyist in creating public policy.

Most people think that there is something mysterious, magical, and secret about lobbying as if the lobbyist is a form of Harry Potter and the Congress a grown-up Hogwarts. The most misunderstood part of the process is the most basic and least mysterious  — the fact that lawmakers lack information and without lobbyists, lawmakers do not have the information they need to make good public policy decisions.

The public assumes, particularly in the age of the Internet, that a Member of Congress need only push a button and all the relevant information is revealed.  This is a false assumption. The only information lawmakers have is information that is provided by people who will  be affected by a public policy decision. Every public policy decision creates intended and unintended consequences, winners and losers. It is the responsibility of the people whose lives and/or livelihood will be affected to tell the Congress about those consequences, so that public policy is well-informed.

Lobbyists are professional information-gatherers and professional  information-communicators and, without the data they provide, the Congress literally could not conduct the nation’s business. Lobbyists spend most of their time providing data and information to people on Capitol Hill who lack subject-matter expertise and doing it in a way that will cut through the competing “noise” of the other thousands of lobbyists whose issues have equal merit.  It is very hard, important work and there is nothing mysterious about it!

The First Amendment guarantees the right “to petition the government for redress of grievances,” a right vital to a free society. But I believe that the right to petition — the right to lobby – is more than a right – it is a fundamental responsibility and duty, in particular for the business community. Good public policy cannot exist without vigorous engagement by stakeholders, especially those from corporate America. Yet we can all agree that this right is under attack and is poorly understood by the American public. These attitudes go hand in hand with the public’s growing distrust of its political institutions. So what is to be done to protect the right to petition and to protect the business community’s right to affect public policy? The best way is to ensure that future generations of lobbyists are trained in the values of Bryce Harlow. The BHF takes on this challenge directly by providing scholarships to young professionals who are working full-time in advocacy and going to graduate school at night (as did Bryce Harlow) in order to earn the credentials to be the next generation of leaders who will carry this profession in the future. Along the way we expose them to best-in-class practitioners and teach them the importance of honesty, ethics, and integrity in the profession. BH fellows receive a mentor from our Board who transfers years of experience and practical advice to help them manage their careers. They understand that the best way to be successful in advocacy is to follow the example and values of Bryce Harlow’s storied career.

Former BHF Board member David Rehr, a Professor at the GW Graduate School of Political Management, last year published some ground-breaking research, based on 3,000 surveys, of attitudes of Congressional staffers and lobbyists. The research confirms that the two things that are most valued on Capitol Hill by staff and Members of Congress are 1) the quality and honesty of the information, and 2) the integrity of the person providing it. Honesty and integrity still have more influence than what often passes as “power” in DC. This is very good news, because these are the principles on which the BHF was founded.

This week as we gather with family and friends to celebrate all we have to be thankful for, take a moment to consider how fortunate we are as a nation to have knowledgeable, experienced professionals working together with elected officials to produce sound public policy. That’s right – be thankful for lobbyists.

No, we’re not kidding.

Yes, advocacy as a trade, and lobbyists in particular, have long played a popular villain in the media and on the campaign trail, and like any industry there are ample bad actors that can be used to support that narrow view. The facts are far less sinister though: professional advocates play a critical role in our government, one that affects nearly every aspect of our daily lives, and even holidays.

However you decide to travel to your destination this Thanksgiving, local and federal lobbyists have played a role. Advocates have fought to modernize your roads and keep the planes you fly in safe.

When you’re at the local supermarket picking up this year’s turkey and other foods that make this holiday so delicious, consider the men and women working for the farmers, the transporters, the grocers, and the consumers to ensure your food is safe, affordable, and plentiful.

Even as you doze off on the couch with one eye on the football game, advocates play a role. They’re working for the NFL, the players, the cable providers, and many others, to produce the product we enjoy every week.

All of this is possible because of the fundamental right as Americans to petition our government. Whether you’re a seasoned professional advocate or a concerned citizen, the First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees your right to be a lobbyist.

That’s something we can all be thankful for.