Advocacy is not for the impatient. When Congress moves quickly, it moves slowly. And when it moves slowly – which is most of the time – it can appear to be standing still. Ours is a political system designed to prevent rapid and radical change, and in that regard it succeeds.
One rule of thumb I use with clients (which, like most rules of thumb, is more explanatory than accurate) is the Three-Congress Rule. In the first session of Congress you maybe have a hearing or two on your bill, get some cosponsors, get a little media, generate some letters to legislators, spend time talking to staff. This takes two years. In the second session you go back to your cosponsors (remember that when a Congress adjourns all the unpassed bills vanish and you have start over again), have a few more hearings, get some more coverage, generate more grassroots and grasstops support, maybe you manage to get the bill out of Committee or even the House or the Senate. Then time runs out and another two years is over. In the third session you again go back to your cosponsors, and folks say “didn’t we pass this last year?” and you get your bill. When the bill eventually does pass it probably looks very different than it did at the start, and may be tacked onto a larger piece of legislation that may or may not have anything to do with your idea. This is if all goes well. And things rarely go well.
The administrative process isn’t much better. The rules mandate a slowness – there is a notice of inquiry, followed by a notice of proposed rulemaking, followed by replies, followed by responses. And this is just the official timing – the clock can stop and start, issues can move for months or years before getting to an NOI.
The most successful advocacy efforts recognize this reality and work within it. They develop and maintain relationships with policymakers over time, becoming part of the policymakers’ informal team on whatever the issue at hand happens to be. Given the turnover rate on the Hill and in the administration, outside advocates often outlast the policymakers themselves, further increasing their power and chances of success.
Less successful efforts jump in at the end, filing comments with an agency or generating a grassroots push around a bill in its final stages. This can sometimes work, but is often too late. By the time a bill hits committee or the floor the hard work of narrowing options has been done, decisions about which problem to solve and the general approach to solving it have been made.
Winning a policy debate is like winning any other debate, it is far easier to do at the beginning than at the end. If you want to impact policy at the end, get in early and stay in throughout.
