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Democracy would benefit if every college student learned how to lobby
Jun 25 2020
Liska was most recently the senior coordinator for university and alumni relations at the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars.
<p>As we continue down this swirling whirlpool of virus-induced uncertainty, a great deal of discussion has occurred in the D.C. government affairs space about how trade associations and lobbying firms will operate in our new normal.<br/></p>
<p>With Capitol Hill offices physically closed, normal legislative business disrupted and access to members and staff restricted more than ever, new methods of advocacy must be created. But there's been little talk about how citizen advocacy can adapt — especially on the part of young Americans. </p>
<p>With Congress passing unthinkably-large spending packages in record time, it's crucial all Americans be given the tools, perspective and encouragement to stay active in the public policy process despite our new reality. </p>
<p>Much of my professional career has been spent teaching civics to college students, and I've learned that to truly make a difference, a war in two theaters must be won: first, to reteach civics and "unlearn" misinformation; and second, to pull back the veil and show students how to apply directly the methods of advocacy. </p>
<p>For several years, I managed an academic public policy program at a nonprofit in Washington. It attracted thousands of college students to the capital each year. We wanted undergraduates to understand Congress and the public policy process, but with a twist:</p>
<p>After they were taught techniques of effective advocacy, they got a shot at trying them out on one of their own members of Congress. I helped facilitate almost 900 such face-to-face sessions for my students over five years. </p>
<p>Long before they set foot in a House or Senate office building, though, it was clear many weren't prepared. Most arrived for the semester with little civic understanding. </p>
<p>Some barely knew the three branches of government. Others had no concept of how laws were made. And, with the oversaturation of opinion masquerading as news, many couldn't tell fact from fiction. Some pointed to "House of Cards," one of the worst depictions of modern Washington there is, as an illustration of truth. And sadly, some thought that simply having an opinion was all they needed to debate policy. </p>
<p>So how do we fix this?</p>
<p>Foremost, young Americans must be taught civics more properly. The approach at my high school in Connecticut relied on memorization of the congressional districts and a spirited viewing of "Schoolhouse Rock!" ("I'm just a bill, sitting here on Capitol Hill.") This simply is not enough. </p>
<p>Comprehensive instruction must include how, and why, young people should visit Congress or a state legislature, with insight into the legislative dynamics and political realities. Students should be taught to spot misinformation, reject it entirely. And they need to learn how to articulate their wants and needs to those in power.</p>
<p>Which leads to the experiential piece. Many of the Founders felt it critical to incorporate civic learning into all levels of education, suggesting citizens actively attend official functions to understand personally how governments work.</p>
<p>The Philadelphia physician Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and delegate to the Continental Congress (and also founder of Dickinson College, my alma mater) envisioned an education rooted in republican principles. <a href="https://explorepahistory.com/odocument.php?docId=1-4-218" target="_blank">In a 1786 treatise</a>, he was so supportive of in-person encounters with the government that he suggested colleges be located only in county seats, so students would be easily able to witness local legislating and court proceedings. </p>
<p>Such access is just the first step. Students should take field trips and participate in lobby days, where they can hear directly from legislative staff and legislators about effective advocacy. They can see what works and what doesn't, and gain valuable insight into the kind of information lawmakers need when considering legislation. </p>
<p>Most of all, though, these young citizens would be more emboldened with the courage they need to continue a lifetime of advocacy.</p>
<p>To assure such repeated exposure to the halls of government, part of the responsibility lies with members of Congress and their staff. Thankfully, in all my hundreds of meetings on the Hill, only a handful of offices were unresponsive and fewer still were hostile to the idea of meeting with students. </p>
<p>But to help young citizens learn more about civics, legislators must make time for these constituents, explain their bills in plain English — and actually have a conversation. Politically-charged form letters do not make for good constituent correspondence. And with video conferencing now so commonplace, the opportunity for someone from a Senate or House office to appear in a virtual classroom to discuss lawmaking has never been easier. </p>
<p>Today's students are tomorrow's leaders, so institutions of learning must not cut back or eliminate civics. While all 50 states require some element of civic learning, many have shrunk or modified the curriculum — and, wrongly, some study-in-D.C. programs have eliminated any instruction related to advocacy.</p>
<p>Decisions about our future are made in Washington and in state capitols every day, with or without our input, so now is the time to double-down on what we can teach students about advocacy by involving all stakeholders: Legislators, lobbyists, educators and community groups. </p>
<p>By strengthening civic engagement, especially with young people, we might be able to equip a critical mass of Americans with the tools they need to inject a renewed sense of life in our democracy. </p>
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Crystal Canney ran for Maine state Senate in 2018.
Claim: One of Bloomberg's former state directors is a registered lobbyist for Saudi Arabia. Fact check: True
Jun 23 2020
On June 15, Crystal Canney filed a short form registration statement with the U.S. Department of Justice as a political consultant to render services to the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia.
Canney is the former Communications Director for Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and in January was Maine's state director for the Michael Bloomberg campaign.
In November, Saudi Arabia's Washington embassy signed a one-year, $1.5M contract with the Des Moines-based Larson Shannahan Slifka Group.
In her filing, Canney describes her services for Saudi Arabia as providing strategic and government affairs advice including public relations and communications services. She will also engage in outreach and engagement with the public and media groups as well as have oversight of other consultants.
Bjarte Rettedal/Getty Images
K Street, as the lobbying world is known, took in $903 million during the first quarter of this year.
Coronavirus caused a lobbying boom. It's hurting our democracy.
Jun 23 2020
Mizuno is a politics major at Princeton and an intern at Lobbyists 4 Good, a nonprofit crowdfunding platform for people seeking to hire lobbyists for their causes.
<p> The coronavirus pandemic has gutted the American economy. Small businesses have shuttered their doors, large corporations have filed for bankruptcy, unemployment rates have soared to the <a href="https://apnews.com/908d7a004c316baceb916112c0a35ed0" target="_blank">highest levels since the Great Depression</a> — and entire industries may need help from the government to avoid collapse. </p><p> But as millions of Americans struggle to pay their rent on time, one industry is booming. Lobbyists on Capitol Hill are in sky high demand. Corporations and special-interest groups are turning to lobbyists to help them maximize aid from the government as the economic fallout from the pandemic continues. </p><p>According to the Center for Responsive Politics, spending on federal lobbying totaled <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/what-does-coronavirus-relief-bill-have-do-ritz-carlton-it-ncna1206106" target="_blank">$903 million in the first quarter</a> of this year, matching the figure from the first three months of 2010 — the most expensive single season of lobbying on record. The $2 trillion economic recovery package enacted in March, bill, known as the CARES Act, is the <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/04/coronavirus-stimulus-spurs-lobbying/" target="_blank">second most lobbied bill</a> of all time. </p><p> With the help of lobbyists, businesses are trying to secure the biggest piece possible of the relief pie. The problem, however, is that lawmakers should be listening to the voices of their constituents, not corporations with close ties to the government. In times of crisis, the lobbying boom is funneling taxpayer money away from those who need it most. </p><p> As lawmakers rush to address the pandemic, many industries are slapping "coronavirus" onto their existing agendas as a way to seek to take advantage of the current circumstances. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/us/politics/coronavirus-stimulus-lobbying.html" target="_blank">Adidas is lobbying for a provision</a> to allow people to use pretax money to purchase gym membership and fitness equipment — even as gyms around the country have been ordered closed. Drone manufacturers are asking the Trump administration to grant waivers to bypass regulations. And <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/22/coronavirus-lobbying-gush-199951" target="_blank">corporate giants like CVS and Apple</a>, whose profits have gone up during the pandemic, nonetheless lobbied to get provisions in the CARES Act. </p><p>As a result, the law is full of provisions that benefit wealthy corporations. Money allocated to corporations by the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve under the measure doesn't have to be used to support workers. Corporations may use these taxpayer-funded loans to buy back stocks, maintain profits for their shareholders or pump money into their reserves. A congressional oversight commission set up as part of the law has yet to name its chairman. Even if it does begin to function, the panel has been given limited power to access information about private companies. That means there's no guarantee the loans will actually benefit everyday Americans and their families. </p><p> The real winners of the lobbying bonanza? Lobbying firms. Take, for example, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. The firm <a href="https://time.com/5830821/federal-stimulus-spending-lobbying-brownstein/" target="_blank">raked in a whopping $11 million</a> from clients just in January, February and March — and added 33 new clients to its portfolio. The firm was paid $960,000 from three entities under Apollo Global Management, one of world's largest private equity firms, on "issues related to Covid-19 relief." It's difficult to fathom why a giant private equity firm would need coronavirus relief. The co-founder of Apollo, Joshua Harris, has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/28/business/jared-kushner-apollo-citigroup-loans.html" target="_blank">advised the Trump administration</a> on infrastructure policy and has been considered for a White House position. Disclosures show that many other lobbying firms with close ties to the administration also saw big gains in their profits. </p><p> Meanwhile, small businesses are struggling. In a <a href="https://dataforgood.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SMBReport.pdf" target="_blank">survey of 86,000 small- and medium-sized businesses</a>, Facebook reported that a third of businesses closed during the pandemic do not expect to reopen. These businesses and their employees are barely hanging on by a thread. Among hotel, cafe and restaurant employees, 94 percent reported they have no access to paid time off and 93 percent reported they have no sick leave. Food banks across America are buckling under high demand. Every minute a member of Congress spends with a corporate lobbyist is time spent away from listening to the concerns of ordinary constituents. </p><p>As Congress gears up to negotiate additional relief bills, who should have the power to influence how our tax dollars are allocated? At <a href="https://www.lobbyists4good.org/" target="_blank">Lobbyists 4 Good</a>, we believe power should rest in the hands of ordinary Americans. We allow individuals to start crowdfunded campaigns to hire advocates for their cause. One of our current campaigns is pressing <a href="https://www.lobbyists4good.org/coronavirus" target="_blank">Congress to prioritize public health</a> in the next coronavirus response legislation — not on bailing out corporations. These lobbying efforts rely on everyday people for funding through small donations — not large corporations or wealthy donors. </p><p>Businesses big and small have been shuttered by the pandemic, and they should have their voices heard by lawmakers. But the government's purpose, especially in times of crisis, must be to serve the interests of the American people, not corporations.</p>
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A new report from Issue One Action shows how the wealthy special interests have spread their influence under the Trump administration.
The D.C. swamp has gotten swampier under Trump, report finds
Jun 17 2020
Four years after Donald Trump campaigned on "draining the swamp," wealthy special interests wielding power in Washington have only become more pervasive.
Spotlight on the Swamp, a new project launched last week by the bipartisan advocacy group Issue One Action, details how lobbying activity and spending has increased during the Trump administration, the "pay to play" system has persisted and D.C.'s ethical standards have fallen. (Issue One Action is affiliated with Issue One, which is incubating — but has no editorial say in — The Fulcrum.)
With the November election 20 weeks away, and Americans grappling with the compounded crises of Covid-19 and racial injustice, efforts to make the system more equitable and representative for everyone have become even more crucial.
<p>To determine the extent to which the power of special interests have grown during Trump's presidency, Issue One Action's project posed three questions:<br></p><ol class="ee-ol"><li>Has lobbyist influence been reduced and the revolving door slowed?</li><li>Has donor access and the "pay to play" system been reduced?</li><li>Is D.C. more ethical and accountable?</li></ol>
<p>"The answer to all three is a resounding no," the report found.</p>
<p>The number of registered lobbyists and the money they've spent has increased every year since 2017. Last year, nearly 12,000 lobbyists spent $3.47 billion. More than 280 lobbyists have been hired to work in the president's administration, and Trump has named more lobbyists to Cabinet-level positions than former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush did in their eight-year terms.</p>
<p>Trump also hasn't addressed the growing presence of "<a data-linked-post="2636225613" href="https://thefulcrum.us/dark-money" target="_blank">dark money</a>" in elections. Since the Supreme Court's 2010 <a data-linked-post="2636209592" href="https://thefulcrum.us/citizens-united" target="_blank">Citizens United</a> decision, undisclosed donors have spent more than $1 billion. Additionally, more than 3,100 conflicts of interest within the president's administration have been flagged over the last three years.</p>
<p>"The facts are abundantly clear. More than ever, Washington, D.C., is a place where wealthy special interests buy access and influence and have an outsized say in government policymaking," said Issue One Action Executive Director Meredith McGehee.</p>
<p>While these problems didn't start with Trump, they have escalated during his presidency, according to Issue One Action, which outlines <a href="https://www.spotlightontheswamp.org/solutions" target="_blank">two dozen solutions</a> the Trump administration or Congress could take to reduce the influence of special interests and strengthen federal accountability standards. For instance, Congress could pass legislation to extend a mandated "cooling off" period between government officials leaving office and starting lobbying jobs. Other suggestions include releasing the White House visitor logs and nominating more qualified candidates to the Federal Election Commission.</p>
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