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The On the Hill: Breaking Down DC podcast is a collection of sharing more about what’s happening in DC without the bias, ways for you to get involved with the US government, and interviews with friends, colleagues who can help pull back the proverbial curtain of Washington, DC. Katherine Getty, host of the OTH podcast, is a 10-year Washingtonian who lives and breathes politics.
Katherine Getty 0:01
Hi, and welcome to the on the Hill podcast with me your host, Katherine Getty. Each Thursday, I'll peel back the curtain of what happens in Washington, from breaking down current events without bias, to interviews with fellow political nerds, and even and maybe most importantly, ways for you to get involved with our US government. Welcome back to another episode of On the hill podcast with me, your host, Katherine Getty. This week, we're going to be talking about all things congressional flying, and you may be asking yourself, what is congressional climb? Well, I'm glad you're here, I'm gonna let you know. This, this idea of this podcast, this episode, in particular, really came out of my own experience on the hill as of late when I go up for meetings on the hill, I'm seeing tons of advocacy groups, may they be nonprofits, maybe be students, um, whoever may be lobbying staff and members of Congress. And so I wanted to bring you in to what that looks like, why it's important, and maybe encourage you to do it, do it for an organization you love as well. So I congressional flying really refers to when members of an industry organization advocacy group travel up to Washington, DC, and I'm thinking it through the federal lens, but this could be at state capitals, to meet with members of Congress, their staff, and talk to them about the issues that are most important to them. These visits are organized to advocate for maybe specific bills or policies, or share maybe industry concerns and provide insight on their own experience on various issues. So the objectives are typically, like I said, education, advocacy, relationship building visibility, if you think about it, members of Congress and their staff typically have to address tons of different issues. And they're also niche. And so it helps to have people come up, share their own experience. Now, there's an extension of that. And it becomes when maybe someone who works for a particular company or nonprofit, they're considered a lobbyist as this on a daily or weekly basis. But when you hear directly from, you know, patient advocacy groups, or maybe college students talking about safe, affordable housing, it makes an an impression, and it makes a difference. And when you do it, and a large amount of people coming up to the hill, it creates a buzz. And so that's really helpful when you're thinking about maybe stopping a piece of legislation or supporting a piece of legislation, the more people can show the more interest in an issue and it is harder for a member or a staffer tend to not tell that member, what is happening. So these congressional flying visits are really, really powerful for that education and advocacy pieces. Additionally, to get prepared for something like that, there takes a lot of coordination. So think about it, there are people coming up talking to staffers and members. And it takes not only you know, you know, one pagers which is like a document a memo, or it takes scheduling those meetings, it takes training, preparing yourself to say, what does a good meeting with a staffer or member of Congress look like? So that preparation is really key not only to have all the tools of the trade, but also to feel really confident because if you're not doing it on a daily basis, it helps to kind of practice this is what a meeting looks like. We've all done meetings where we're trying to be persuasive. But it feels a little different on Capitol Hill. I'll tell you that very much. When I first started doing these when I was in college, I was talking about safe, affordable housing. And I was really nervous. I loved Congress, I loved learning more about each member of Congress and what they were passionate about. But I really wanted to, to make sure that I was sharing the voice of fellow students. And it was really sometimes nerve wracking, but having that practice having the materials and knowing where exactly we were going to be going and having that training really prepared me to succeed. And during those visits, you got to be really clear. I think it's always very helpful when you come in and say, Hey, I'm here to talk about x. We're going to go through why. And then we're going to close out, giving them a roadmap, giving those staffers remember a roadmap is really helpful. I'm here to talk about three things today. There are so many meetings that are happening on Capitol Hill. Staffers could have up to, I don't know 10 To 15 meetings in a day on vastly different issues. So you want your meeting to stand out. You want your meeting to be like, Wow, I know they came really prepared. They made it super easy for us to understand the issue or support that insert bell or you know, whatever. The issue may be, and I'm going to be able to speak to my member or that member is like, yep, that really pushed us over the edge and things like this things like meetings on Capitol Hill do make a difference. So, you know, this podcast was born out of the idea of how do you engage with this constitutional republic we call the US federal government. And I think it's important to know about things like this, because, you know, you can be prepared, you can have really clear meetings. But you also need to do the follow up of the thank yous and continuing to report back as things change, that could be different depending on what advocacy group, you have, like I referenced lobbyists before, they might have to do that, they will do that for you. Or maybe you'll be coming back in six months to a year. And so you'll do a couple follow ups, be that via an email or meaning virtually, and then follow up in person. But I think it's so important to know that these opportunities exist. So that if there is a advocacy organization you're really passionate about, if there's your school invites, you know, former alumni to come up and speak, whatever the group may be, figure out how you can use your voice, your experience, because Capitol Hill is a richer place, when people share their stories. And it is important for legislators and their staff, to have people from different parts of an issue come and speak, you may have someone who's really Pro, a piece of legislation and someone who's really against it. And you have to think through the different implications for this law or this policy, because it impacts people's lives. But, you know, as I am going on Capitol Hill, it dawned on me that I had never shared about these congressional clients and what they do or their opportunities for members of an industry organization and advocacy group, to travel to DC to meet with those members. You're able to share education, build relationships, increase visibility and advocate for policies. Prior to going to those meetings, you're going to want to be really coordinated, get those appointments, ensure their materials, you know, do some practice meetings. During that meeting, be very clear what you're there to speak of. And after the meeting, follow up. I hope that this little primer on congressional clients is helpful for to you I hope it inspires you to like I said, advocate on what's important to you on Capitol Hill because we are a better democracy with it. Thanks so much for tuning into this week's episode of The on the Hill podcast. As always, we'll be here every Thursday to share a little bit more about what's happening on the hill or give you some, you know, peek behind the curtain of what's happening in Washington, DC I so appreciate you tuning in. If you want to learn more about me the host Katherine Getty, you can find me on Instagram. My handle is at Katherine Getty for the podcast. The Instagram handle is on the Hill DC podcast. Thank you. Thank you so much. Please like and subscribe. It really helps this podcast grow share it with someone you know, share it on social media. And as always, thanks so much for tuning in.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai