Today, a troubled economy has lawmakers scrambling to redefine regulations, and raise taxes, while a strong labor movement is attempting to push its political agenda through Congress. As result, we have created a formal grassroots program – The NFIB Key Contact Network – in order to better protect the rights of small business.
The objective of the network is to build relationships between small business owners and select members of Congress around a policy agenda that values free enterprise and entrepreneurship. These relationships help leverage the lobbying and advocacy efforts undertaken by our Public Policy Department by placing a personal face and story behind our agenda.
There's no substitute for a lawmaker hearing from business owners describing what it takes to make payroll, file endless tax forms, shop for health insurance or cope with rising energy costs.
Members of the Key Contact Network are encouraged to participate in a series of policy updates provided by NFIB staff and then reach out to lawmakers through personal meetings, phone calls, business tours and other opportunities that establish a positive dialogue.
------
According to a Congressional Management Foundation's (CMF) report titled, "Communicating with Congress: How Capitol Hill is Coping with the Surge of Citizen Advocacy," the majority of congressional staff believe that e-mail and the Internet have reduced the overall quality of constituents’ messages. CMF found that thoughtful, personalized constituent messages generally have more influence than a large number of identical form messages. The report recommends grassroots campaigns should consider placing greater emphasis on generating communications of higher quality.