PT Insights

May
01

Engaging Congress Before It Is Too Late

Greg McCarthy

Mackenzie Eaglen, the well-respected defense analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, recently expressed concern to The Hill newspaper that defense companies aren’t making a bigger push with Members of Congress to protect their products and services from potential cuts under sequestration. Eaglen stated, “The groundwork has to be laid now for any decisions made and votes taken in a lame-duck session.”

She’s right. After the President announced his budget recommendations in February I was amazed that many defense contractors whose programs were not on the list took a passive “wait-and-see” attitude to Congressional action on defense spending. They failed to recognize that competition for limited funding increases the likelihood that Congress may have its own plans for how money is allocated. The recent resurrection of Global Hawk by the House Armed Services Committee is an example.

Defense contractors should be working to educate Members of Congress of the value of their products and services. Here are some cost-effective ways to do this:

Illustrate Value through Real Life Examples: Monitor the media to collect news stories, photographs and third-party observations that illustrate the value of the product or service. Send these directly to key Members of Congress and staff. Create or use existing Facebook fan page or websites to promote the stories.

Create Compelling Shareable Content: Develop short compelling videos or infographics that explain the benefits of a program and that can be easily shared and used by supplier partners, Members of Congress, and your customer through social media platforms.

Engage the Media: Implement a coordinated and sustained campaign to explain the benefits of the program to defense, Congressional and regional media. The strategic, tactical, political and economic benefits messages of the program and the consequences of its eliminations should be developed for each set of media based on their interests.

Support the Customer: While an industry’s military customer can make the case for the benefits of the program to the warfighter, they are often limited to contact with Members with specific oversight authority. Companies can provide support by using multiple communications and media channels to explain to a wide group of influential Members of Congress the technological, strategic and tactical advantages of the products and services.

Active Grassroots: Remind Members of Congress that the economic benefits of the program reach far beyond the manufacturing plant. Manufacturing and supply partners around the country who contribute parts and services to the program may be detrimentally impacted by its elimination. Activate – through channels locally and in Washington – those manufacturing and supply partners to educate their Members of Congress on the importance of the program to the economy of their district.

Greg McCarthy served as communications advisor to U.S. Senator Jack Reed, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Appropriations Committees. He leads Powell Tate’s Defense and Military Affairs practice in Washington, and oversees the agency’s work with some of the nation’s top prime contractors and suppliers. Follow defense industry news from Powell Tate on Twitter: @ptdefense