The Corporate Lobbyist: Getting There

1. Bryce Harlow FoundationAdvocacy ForumatAmerican UniversityPresented byMark E. BittermanFormer Head of Government Relations for Orbital Sciences Corp. and Space Exploration Technologies, Inc.

2. The Corporate Lobbyist: Getting There • Political Science Bachelor’s • International Affairs Master’s • Capitol Hill Staffer • Military Service -- Navy Reserve • Presidential Campaign Work • Executive Branch Liaison -- Office of the Secretary of Defense • Space and Defense Lobbyist for Two Major Space and Defense Companies • Enthusiasm for the Process of Government (and an Apollo-era Space Nut) • Dumb Luck!

3. Lobbying: A Constitutional Right • First Amendment Guarantee • Basic right to exercise free speech and petition your government • Every citizen has access to his/her elected representatives • Integrity First • Bryce Harlow, an aide to Presidents Eisenhower and Nixon, exemplified the ideals of honor and integrity and demonstrated skills we lobbyists employ every day • President Reagan’s citation in his 1981presentation of Medal of Freedom: “Bryce Harlow is a sterling example of the positive side of politics…” • Reputation • Upholding personal and company reputations is central to the role of a successful Washington lobbyist • Recent scandals involving Members of Congress and lobbyists remind us that “bad actors” exist in almost every profession but as the exception rather than the rule • My 22 years in Washington political circles have taught me that the lobbying profession is populated, not by Gucci loafer-wearing slicksters, but by some of the most upstanding, compassionate, honest people one could hope to meet

4. How Do You Know Lobbying When You See It? • Registered lobbyists • More than 3,000 firms and organizations file lobbying reports with the FEC • 12,900 active registered lobbyists • Types of advocacy • Legislative -- House and Senate • Policy -- White House, Defense, State, Commerce, Transportation • Regulatory -- Commerce, Transportation, State • Types of lobbying organizations • Direct Representation: Corporations, trade assns., unions, special and public interest groups • Surrogate Representation: Multi-client firms, consultants, lawyer-lobbyists • The Corporate Lobbying Operation • Orbital • 3 lobbyists plus a PAC administrator • 1-2 outside consulting firms for targeted advocacy/intelligence gathering • SpaceX • 6 lobbyists • 4-5 outside consulting firms • Political Action Committee (PAC)

5. What’s It Take to be a Good Lobbyist? • Access = relationships, relationships, relationships • Members and Senators • Personal staff • Committee staff • Code of ethics • Personal and company reputations at stake • Integrity, truthfulness and adherence to established rules • Demonstrating humility and perspective • Controlling the rocket scientists back at HQ • Understanding congressional pressures and schedules • Effective use of coalitions and think tanks • Hill staff appreciate efficiency of coalition advocacy • Coalitions: Aerospace Industries Association, US Chamber of Commerce Space Enterprise Council, National Defense Industrial Association, TechAmerica, Coalition for Space Exploration • Think tanks: Heritage Foundation, CSIS, GWU • Issues Management • Internal corporate definition and prioritization (i.e., reality check) • Ensure issue presentation is understandable and relevant to the member/staff

6. Other Tools in a Lobbyist’s Quiver • Political Contributions • Part of the process and a necessary evil • Access is certainly facilitated by the existence of PAC money • Opportunity to have one-on-one dialogue with the Member and staff outside the office • More than 3,000 PACs registered with the FEC, 1,600 of these corporate • Campaigns, in a multi-media, highly competitive environment, require huge expenditures of cash • 2010 Senate winners spent $9.2 million • 2010 House winners spent $1.5m • PAC money does not buy votes nor is there quid pro quo for legislative provisions or dollars • Campaign finance system is tightly regulated and transparent (e.g., www.FEC.gov, www.opensecrets.org) • Orbital and SpaceX both have PACs • Raise voluntary contributions from employees through payroll deduction • In the case of SpaceX, senior executives are also asked for individual contributions • PAC board makes decisions on recipient candidates after reviewing voting records, facility representation, etc.

7. Simplified View of the Advocacy Process Employee Contributes to ORBPAC Company jobs = constituent interest GR Receives Fundraiser Invite Contribute - Grants Access to Elected Official Assign - Access to Member/Prof. Staff Validate Cost to Win a House Race: $1.5 Mil Cost to Win a Senate Race: $9.2 Mil

8. Anatomy of an Advocacy Campaign • Orbital Sciences and SpaceX each awarded approximately $2B to develop launch systems and deliver cargo to the International Space Station as replacement for Space Shuttle capability • Orbital had additional challenge of building a launch complex, i.e., spaceport, on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with very limited state of federal funds available • Congressional Advocacy • Senator Mikulski (D-MD) takes great pride in the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, just south of the Maryland line on Eastern Shore • As Chair of Senate Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee, Mikulski in prime position to ensure inclusion of additional funding for spaceport • As Chair of House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee, Congressman Wolf’s support of Senate action was key • NASA Advocacy • Lobbying of the Agency necessary to confirm real requirement for the additional spending on the launch complex • State Advocacy with Commonwealth of Virginia • Successful lobbying campaign to secure bonding authority and appropriated funds from Virginia and complete a much-needed transfer of spaceport management

9. Politics as Usual: Lobbying as a Basic Constitutional Right is in Jeopardy • Obama Administration Actions have been unnecessary and punitive • Executive Branch Meeting Restrictions • Elimination of lobbyists from Federal Advisory Committees • Singling out lobbyists as villainous “special interests” in major speeches • Congressional ‘rushes to judgment’ have also unjustly harmed Americans’ ability to petition their government • Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) restrictions • Onerous filing requirements • Congressional Reliance Upon Interactive Education by Lobbying Community • Members and Staff Face Multitude of Complex Issues on Daily Basis • Professional Advocates are the ones called upon to fill in these information gaps • Education, Medicine, Small Business, Energy, Transportation, Basic Science, Finance, and Aerospace are just a few fields that depend on honest, effective representation in Washington • Does anyone really think the recently appointed Congressional Super Committee tasked with cutting $1.2 trillion from the federal deficit is going to perform its mission without hearing from those directly impacted by these dramatic cuts?