Some advice from a lobbyist
 

Hello FlyerTalk!

I am a professional transportation security lobbyist. I want to share some advice with all of you...

I am as upset as most of you about the current state of transportation "security".

- Organize, organize, organize.... There are several different organizations and groups out there advocating for "National Opt Out Day" and other protest efforts. Having a bunch of small groups will do no good... there needs to be some sort of central "clearinghouse" for all of these wonderful ideas. There needs to be consistency and an agenda.

- Contact those that really matter (and will listen!)... Believe it or not, 99.9% of emails, faxes and letters sent to US Senators and House Members are read by a college intern. The intern then inputs several keywords from your letter into a computer that holds several hundred form letter responses. That is what you get. Your message never gets to the Senator or MoC. However, your STATE legislator most likely will read your letter (or at least a senior staff member). While states have little to do with the TSA, this is a good route to have your voice heard. HOWEVER -- the most influential people you can contact are: Airport Board Members, Members of the City Council where the airport is located, local Chambers and business associations, etc. So, for example, do you travel out of DFW? Contact every member of the Grapevine, Texas City Council (they receive the most tax dollars from DFW airport).

Just some advice. Take it or leave it.

PS -- Those that are speaking out, ie. Ron Paul, are not necessarily the people you want on your side. Like him or not, he is not respected in DC, nothing he does goes anywhere, and the majority of Americans see him as a nut-job. Same goes with Alex Jones... they really are not people you want on your side. You need to influence the average American to follow your lead -- that will not happen with folks like Paul and Jones being your biggest advocates. (I am non-partisan... there are people on both sides.)

Welcome to FT, Lobbyist, and thanks for the recommendations. Please stick around. I think you'll find this is a good place.

I've done some of it (work at the state and airport level), but you have some really good advice.

Did D.C. lobbying for our trade association for a number of years and you are correct.

That said, I do believe identifying the congressional staffer who handles the TSA for senators and Congressmen and personally speaking to them is a good idea. I did that today with one of our senators and it seemed to be worthwhile.

Lobbyist, welcome to FT!

And thanks for the advice.

ORGANIZERS UNITE!

Thanks to everyone for the welcome!

Just remember: You are all very educated and passionate about this. You need to educate the general public. So ask yourself this question every single day: "What have I done today to educate someone about the TSA"?

If your answer is "I posted an article on FlyerTalk" you need to rethink your plan of action.

Excellent.

Some Congressional offices now have systems where when an e-mail is sent it is entered into a computer that grabs keywords and automatically prints and mails a response. No human even sees the message.

How do you wade through everything to figure who which staffer you need to talk to?

The best thing to do is find a state/county/local legislator or airport board member who is friendly to the cause. Politician-to-politician talk is always best.

You can also purchase a staff directory from several sources. However, there is a lot (and I mean A LOT) of staff movement in DC right now as people are moving jobs, leaving jobs, etc. So between now and say, April (when staff members are in place), you won't get much accomplished (sad -- but true).

Do they at least store the keywords? maybe tally the number for or against an issue? Seems it could still be worth sending a canned letter but not necessarily spending time carefully crafting your own.

No.

Again -- the best way is to have your local airport board members and city councilmen in the airport jurisdiction fight the fight for you. Politicians listen to other politicians and your local airport board member will get a return call from a Congressman. Find these people who support your cause. They are out there.

If you are planning a trip to Sacramento for business, call and speak with the local Chamber president. They will be able to get through to those who matter. Sorry to spoil the party but your federal elected officials could care less.

And hello to you, welcome. Wondering what your thoughts are on the results of the two surveys we have going right now -- you can scroll through and identify them. Thanks for any thoughts there.

Fair enough, I won't waste my time, but what do they rely on to assess their constituency?

It's not hard to see public opinion turning, though it might be difficult to parse out different constituencies. Truthfully I think the movement may be too big to organize.

Yes, the majority of Americans have been conditioned to see Rep. Paul as a "nut job". Likewise, the majority of Americans have been conditioned to see the TSA, and its unconstitutional antics, as something good and patriotic.

Since most legislation is drafted primarily by professional committee staff, I thought it would be useful to list the following (obtained from various on-line sources, primarily congress.org but there is a Congressional handbook you can buy that has this info)

Republican Staff - House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

FULL COMMITTEE, MAIN OFFICE
2163 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515
202-225-9446
Coon, Jim Chief of Staff
Hines, Clint Staff Assistant
Mullen, Suzanne Newhouse General Counsel
Rosa, Jason Legislative Assistant
Steinmann-Smith, Amy Policy Director

AVIATION SUBCOMMITTEE
The Hon. Thomas E. Petri, Ranking Republican
2251 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515
202-226-3220
Edwards, Bailey Professional Staff
Lyons, Holly Woodruff Staff Director
Perez, Simone Legislative Staff Assistant

What I've got for the Democratic Staffers is actually more limited in this case:

Majority Communications Director Jim Berard - (202) 225-6260
Majority Press Secretary Mary Kerr - (202) 225-6260
Majority Staff Director David Heymsfeld - (202) 225-4472

and for the Aviation subcommittee Majority Staff Director Giles Giovinazzi - (202) 225-9161

Here is information for Senate professional staffers who may be relevant:

Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee:

Address: 254 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-0411 Fax: (202) 228-0303


Majority Staff Director/Chief Counsel Ellen Doneski - (202) 224-0411
Minority Staff Director Ann Begeman - (202) 224-1251


Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security Committee
Address: 427 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-9000 Fax: (202) 228-0303

I don't see a listing for professional committee staff for that subcommittee

Welcome to FlyerTalk! :)

I very much agree with your assessment. From time to time, I hear from former visitors to the States that have decided to spend their travel money elsewhere. I've always encouraged them to let the various Chambers of Commerce, Visitors Bureaus, etc. know why they have made that decision. I'll make a conscious effort to do the same with domestic travellers as well.