What happens in Congress affects all of our lives and extends into every corner of the economy. Because so much is at stake there, businesses and other interest groups spend billions of dollars each year trying to influence it.

Yet, most of these efforts are doomed to futility from the outset. Only a small percentage of the bills introduced in Congress actually become law, and most interested parties do not fully understand why those few bills succeed. More importantly, how to get Congress to do what they want remains a mystery to them. It is as if everyone in the place is speaking in the ancient Greek of the first democracy.

This book will help you understand Congress. Written from the perspective of one who has helped put a lot of bills on the President s desk and helped stop a lot more, this book explains in everyday terms why Congress behaves as it does. Then it shows you how you can best deploy whatever resources you have to move Congress in your direction.

You need no longer wonder what goes on in Congress. The book will allow you to read the news every day and understand what drives congressional actions. More importantly, you will no longer waste your time and money on lobbying and advocacy strategies that do not help your cause or, worse yet, actually hurt it. You will also learn when congressional actions can and cannot happen allowing you to spend your resources elsewhere if necessary.

Because you have limited time, this book sticks to the basics and its chapters are short so that it can be digested rapidly in smaller chunks. Its advice applies to anyone who wants to affect the outcomes in Congress.

"By providing a practical guide to lobbying, Persuading Congress demystifies the ways in which citizens can influence legislation and achieve their public policy objectives. Anyone who wants to make a difference through legislation -- not just executives -- needs to read this book, master its lessons, and keep it handy."
- F. Christopher Arterton, Dean, Graduate School of Political Management, The George Washington University

"This revealing book pulls back the curtain on the Congressional decision-making process and, best of all, provides invaluable advice to corporate executives on effectively influencing not just national and local legislation but the corporate environment as well."
-- Robert Clements, Chairman & CEO, EverBank Financial Corp.

"The Constitution gives Americans the right to petition their government for a redress of grievances. And no legislature is more accessible to its own people than the United States Congress. But rights and access alone do not translate into effective engagement or useful political action. In Persuading Congress, Joseph Gibson, a longtime veteran of Capitol Hill, offers masterful counsel to anyone who wants to work well with Congress. In Washington, there are well over 10,000 registered lobbyists. Very few grasp and convey the keys to successful advocacy as well as Gibson does."
- Martin Gold, Covington & Burling, Washington, DC

45 chapters

Summary of Contents

Part I: How Congress Works
A. The Internal Dynamics of Congress
B. External Influences on Congress

Part II: How You Can Influence Congress
A. Facts of Life
B. Personal Tools
C. Intellectual Tools
D. Environmental Tools
E. Practical Tools
F. Opportunities
G. Long-Term Considerations

Appendices

Index

Complete Table of Contents online at www.PersuadingCongress.com

Title: Miscellaneous writings: addresses, lectures, and reviews.Author: Joseph Gibson HoytPublisher: Gale, Sabin Americana Description: Based on Joseph Sabin's famed bibliography, Bibliotheca Americana, Sabin Americana, 1500--1926 contains a collection of books, pamphlets, serials and other works about the Americas, from the time of their discovery to the early 1900s. Sabin Americana is rich in original accounts of discovery and exploration, pioneering and westward expansion, the U.S. Civil War and other military actions, Native Americans, slavery and abolition, religious history and more.Sabin Americana offers an up-close perspective on life in the western hemisphere, encompassing the arrival of the Europeans on the shores of North America in the late 15th century to the first decades of the 20th century. Covering a span of over 400 years in North, Central and South America as well as the Caribbean, this collection highlights the society, politics, religious beliefs, culture, contemporary opinions and momentous events of the time. It provides access to documents from an assortment of genres, sermons, political tracts, newspapers, books, pamphlets, maps, legislation, literature and more.Now for the first time, these high-quality digital scans of original works are available via print-on-demand, making them readily accessible to libraries, students, independent scholars, and readers of all ages.++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++SourceLibrary: Huntington LibraryDocumentID: SABCP01612000CollectionID: CTRG95-B735PublicationDate: 18630101SourceBibCitation: Selected Americana from Sabin's Dictionary of books relating to AmericaNotes: "Preface by Rev. A.P. Peabody."--P. iii].Collation: viii, 302 p., 1] leaf of plates: port.; 21 cm

A Better Congress: Change the Rules, Change the Results, by Joseph Gibson, is a comprehensive look at the reasons that Congress does not work well and real solutions that can make Congress work better.

Joseph Gibson has worked in the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the federal government, including serving as chief antitrust counsel and chief minority counsel to the House Judiciary Committee.

Includes the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution

"Joseph Gibson has produced a book that offers real insight into the pressures and problems that underpin modern congressional processes and has offered a series of innovative ideas to deal with those pressures and problems. One need not agree with all of his proposed solutions to get real value from Gibson's book because what he has produced is a template for thinking about new ways to address the dysfunction that pervades Capitol Hill."
-- Robert Walker, Wexler & Walker, Washington, DC

"In A Better Congress, Joseph Gibson has produced a telling critique of Congress and its inability to perform the job required of it by the Constitution and its constituents. He offers a series of bold proposals to change the way Congress does its work - certain to kick off a complicated, contentious and difficult argument in Washington. Whether you agree or disagree with his solutions, get involved in this vital discussion "
-- Chuck Cushman, Acting Executive Director, Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM), The George Washington University

Table of Contents

Introduction - Those Who Come to Congress Become Congress
Part I: Why Congress Does Not Work Well
Ch. 1 The Fortress of Incumbency
Ch. 2 The Ordeal of a Campaign
Ch. 3 The Skills Mismatch
Ch. 4 The Congressional Bubble
Ch. 5 Procedures Designed to Divide
Ch. 6 The Drive for Reelection
Ch. 7 "Accomplishments"
Ch. 8 Crisis: An Opportunity to Waste
Ch. 9 Third Rails

II. How to Fix Congress
A. Solutions for Both Chambers
Ch. 10 Temporary Duty
Ch. 11 All Cards on the Table
Ch. 12 Back to Reality
Ch. 13 Focus, Focus, Focus
Ch. 14 Reading is Fundamental
Ch. 15 A Purpose-Driven Minority
Ch. 16 The Committee on Repeal

B. Solutions Specific to the Senate
Ch. 17 Just Do It
Ch. 18 Hurry Up and Wait

C. Solutions Specific to the House
Ch. 19 Be It Ever So Humble
Ch. 20 Other People's Money

Ch. 21 Conclusion - Solutions, Solutions Everywhere, But...

Appendix
A. How the Figures for Numbers of Laws and Bills Used in this Book Were Derived
B. Declaration of Independence
C. U.S. Constitution and Amendments

Index

Complete Table of Contents online at www.ABetterCongress.com

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger PublishingA AcentsAcentsa A-Acentsa Acentss Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of intere

What happens in Congress affects all of our lives and extends into every corner of the economy. Because so much is at stake there, businesses and other interest groups spend billions of dollars each year trying to influence it.

Yet, most of these efforts are doomed to futility from the outset. Only a small percentage of the bills introduced in Congress actually become law, and most interested parties do not fully understand why those few bills succeed. More importantly, how to get Congress to do what they want remains a mystery to them. It is as if everyone in the place is speaking in the ancient Greek of the first democracy.

This book will help you understand Congress. Written from the perspective of one who has helped put a lot of bills on the President s desk and helped stop a lot more, this book explains in everyday terms why Congress behaves as it does. Then it shows you how you can best deploy whatever resources you have to move Congress in your direction.

You need no longer wonder what goes on in Congress. The book will allow you to read the news every day and understand what drives congressional actions. More importantly, you will no longer waste your time and money on lobbying and advocacy strategies that do not help your cause or, worse yet, actually hurt it. You will also learn when congressional actions can and cannot happen allowing you to spend your resources elsewhere if necessary.

Because you have limited time, this book sticks to the basics and its chapters are short so that it can be digested rapidly in smaller chunks. Its advice applies to anyone who wants to affect the outcomes in Congress.

"By providing a practical guide to lobbying, Persuading Congress demystifies the ways in which citizens can influence legislation and achieve their public policy objectives. Anyone who wants to make a difference through legislation -- not just executives -- needs to read this book, master its lessons, and keep it handy."
- F. Christopher Arterton, Dean, Graduate School of Political Management, The George Washington University

"This revealing book pulls back the curtain on the Congressional decision-making process and, best of all, provides invaluable advice to corporate executives on effectively influencing not just national and local legislation but the corporate environment as well."
-- Robert Clements, Chairman & CEO, EverBank Financial Corp.

"The Constitution gives Americans the right to petition their government for a redress of grievances. And no legislature is more accessible to its own people than the United States Congress. But rights and access alone do not translate into effective engagement or useful political action. In Persuading Congress, Joseph Gibson, a longtime veteran of Capitol Hill, offers masterful counsel to anyone who wants to work well with Congress. In Washington, there are well over 10,000 registered lobbyists. Very few grasp and convey the keys to successful advocacy as well as Gibson does."
- Martin Gold, Covington & Burling, Washington, DC

45 chapters

Summary of Contents

Part I: How Congress Works
A. The Internal Dynamics of Congress
B. External Influences on Congress

Part II: How You Can Influence Congress
A. Facts of Life
B. Personal Tools
C. Intellectual Tools
D. Environmental Tools
E. Practical Tools
F. Opportunities
G. Long-Term Considerations

Appendices

Index

Complete Table of Contents online at www.PersuadingCongress.com