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"AMR's creative team continues to exceed our expectations. Their clever and creative designs have produced excellent branding for our website and other published materials. Moreover, the online real-time membership directory and listserv services that we incorporated into our website redesign allow our members to efficiently network and contact one another."
Regina Hilbert, plan administrator - Suffolk County, New York Supplemental Retirement Plan and NAGDCA past president

May We Have Your Attention, Please! AMR Leverages Clients’ Collective Voices in Government Relations

Making your voice heard above the din of D.C. is a challenging task for the most sophisticated associations. Through providing government relations services for its association clients, AMR Management Services (AMR) has identified the following four steps for garnering the attention of federal, state and even local government officials:
  • Issue Identification and Tracking
  • Strategy and Position Statement Development
  • Coordination of Government Affairs and Lobbying Activities
  • Development of Partnerships with Affiliated Organizations.
Do You Have Issues? An association can be an important source of information for its members on legislative and regulatory issues. AMR’s client, NAGDCA (the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators), which is comprised of government pension plan administrators, has been tracking pending legislation with a potential impact on government pension plan administrators. AMR staff assisted in drafting a “NAGDCA Note” to inform its members of the rule’s likely impact.

Additionally, AMR client, NASCIO (the National Association of State Chief Information Officers), which represents the states’ IT (Information Technology) policy leaders, produces Research and Issue Briefs for its members that are of benefit to all levels of government. For example, NASCIO’s Research Brief, “We Need to Talk: Governance Models to Advance Communications Interoperability,” was republished in the March 2006 issue of the U.S. General Services Administration’s newsletter on disaster management.

It’s All in the Strategy: Developing a successful strategy for influencing the right policymakers means creating a position statement that makes an association’s message easily understandable. Since association membership is often diverse, proposed legislation may impact different members in different ways. This is a common challenge for NASCIO representing members across the nation. However, AMR helps NASCIO survey its members to assess the range of potential impacts from federal IT legislation. Since AMR maintains on-staff expertise regarding NASCIO’s important issues, NASCIO can quickly develop position statements that reflect the nuanced effect of proposed legislation.

Let’s Lobby! Associations that frequently deal with federal legislation may find that retaining a professional lobbying firm can provide “in-thefield” intelligence on federal legislation and maximize its exposure and effectiveness. Both NAGDCA and NASCIO have professional lobbying firms on retainer. For those associations, AMR also monitors the amount of lobbying time conducted so that the associations comply with federal regulations that allow limited lobbying activities for non-profit associations.

Lobbying efforts can range in complexity from simply submitting a letter to members of Congress to orchestrating a day of D.C. lobbying for association members. During NASCIO’s Annual “DC Fly- In,” association members advocate their issues for a day on Capitol Hill. The event involves not only the development of carefully crafted position statements and arranging of multiple Congressional meetings, but also organizing hotel, transportation and meal logistics for participating members. Previous Fly-Ins have even included “Intergovernmental Roundtables” with representatives from federal, state and local governments invited to discuss issues that span governmental boundaries.

Know Who Your Friends Are: Associations frequently will look to other similar or “sister” associations to determine if such associations have taken a position on a particular issue. For example, NASCIO and NASPO (the National Association of State Procurement Officials), both AMR clients, have coordinated to produce research publications to help policymakers, including state legislatures, ensure that states’ IT purchasing laws and processes adequately address cutting- edge and complex IT issues related to legal liability and intellectual property ownership.

“AMR understands the importance of maximizing our clients’ influence at all levels of government. We are pleased that clients, such as NASCIO and NAGDCA, have been able to develop lobbying programs that are effecting real changes for their members,” said John A. Ruffin, AMR President and CEO.

We’ll see you in D.C.!





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