Ivan Adler and John Hesse were quoted on lobbying strategy and regulations in Politico Influence.
By Isaac Arnsdorf | January 31, 2017
With help from Taylor Gee, Kaitlyn Burton, and Mary Lee
— Trump’s ban probably won’t deter lobbyists from joining the administration, Megan Wilson reports for The Hill. “I have talked to a number of people who are seeking advice on whether or not to join the administration, and the ethical obligations have not been a determining factor,” said Ivan Adler, a headhunter at The McCormick Group.
A MODEST PROPOSAL from The McCormick Group’s John Hesse for “outcome tracking for government relations”: Lobbyists should disclose all their activity from retainer to result, letting everyone see exactly what they did and what they achieved. And lobbying should be defined broadly to include “any activity that furthers the self-interested public policy goal of a client or person/corporation.”
Hesse elaborates: “For example: Exxon retains firm ABC to lobby on Arctic drilling rights. My idea is that firm ABC would have to file upon retainer and throughout the process noting the issue and results achieved. Then finally, firm ABC would have to report on the end result of activity. Did Exxon win or lose? Right now we assume lobbying terminations are failures or successes but we have to guess which one is correct.
“If we knew results publicly, we could measure effectiveness and transparently see exactly how influence works or does not work. We could also tell which firms were effective and then journalists could investigate why. Again we assume because lobbyists are paid they are effective at something but we don’t really know. The public does not know that firm ABC got language inserted into XYZ conference report that benefited Widget company unless someone does a whole lot of research. It should be easier. I think then lobbyists and the public would grow to trust one another over time.”
To read the rest of the day’s summary on lobbying, go to | Politico Influence
To contact Ivan Adler, go to | Ivan Adler
To contact John Hesse, go to | John Hesse
