The 118th Congress resulted with narrow majorities as the House Republicans claimed the lead, while Senate Democrats held on to their control. Through this gridlock, new members of Congress rise as star players as their new perspectives are turned into actionable items. 75 new lawmakers were introduced into the House, 40 of them are Republicans, and 35 are Democrats. Within the new members of the Senate, 5 are Republicans and 2 are Democrats. Together, the new Congress members bring with them more than 800 new staffers to Capitol Hill.
The new Congress is increasingly more reflective of the shifting demographic in America. The 118th Congress is the most racially and ethnically diverse congress to date. A quarter of the members identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, or Alaska Native. The number of women in Congress is at an all-time high, and thirteen lawmakers identify as a lesbian, gay, or bisexual. The changing demographics in Congress will bring a wider range of perspective and voices to the legislative branch of the federal government.
Within this branch of government, comes the latest legislations that needs to work its way through the divided Congress. Currently, the Senate pushes for changes that will help with the China crackdown while reciprocation from the House remains uncertain. Meanwhile the national debt limit approaches and congressional members have varying perspectives on actions to take. Straightaway, new members of Congress are faced with pressing issues that require a general consensus.
Meet the New Movers and Shakers
Freshman Congress members attract the attention of policy influenced individuals, which is why it is important to understand their policy stance in order to discover the route to impactful change. POLITICO Pro subscribers have a direct line of contact with new power players of Congress followed by an organized setup of identifying, tracking, and engaging critical stakeholders. POLITICO Pro’s state of the art policy intelligence platform with features including Directories and Stakeholder Management allows you to broaden your reach and solidify your strategy for imperative policy decision making.
Commonly heard new Congress members’ names, such as Representative Monica De La Cruz or Senator John Fetterman, have taken action within the few weeks of taking office. Representative Monica De La Cruz has sponsored legislation, including Acts revolving around improving agriculture. Meanwhile, Senator John Fetterman cosponsored legislation to prohibit the gathering of certain worker data by employees.
Contact Policy Power Players
Whether your objective is to encourage legislators to support or oppose a legislation, or represent policy priorities on the behalf of your client; contacting a lawmaker, staffer, or committee is crucial to understanding a policy professional’s stance and how a productive conversation can be continued. POLITICO Pro’s Directories provide a simplified solution to search and filter contacts specific to your areas of interest including committee assignments, caucuses, leadership positions, congressional districts, and more. You can also quickly identify freshman Congress members by selecting “members” in the Result Type Box, then checking the “Freshman” box below Status.
Pro’s Congressional Directory is your source for noting representatives’ party affiliation, legislative activities, involvements with committees and caucuses, and social media activities. Filter through committees to view major and minority committee members and access staffer information associated with specific congressional members. Monitor legislative activities, such as the bills new Congress members have sponsored or cosponsored to gain a better insight into their policy stance and priorities. Take a peek at congressional members’ education, employment history, and associated organization memberships to find common parallels in their interests and background so you can draft a more personalized outreach. Pro Directories will serve as your asset to effortlessly connect with politicians, staffers, and other key contacts so you can make an impact on policy.
Pro Analysis subscribers have access to additional new benefits, including Pro Data Analysis. You can view Freshman Congress Members’ “Premium Bio” located to the right of the member’s name and within each member’s profile. Unlock in-depth analysis on each new Congress Member and gain a better insight on their policy perspectives.
Engage With Your Stakeholders
Now that you have built your list of contacts using Directories, you can use Stakeholder Management to take it one step further to organize and arrange methods of contact with your stakeholders. Send scheduled emails to those power players and keep track of top performing emails. Schedule meetings, record meeting satisfaction, monitor top attendees, and track meeting follow-ups. Stakeholder Management in unison with Directories serves as a powerful outreach tool that is designed for you to take advantage of reaching those critical contacts and leading efforts to make a change on policy.
Optimize Your Goals
Directories and Stakeholder Management are two of many features Pro has to offer to help you make policy moves. Utilize the entirety of Pro, including Legislative and Regulatory Trackers, to be fully equipped with unique insights and collaborative tools so your policy goals can advance. Learn more and request a free demo today!