Congratulations! You have been hired as an aide in the office of a new member of Congress. This job was not your first choice, you don’t always agree with this Representative's positions on issues, but it will give you the opportunity to get directly involved in the politics of Congress.

Your first big assignment in this new job is to research and summarize an issue your new boss anticipates will be important in Congress. You have an initial list of questions to answer (see other side). You are to become the expert on this issue, able to answer (or find answers to) questions from the Representative or other staffers. You are expected to make a presentation to your "boss" and the rest of the staff answering these questions in a portfolio.

This project requires you to demonstrate your knowledge, skill, and political savvy. It is not primarily a place to push your own agenda (although your opinions should be part of the conclusion).

The presentation should not only be accurate and complete, but it should be interesting, clear, and easily understood by your audience—the Representative and the rest of the staff. (e.g., Graphics and handouts will probably help in your presentation. There are other people on the staff who can help you prepare. Take advantage of their skills—ask for technical help.) Above all, the presentation should clearly delineate the politics of the issue and the trade offs involved in taking a position.

You will have to prepare only a minimum of paperwork. At the time you make your presentation, the Representative will want

1. a written summary (outline),
2. a bibliography,
and
3. (A) either a press release describing your recommendation of the position you believe the Representative should take on the issue
or
(B) (If you think it best not to announce a position) written answers to two questions the Representative most likely will be asked about the issue at a press conference

• ISSUE:
  • What is the history of this issue (inside and outside Congress)?
  • How did this topic become a political issue?
  • What are the controversies?
  • How divisive are the controversies surrounding this issue?
  • How well-known are the controversies?
• THE LAW:
  • What laws apply now to the issue?
  • What, if any, decisions have the Federal courts made on this issue?
  • Are there state-federal legal disputes over this issue?
• PUBLIC POLITICS:
  • How do the Representative's constituents feel about this issue? Americans in general?
    
  • What local and national groups have taken positions on this issue?
    • What are those positions?
    • How do those groups describe the issue? (i.e. What language and symbols do they use?)
    • What are the basic arguments behind the various positions on the issue?
    • What is the strength of those positions?
    • Assess the strength of those groups?
    • How are they likely to be able to reward their allies and punish their enemies? (especially within the Congressional district)
  • What does the mass media say about the issue?
  • How much coverage does this issue get in the media and how is the coverage usually slanted?
  • How much coverage would the Representative likely get by making public statements about this issue?
• CONGRESSIONAL POLITICS:
  • What Congressional committees (in the House and Senate) deal with this issue?
  • Who are the important and influential members of those committees?
  • What are their positions on this issue?
  • Are there other members of Congress are interested in this issue?
  • Who are they?
  • How much power and influence do they have?
  • How are they best dealt with?
  • What offers potential bargaining chips for dealing with each of these people or groups?
• BUREAUCRATIC POLITICS:
  • What departments or agencies do now or will deal with this issue?
  • Is the bureaucratic culture there favorable or opposed to dealing with this issue?
  • How will that (those) parts of the bureaucracy react to your proposed policy?
  • Would there be any rivalry within the federal bureaucracy to this proposal? How would this rivalry be expressed?
  • How would the public react to this (these) agencies dealing with this issue?
• COST-BENEFIT:
  • What are the costs and benefits to your constituents and the country as a whole of the current policy?
  • What are the costs and benefits to the USA and your constituents of the suggested alternate policies?
• RECOMMENDATION:
  • What are your suggestions?
    
  • What position do you think the Representative should take?
    
  • Why?
    
  • Should the position be publicized? If so, how? If not, how should questions about the issue be answered? (This is where you write a press release or answers to likely questions from reporters at a news conference.)