Problem
I. Pick up today's newspaper or look at today's news headline on one of your phone apps. Grab the first issue you see relevant to business. For that issue, how salient is it to the people living in your state, and why? Is it salient to any interest group, and why? Given your analysis, would you expect your state-level elected official (say a U.S. senator from your state) to support a request from an interest group about this issue?
II. There are three features of how members of Congress do their jobs: advertising or brand-building; credit-claiming; and position-taking. Think about an issue that your company might have with a specific member of Congress (you might think of someone on a committee of jurisdiction over your company's business or the member who represents the district where you have a lot of employment). Describe how that issue-and potentially things you might do to promote that issue-could affect that member's brand-building, credit-claiming, and position-taking.
III. Congress is divided into committees for efficiency and expertise. Members are assigned to sit on various committees by the leadership of their parties. Members have staff members (personal staff), and the committee itself also has staff (committee staff). Think about your company. What could you offer to a staffer of a member (say, the representative in the district in which one of your major offices is located, or a representative on a committee of subject interest to your company, e.g., Commerce and Energy Committee for an oil and gas company) that could help him or her do the job? What would be the best way to make the offer?