Understanding How to Get Your Message Heard on Capitol Hill Is Key in New Year, Experts Say
-- Getting your voice heard on Capitol Hill and knowing how to speak effectively to your lawmaking representatives are two key topics featured in a new Family Enterprise USA webcast and Family Business Magazine podcast.
In the Family Enterprise USA webcast, available at FEUSA.com, host John Gugliada, Director of Engagement of Family Enterprise USA and Policy and Taxation Group, discusses the importance of advocacy and how to do it effectively with Capitol Hill experts Caren Street, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs, and Mark Warren, Shareholder, Brownstein, both based here.
The conversation is guided by Gugliada who asks the experts how to work with legislative representatives in Washington, D.C., or in state capitals. The experts also detail how to best approach representatives and the ‘do’s and don’ts’ of advocacy.
“When reaching out to your representatives, whether on Capitol Hill, or in district offices, any form of reach out works,” says Warren in the webcast. ”Staff members are very savvy and can handle all forms of communication, whether you call, send an email, or visit in person,” he says.
Working with organizations to refine or provide tips are also good ideas, according to Street.
“There’s strength in numbers and working with organizations that understand how to advocate and it can be a big advantage,” Street says. “They can help prepare you for complex messaging.”
During the webcast, several polls were taken among attendees. The first asked: “Have you met with your representative?” The second poll asked: “Have you participated in meetings with your representatives?”
During these online polls, attendees were split evenly on both sides of the questions.
One key question focused on contributions.
“Always avoid talking about the financial contributions you’ve made to your representative,” says Warren. “Stick with the issues only, it’s a delicate balance people forget to make in their discussions.”
Family Business Magazine Podcast
In the Family Business Magazine podcast covering “Why Advocacy Matters,” host and editor, Zack Needles, interviews Pat Soldano, President, Family Enterprise USA and Policy and Taxation Group, on the best way to get family-owned business voices heard on Capitol Hill.
Needles and Soldano detail why family business owners must advocate for themselves with lawmakers.
“You want to be part of the solution,” says Soldano. “You have to be directly engaged with lawmakers, many are new to Capitol Hill, have no history to harmful tax legislation, and need to be educated,” she says. “There’s no need to be intimidated, they work for us.”
During the podcast, Needles and Soldano provide detailed steps on how to effectively engage with legislators both at home and in Washington, D.C.
The podcast also Port Blakely’s newly installed CEO Mike Warjone and his cousin, Chairman and outgoing CEO René Ancinas, discuss the carefully planned leadership transition at the company that became official at the end of 2025.
In addition, the episode features the second part of a conversation with fifth-generation co-presidents Jeannie Cullen Schultz and George Cullen of JP Cullen, who explain how a “field-first” mindset across the 133-year-old construction business have helped preserve the company’s culture and values as it has scaled.
The Family Business Magazine podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other podcast platforms. You can hear the episode at: Family Business Magazine Podcasts.
“In the new year, advocacy needs to be front and center for any family-owned business,” said Soldano about the new episodes. “Knowing how to work with lawmakers, and getting your voice heard on Capitol Hill, can make a huge difference legislative process,” she said. “These episodes are designed to offer the most effective tips and guidelines for working with Congress.”
According to research, America’s family-owned businesses contribute $7.7 trillion annually to the U.S. gross domestic product, accounting for 83.3 million jobs, or 59 percent of the country’s private workforce.
For more information on the webcast and Family Enterprise USA go to FEUSA.com.
About the company: About FAMILY ENTERPRISE USA: Family Enterprise USA promotes family-owned business creation, growth, viability, and sustainability through education and advocacy for family businesses, and their lifetime of hard work, with Congress in Washington, D.C. Since 2007, Family Enterprise USA has represented and celebrated all sizes, professions, and industries of family-owned businesses and multi-generational employers. It is a bipartisan 501.c3 organization. About FAMILY ENTERPRISE USA ACTION (Formerly Policy and Taxation Group): Family Enterprise USA Action engages with legislators on Capitol Hill on behalf of family offices, successful families, and family-owned businesses. It is focused exclusively on the critical tax and economic policies that impact them. Since 1995, FEUSA Action has been the leading advocacy group working daily in Washington, D.C., to reduce and eliminate estate tax, gift tax, and generation skipping transfer tax while blocking increased income and capital gains taxes, the creation of a wealth tax, and other hostile policies that punish hardworking taxpayers and success in the U.S. It is a bipartisan 501.c4 organization.
Contact Info:
Name: Bob Chew
Email: Send Email
Organization: Family Enterprise USA and Family Enterprise USA Action
Address: 712 H Street NE Suite 1330, Washington DC, United States
Phone: 310-383-0528
Website: https://familyenterpriseusaaction.com/
Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKUvw_Hs0ZY&t=298s
Release ID: 89181693
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