State of the Union, Lobbyists and Community Action

I found President Obama’s State of the Union both bitter and sweet.

It was an excellent speech; it was forceful; it was Obama at his best. I strongly agree with the administration’s priorities. If you look behind the words, I think it has some serious implications for Community Action programs.

First, the president seemed to indicate Congress has gone 99 yards on health care and it should go the final yard, which I think Congress will do. So, health care will continue to take up a lot of time in Congress and the other issues that we care about will be delayed yet again.

I think we’re looking at another month of attempts to carve out a health care bill. I was on a conference call with House Democratic leadership on Tuesday, during which they indicated that the Senate is going to go the reconciliation route in attempt to pass health care possibly in the next 30 days.

I don’t have any higher hopes than I have had before that in the end we will see a bipartisan bill. It is still very unlikely that Republicans will support that. But, we’re looking at a month of congressional focus on health care.

Second, the three-year spending freeze on domestic discretionary programs almost assuredly means that our programs will be recommended for flat funding at best, and potentially will come under some funding pressures. The president indicated that the funding freeze would not be for all programs, but those with lesser importance would face pressures.

As good as President Obama’s speech was, I am still very doubtful the mood in Washington will change. I think partisanship will not go away. Republicans feel a strong tail-wind behind their strategies and the president’s speech will not turn the course.

I think we will have a jobs bill, some health care reform, obviously some of the appropriations will move forward, and a few other things may materialize by the end of the year. I still think, at the end of the day, it will be very difficult for Congress to legislate this year.

Nothing in President Obama’s speech, or in the Republican response, surprised me. It was all what I expected.

What does trouble me is how often the lobbying profession was attacked. It seems there is one six-inch paintbrush that paints every lobbyist as sinister and that the lobbying profession derails the public good.

There are many things about lobbying I don’t like, such as the floodgates of money that have opened up in Washington. However, as a lobbyist, I have spent my entire professional life feeling that I have represented a good cause, good people and a good program that makes a difference in communities.

Still, from the president, members of congress, the press and the American public, there is a perception that all lobbyists are bad. That has taken a significant toll on me in the last couple years. When what you have committed your entire life to is seen as less than honorable, it is quite troubling.

What Should CAAs Watch for in the State of the Union?

Wednesday night's State of the Union Address is going to be important in terms of resetting President Obama’s agenda.

In particular, I will be watching very closely what he says on jobs and deficit reduction. Both could have direct implications for the Community Action network.

What he says about jobs could inform us about other opportunities for us to participate. His message on deficit reduction could shed light on what Congress might be dealing with in 2011 and 2012 spending.

The State of the Union Address will air Jan. 27 at 9 p.m. EST. Watch and check back here the next day for my analysis and to share your thoughts.

Serious CSBG Issues Remain

I continue to be extremely frustrated with how slowly Community Services Block Grant dollars are getting to Community Action Agencies!

Every time I turn around, I hear yet another agency is facing layoffs because it hasn’t received CSBG stimulus dollars or because it hasn’t received its entire regular first-quarter 2010 CSBG allocation, or both. This is unbelievable to me!

It's clear we need more information on CSBG expenditures and on any obstacles standing in the way of the flow of funds. I'm thinking of talking to HHS about the possibility of having more regular communications, similar to the ones we have with the Department of Energy. Those conversations have been incredibly productive in identifying and resolving concerns regarding weatherization stimulus expenditures.

CAAs are facing incredible barriers to getting the money and creating the jobs that were promised with the stimulus package. Regardless of the reasons behind the delay, at the end of the day Community Action Agencies take the hit in the press and elsewhere. It is time the HHS Department takes a closer look at what these barriers are and begins to remove them.

As we work to get to the bottom of this issue, please take a couple minutes to complete this short survey to let us know how your agency has been affected.

Mass. Election Changes Dynamics in Congress

Things are definitely up in the air following Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown’s election to the Senate.

Late last week I spoke with a couple congressional members about the election results. One of the members was a representative from Massachusetts. The election was certainly a troubling event for Democrats up there. This member said Brown was already endorsing opponents to oust the other Democrats. The state’s incumbents are quite worried about voter sentiments.

I spoke with a Democratic senator who also feared the impact voter frustration would have at the polls. This individual, who happens to be part of the Democratic leadership, said there were fairly extensive disagreements among party members on how to go forward. Do they jettison the health care debate or continue to whittle down a core agreement that could potentially pass?

Both members could not assure me how aggressive the Democratic legislative agenda was going to be. House Democrats continue to tell me they will not introduce legislation just to have it die. Senate Democrats are unsure what they will be able to do with the change in ratios. Republicans in the House and Senate have a strong tail-wind. Opposing the Democratic agenda, as they did in 2009, appears to be their continued policy and their route to victory in November.

I think in the next couple weeks we should be able to get a sense of what lies ahead and be able to form our legislative strategy for the year.

First, we will see President Obama’s budget. I expect our programs to be fine. But, we should be able to get a feel for how much legislative activity is going to occur this year in Congress.

By the second week of February, we should know the congressional dynamics and what initiatives may be possible. For example, if health care is not finished for a month or longer, that affects the Senate Finance Committee. Supposedly, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program is up next in that committee, which is obviously important to our network. If spending becomes an issue, then appropriations becomes much more difficult. If the 41 votes hold firm, then it becomes a much different equation for energy and environmental legislation.

I look forward to digging down deeper to see what members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are willing to work on. Stay tuned.

Massachusetts Senate Race Is One to Watch

We cannot underestimate voter distrust of Washington. Since last August, I have sensed anger toward institutions and incumbents that I think really casts a spell on the 2010 elections.

Tuesday’s Senate election in Massachusetts is a biggie, especially with the Democratic 60-seat majority at stake. We will know a lot more about the legislative outlook for the year on Wednesday morning after this race has been decided.

I believe we will see many voters continuing the trend of voting against the party in power. Therefore, I think Republican candidate Scott Brown has all the momentum, and as the Democratic in-candidate, Martha Coakley may be in trouble.

I am very interested to see what happens.

-- David Bradley, NCAF Executive Director, Washington

SNHU Graduate Program Back on Track

Within the last three weeks, I had grown increasingly worried about our graduate program at Southern New Hampshire University.

The university has been reshuffling and undertaking significant reorganization, particularly due to the economic downturn. Because it had not started up yet, our Community Action Community Economic Development graduate program was one of the programs under increased scrutiny.

I met with the SNHU president and board of overseers in my office for a total of 10 hours last week. As a result of those discussions, I am happy to report that the program is back on track! The graduate program's launch date has been pushed forward to January of 2011.

Watch for more information to come.

--David Bradley, NCAF Executive Director, Washington

Dodd and Dorgan Retirements

I lost a bet with a member of the Senate who told me Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) would not seek re-election. I was hoping against hope that he would run again. But, on Jan. 6, he announced he would not be a candidate for re-election in November.

I had been hearing since May of 2009 the pressures and uncertainties surrounding the re-election of Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT). There has been a lot of anxiety among certain Democratic leaders regarding the ability to retain that seat if Senator Dodd ran again.

I love Chris Dodd. He’s been there for Community Action every step of the way for 30 years. He is a class act; a great senator. The institution of the Senate and the country as a whole are better off because of Chris Dodd’s service.

Paired with the loss of Ted Kennedy, this announcement is a one-two punch for Community Action programs and the political landscape. Both Kennedy and Dodd were real unifiers within the Senate. They both continuously strived for bipartisan consensus, and both of their departures from the Senate will leave a great void.

The other Senate retirement announcement from last week was a bolt from the blue! I completely did not see the retirement of Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) coming.

I did hear on Monday of last week about a scheme in which North Dakota Governor John Hoeven, who had previously vowed he would not challenge Dorgan for Senate, would actually be “drafted” at a Republican Convention in March to run against the senator, thereby releasing him from his pledge. Governor Hoeven is the 800-pound gorilla up there. While North Dakota’s Democratic senators and representative are very popular, its Republican governor is even more popular, with something like an 80 percent approval rating.

Senator Dorgan was helpful on low-income energy issues like the Weatherization Assistance Program and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, especially as chairman of Energy and Water Appropriations. Perhaps his greatest value was his role in the Democratic leadership as one of the ones who fought hardest for fairness and for a progressive agenda. Senator Dorgan is a good, solid member who I found reflected Great Plains values very well.

I keep hearing that there may be one or two more senators thinking about retirement, and rumors of House retirements abound.

Some good news is that the chief of staff to a House Democratic leader told me last week that House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt (D-SC) will run for re-election. This is very good news, as Rep. Spratt is one of the gems of the United States Congress.

This last week reinforced the political turmoil of the new year. The anti-incumbent mood, big deficits, national security, health care and double-digit unemployment are causing such angst among the voters. Several people aren’t interested in going through such a grueling re-election effort.

The political landscape come January 2011 will be far different than what we can envision now. Our challenge this year is to take full opportunity to establish relationships with new members and re-emphasize the need for bipartisan support.

-- David Bradley, NCAF Executive Director, Washington

My New Year Resolutions

As I said in my previous blog, I have a lot of optimism for 2010. Following are some of my new year’s resolutions as National Community Action Foundation’s executive director.

#1: My number one professional goal is to spend far more time on the Hill than I was able to do in 2009 for reasons beyond my control.

#2: I hope to escort several members of Congress through tours of Community Action programs in their districts. I am asked by members in both parties to do this. It takes a lot of organization and effort, but I think it is important for the network in both the short- and long-term, and I am committed to do more of this in 2010.

#3: I will communicate more regularly in the new year. In the last quarter of 2009, I was blogging more than ever before, but I think the NCAF office can and should share a lot more information with those in the field through the CAP-FACTS, this blog and other avenues.

#4: I want to create more opportunities for listening to what is going on in the field. Because of my schedule in Washington, travel has become an in-and-out process for me. I may fly out to the West Coast, give a speech and fly back in the same day. I hope to build in listening sessions at these destinations in order to hear more directly from Community Action personnel, board members and others about their needs, upcoming opportunities and how they might be helpful to NCAF in our endeavors.

#5: I want to ensure the Community Action network is ready for legislative battle. While we haven’t had a true battle in years, I worry that if we do have an issue a lot of the network may not respond. I think we should sharpen our advocacy tools. Part of obtaining this goal is making sure that we are communicating more often and explaining our strategy more effectively. At some point in the near future, Congress will be dealing with a number of issues that impact our network and agencies. We need to make sure we are ready to respond with strong local, state and federal advocacy.

#6: I want to make sure we are inclusive of of the Community Action network. We have a lot of partnerships we are trying to establish with universities and members of the private sector, such as Exxon-Mobil and GM. We are undertaking these initiatives either because the network has expressed a desire or need that these initiatives would meet or we have viewed the partnerships as important to our political relationships with the administration. I want to make sure that all of Community Action is able to share in these initiatives and that all have the opportunity to be involved in creating, developing and implementing new partnerships. This is an area in which I will strive to do better in 2010.

#7: I want to do our best to help the Office of Community Services becomes more of a focal point in a national poverty strategy. As one who was involved in setting up the OCS in 1981, I feel it has never fulfilled its original promise, mostly because of the pressure of other priorities. The more we can help OCS and Health and Human Services raise their profiles in 2010, the greater the benefits will be for Community Action Agencies.

In a earlier blog, I said I was reasonably comfortable with who the next OCS director would likely be. I can now say that I am comfortable with who the next OCS director will likely be. I think our network will be pleased with the frontrunner. I am anxious to hear an announcement and am looking for it to be made in the next few days. I think there are a lot of opportunities in OCS, and I think the next director can help maximize those opportunities

#8: NCAF and I want to continue to build a bipartisan legislative base of support for Community Action programs. We have a lot of friends in both parties, but I never want to lose sight of the fact that it takes both parties to be successful. It will be a turbulent year politically with unpredictable political results in November. There could be significant changes in the political winds. I want to make sure that Community Action is strongly positioned with both parties.

#9: I resolve to spend more time with the newer agency professionals who are interested in making a satisfying career in Community Action. I plan to focus as much as I can on helping these individuals meet their needs, whether through education, advocacy or participation in decision-making. I think it is imperative to offer opportunities to emerging leaders to participate.

Over the holidays, I was reminded again of the generation of people who fought for Community Action before, during and after its creation. I received a call that Jake Civis, a former NCAF board member from Oklahoma, had passed away. When Community Action champions like Jake, Bob Coard and others pass on or retire, who is left to pick up the banner?

At the end of 2010, I want to look back and see I did all I could to advocate for Community Action, encourage participation and encourage professional leadership development throughout the year.

These are a few of my resolutions related to Community Action. What are yours?

-- David Bradley, NCAF Executive Director, Washington

2009...Phew! It's over!

Thank heavens 2009 is over. Although it was a year for many successes for Community Action, it was also a year of a lot of frustrations.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing for me was the fact that, for reasons beyond my control, I had less contact with members of Congress than in any other year in the past decade. Post-stimulus appropriations was pretty much on autopilot, authorization issues weren’t going anywhere, and Congress was absolutely consumed with foreign policy, health care and, to a lesser extent, the economy. Therefore, members had less time to talk than in previous years.

I have a lot of optimism for 2010. I think once Congress gets health care out of the way, there will be an opportunity to have a more traditional working relationship with Congress. I hope it is a year of really getting back to basics and spending more time on the Hill with staff and members on issues confronting the poor. For example, a jobs bill and reauthorization for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Workforce and the Community Services Block Grant are just a few of the opportunities that may or may not arise in 2010.

There are a lot of new members in Congress that we want to meet, work with and strengthen their understanding of Community Action programs. I believe 2010 is the perfect year to do that.

-- David Bradley, NCAF Executive Director, Washington