We are a full service Washington consulting firm and we leave nothing to chance to ensure the best possible outcome and return on your investment.
Our Approach
Strategy and Service
We are federal lobbyists and provide representation to public agencies, but let us describe what that means in terms of O’Connell & Dempsey’s efforts on your behalf. Once we learn about your issues, history, and objectives, we will develop a strategic game plan to meet your needs, which detail a range of avenues to success within the legislative and administrative arenas. These avenues will include timetables, milestones, and near and longer term action plans for each approach, whether it be legislative or administrative. We then submit the overall plan to you, take it through whatever revisions are necessary to meet your needs and proceed with our full service. We produce your materials, talking points, delegation letters, legislative language, and on-going strategy; whatever is necessary to make your case to Congress, as well as to the federal agencies that you are engaged with.
Key Federal Agencies
We also work closely with many Corps of Engineers’ and the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) offices and decision makers at the Department of Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as key leaders in the Executive Branch and the Administration. Many times, we will begin to engage directly with your staff and the federal agencies’ district offices to ensure the agency, whether that is the Corps or another agency understands the client’s need and approach. We will then work closely with you and the federal agency during the project management process, whether it is a flood control project, ecosystem restoration, port, water supply, or reclamation project to lay the groundwork to secure the project the community wants, with key elements included as the project or study works through the process.
Congress
Besides working with the agencies, we work closely with Congress, including working directly with key state delegations across the country. We also work closely with the relevant committees for water resources and environmental issues including the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the House Natural Resources Committee, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.
Your Washington Visits
An important element of our service is the regular Washington visits and program we develop for you to meet not only with your Congressional delegation, but with the Washington decision-makers to make the case for your needs, whether that be federal funding, project approval, securing a Chief of Engineers’ Report, or approval at the Assistant Secretary of the Army’s office. We put these meetings together, conduct the pre-visits, develop the meeting handouts and talking points, and conduct the pre-meeting strategy session with you to discuss best approaches and outcomes. We participate during the meetings to help secure the best possible results, and finally, we prepare the follow-up memo and materials, which outlines meeting outcomes and next steps. We then move forward with these efforts.