Speaking to a Congressional committee is a gold-plated bragging right for anyone who wants his opinion heard or expertise plumbed. While any lucky tourist can get a meet and greet with a member of Congress, only a player gets asked to testify.
But why has it looked so difficult lately?Why have so many Administration officials in particular seemingly gone out of their way to remind us that facing a dozen elected officials is no walk in the park?
Since The American Interest has many authors and even readers who may be asked to testify on the Hill in the future, we offer this quick guide of “Do’s” and “Don’ts” for the successful Congressional witness, illustrated by two very different recent testimonies. Should any of you find yourselves on the round end of a Congressional microphone in the future, whether you are there under hostile or friendly circumstances, these could make the difference between a job well done and not having a job at all.
DO’s:
The best example of how to testify before Congress comes from Maura Harty, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs. Harty faced the wrath of multiple senators last week when she appeared before a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee to defend what looked to be a massive blunder by the State Department.
Two years ago, Congress mandated that all U.S. citizens reentering the country from Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean had to carry a U.S. passport.But because the State Department has failed to keep up with a spike in passport demand, the new rule will not take effect for at least six more months. Sen. Bill Nelson opened the hearing by warning Harty, “You’re going to hear a lot of frustration from up here today,” referring to fellow senators Vitter, Lugar, Feingold and others, who had all been inundated by constituents desperate to travel to weddings, business commitments and even family emergencies. In the face of a very hostile Senate subcommittee, Harty began with our first “Do”:
DO TAKE RESPONSIBILTY.
“I would like to identify myself as the captain of this ship,” Harty said to Nelson.Immediately, the tension in the room subsided.
She then went on with our second “Do”:
DO APOLOGIZE, OFTEN, IF NECESSARY.
“I deeply regret (the backlog of passports) personally and professionally and regard the current situation as untenable,” she said.
Another “Do”:
She EXPLAINED THE REASONS FOR THE PROBLEM, including the destruction of the New Orleans passport office in Hurricane Katrina, which reduced that office’s function from handling 2o percent of all passports to none to now 10 percent. Secretary Harty went on to clearly explain the steps that the Passport Agency is taking to eliminate the backlog, including instituting mandatory overtime and directing her staff to work nights and weekends both to process passports and to answer phone calls. She knows the phone calls are being answered because she herself calls the public line once a day to see how long it takes for someone to pick up.
Finally, she embraced the most important “Do”, when she decided to:
RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO PLACE BLAME ELSEWHERE. “I don’t get style points for pointing at somebody else. I am the captain of this ship.”
Well played, Secretary Harty!
Coming in the next post- what NOT to do. Since the House and Senate are both in recess, you’ll still have pleanty of time to prepare your testimony with these in mind.