PRESIDENT'S LETTER


Dear NRF Member:

The political work of a trade association is pretty mundane. Most of the time, it’s reading reams of legislation and distilling it down to a two-page memo. It’s sitting through marathon committee meetings and late nights of Congressional inaction. And it’s being satisfied with small but hard-won victories: an amendment added to or deleted from an important bill or an accommodation made on some trade issue.

Sometimes, though, recognition comes from an unexpected quarter. One validation for our public policy activities came not long ago from Fortune Magazine, one of the premier publications in the business world, which ranked NRF among the top 30 lobbying organizations in Washington. NRF beat out such organizational giants as the Business Roundtable, and no other retail trade group even made the top 80.

It’s quite a feat to be seen as effective in a town where thousands of interest groups vie for the votes of Congress and the attention of the media.

In today’s political climate, lobbying is no longer a luxury reserved for the big and powerful to affect major public policy. Washington has become the battlefield for any special interest group looking for a high profile platform for its agenda. And it’s where other groups turn for legislative relief on issues that rightly should be decided in the marketplace. This new paradigm for the role of government and the resultant incursions into our operations makes lobbying a necessary tool to ensure that our interests are promoted and that our way of doing business is preserved.

There’s no magic to building an effective government affairs program. Consider the lobbying organizations that made Fortune’s list of the top five groups: the American Association of Retired Persons, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, National Federation of Independent Business, Trial Lawyers of America and National Rifle Association. It’s easy to see why they are so successful: They use the same formula of healthy political action committees, an active and engaged constituency and an aggressive grassroots support system to press their agendas.

NRF’s government affairs program encompasses these same activities to underscore the importance of our industry to decision makers. Our PAC is not as rich as the others, but we are targeted and strategic in our contributions. We have sponsored grassroots events in key Congressional districts this year to foster face-to-face contact between retailers and their elected officials. In addition, major retail chief executives and small merchants have traveled to Washington to testify at Congressional hearings and to meet with lawmakers on issues of importance to them.

These efforts reach an apex every year during NRF’s Washington Leadership Conference. The Washington Leadership Conference is not just an excuse to come to a Washington party, but also an opportunity for the players here in Washington to meet those who will feel the impact of their decisions. As in the past, this year we brought together ceos and top executives with more than two dozen members of Congress to discuss the legislative issues of the day.

Senate leaders Trent Lott (R-MS) and Tom Daschle (D-SD) talked about their respective parties’ agendas leading up to the coming election. The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Orrin Hatch (R-UT), talked about the outlook for bankruptcy reform, in which NRF has taken a leading role. House tax reform experts Billy Tauzin (R-LA) and House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) debated the merits of various tax reform proposals.

As this session of Congress nears its end, we can give ourselves a hand and take pride in the Fortune Magazine ranking as a testament to our members and our staff. Moving forward, we should be looking for ways to expand our influence so that we can join the Fortune top 10 or even the top five list by 2000. With your continued and increased support through PAC contributions, grassroots activities and Congress-to-ceo engagement, I’m confident we can.