During the day, lobbyists may write congressional testimony, attend coalition meetings, meet with staff members and review possible amendments, or attend hearings or markups. In one day, lobbyists may draft position papers, activate grassroots involvement, participate in conference telephone calls, or engage in a multitude of other activities to achieve the goal of defeating legislation or ensuring that a bill passes. Political staff members may distribute PAC checks, maintain the database to ascertain expenditures and recipients, return contribution checks to district members to be delivered to Congress members, or respond to a variety of requests for information. Lobbyists will not be able to get results unless they are backed by a strong grassroots contingency. One former lobbyist reportedly set a record by attending 16 fund-raising events in one day.
Lobbyists also spend substantial time planning and hosting fund-raising events.
Congress members often contact lobbyists to request that they organize an event. In addition to addressing federal legislative issues, lobbyists work with agencies such as the Health Care Financing Administration that write regulations after legislation is passed to ensure that clients' interests are protected in the final regulations. Building and maintaining relationships with administrative and agency staff members is critical to lobbying work. Lobbyists in Washington, DC, can be an organization's eyes and ears to what is going on. They can present an organization's case in a coherent and persuasive manner.