the aia does lobby, but usually only for things about which there is a *very* clear consensus among their membership. i bet how to approach deficit reduction is not one of those issues. 

i'm going to say they are helping the agc on this one - 

the funny one on that list is jackson co....

The key to any successful lobbying effort is the ability of any 'special interest' group to donate money to the re-election campaigns of incumbent members of congress. The AIA is prohibited from using member dues dollars for that purpose -- all such political contributions must come from the AIA's PAC, which historically is woefully underfunded by the members. 

I have come to realize that many AIA members feel that participation in the political process that way is unsavory. Until these conditions change and members start providing more voluntary economic support to the PAC, the AIA's political clout will remain essentially zip.

Of course, none of this precludes individual AIA members (and non-Members, for that matter) from writing their own representative in Congress about these matters.

Oh ... and before anybody starts complaining about those cheap bastards who make up the AIA, the AIA's PAC ALSO will accept donations from non-members. The AIA's primary political objectives are aimed at helping the whole industry -- not just the members.

My understanding of this supercommittee is that they are looking at budget cuts in everything, and lobby groups are coming in and saying "Yeah! Cut everything except except our special interest funding". 

Not sure what AIA could have with this. Any government funded projects that might have benefited architectural community were already cut decades ago. Maybe AIA PAC can lobby for a time machine.