Published 01/24/2025 - In Senior Lecturer in Public Policy David King’s course, DPI-122: Becoming a Policy Entrepreneur in the United States, students get a lesson in lobbying. The course, which focuses on the tools and frameworks for identifying and advancing a policy agenda in the United States, blends theory with practical cases and simulations.

Students in the class this past fall participated in a lobbying simulation to advocate for—or against—U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) Long COVID Research Moonshot Act, which would provide $10 billion to the National Institutes of Health to scale up a Long COVID research program.

The 25 students participating in the simulation were split into five advocacy groups lobbying for bipartisan support for the bill from U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), a physician whose loved one has suffered from Long COVID. Professor Joe Newhouse played Senator Marshall in the simulation.

Of the five advocacy groups, the Patient-Led Research Collaborative, Center for Economic and Policy Research, and the ME Action Network lobbied in favor of the bill; the COVID Collaborative and Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget lobbied against it. Students took on different roles within each of the groups, ranging from physicians to patients to economists, and met with the senator to present their arguments.

Five students seated around a table presenting arguments to Senator Roger Marshall, played by Prof. Joe Newhouse

Students in DPI-122 present their arguments to Professor Joe Newhouse, playing Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), in a lobbying simulation.

Mahek Shah MC/MPA 2025, a physician who also holds a Master of Business Administration, took the course. He was assigned to lobby in favor of the bill for the Patient-Led Research Collaborative.

“It was a good utilization of my expertise as a clinician,” he reflects. “When we were rehearsing, the student roleplaying the founder of the organization, or the patient advocate, or the caregiver, would introduce evidence. I would then double down, discussing in more detail the importance of an entire center devoted specifically to Long COVID that this bill is trying to establish. It really resonated with me as someone who’s been trying to innovate in the health care space and build new ways of delivering care.”

Ryan Prior MC/MPA 2025, a course assistant for DPI-122, helped design the lobbying simulation. Before HKS, Prior was a reporter for CNN during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and wrote the book, “The Long Haul: How Long Covid Survivors Are Revolutionizing Health Care.” When Professor King tasked Prior with selecting a bill for the simulation, Senator Sanders’ bill was a no-brainer.

“Around the time I started at HKS, the paperback version of my book came out, and Senator Sanders filed the bill,” says Prior. “It was very intuitive for me to choose this bill. It gave students the opportunity to lobby for a bill that was hot off the presses and actually being considered in the Senate.”

Ryan Prior

“I thought students would benefit from learning what it’s like to go to Capitol Hill, and how you would interact with staffers or members of Congress for any priority.”

Ryan Prior MC/MPA 2025

Prior himself is no stranger to lobbying. He was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis—or chronic fatigue syndrome—in 2007 and served on ME Action Network’s board of directors, traveling to lobby on Capitol Hill several times for increased medical research funding.

“I thought students would benefit from learning what it’s like to go to Capitol Hill, and how you would interact with staffers or members of Congress for any priority,” Prior says.

During the simulation, Prior noticed that the handful of students with backgrounds in the medical community, including Shah, took a particular interest in the simulation.

“The lobbying simulation opened my eyes to how you can begin to make tactical and practical policy differences,” says Shah. Prior to the simulation, Shah had no background in lobbying. The simulation provided eye-opening insight into the experience of lobbying legislators for support and the skills necessary to be successful.

Mahek Shah

“The lobbying simulation opened my eyes to how you can begin to make tactical and practical policy differences. ... I understand now why you bring in lobbyists to sell your cause effectively.”

Mahek Shah MC/MPA 2025

“Oftentimes there are tactics that the congressional office may use to shorten the meeting, or maybe the congressperson will ask questions that are not really related to why you’re there,” Shah recounts. “In our simulation, for example, we had to tactfully and indirectly say, ‘I appreciate what you’re asking, Senator, but we’re here to discuss why we want the 10 years of funding to be committed to this cause.’ Owning and knowing your messaging is critical, as is finding a way to land some quotes or one-liners to leave a memorable impression.”

Shah adds that the simulation elucidated the role of a lobbyist.

“Before the simulation, I thought—maybe because of stereotypes in movies or TV—that lobbyists just wine and dine. I came away with a deeper appreciation for lobbyists than the public tends to have,” Shah reflects. “I understand now why you bring in lobbyists to sell your cause effectively, to get things that you need done.”

Looking beyond the simulation, Shah can envision himself playing the role as a business and policy expert in the health care field.

“I see myself as someone with the ability to translate the needs of the health care industry—whether that is in big tech, pharmaceuticals, or a hospital—to policymakers and serving as a liaison between the two.”