AI Summer Camp: Legislative Staff
GenAI tools can supercharge your policy research by synthesizing complex legislation, generating amendment analysis, and drafting comprehensive issue briefings. AI has the ability to transform overwhelming and rapidly developing policy landscapes into clear, actionable intelligence that positions your Member as an informed leader on key issues.
Get started with five “quests” designed to support policymakers and their teams in getting to know and understanding this technology in an approachable way:
Safety First: Like any good adventure, using AI involves well-marked paths to follow—and a few areas best avoided. Stay safe and be responsible by keeping these AI safety tips in mind.
Bring a Buddy: See tips and sample prompts for every member of your team, including Staff Assistants, Communications Staff, Caseworkers, Schedulers, Legislative Directors, Field Representatives & Community Outreach Directors, Chiefs of Staff & District Directors, and even the Member!
Quest 1: Summarization
Ranger Tip
AI summarization can revolutionize your research process by quickly extracting key findings from lengthy reports, bills, and policy documents, allowing you to focus your expertise on analysis rather than basic information gathering. You'll be able to digest more information on a shorter timeline — finally digging through those reports you’ve been meaning to read.
Quest Directive
Use an institution-approved LLM to:
Analyze relevant legislation - Summarize introduced legislation, amendments, press releases, and committee reports to identify key provisions, potential impacts, and stakeholder positions. Explore how LLMs can create visualizations of policy implementation details
Summarize key research reports - Condense think tank reports, CRS studies, and academic research into actionable policy insights and talking points
Sample Prompts
“Summarize this 47-page transportation bill. Focus on: new funding levels, changes to existing programs, and potential impact on our district, where the priorities for residents are [X, X, X]. Present as 3 main takeaways with specific dollar amounts and timeline. Create a flowchart that visualizes agency responsibilities on the timelines proposed.”
“Analyze this CRS report on renewable energy policy. Extract: current policy landscape, 3 key policy options, and pros/cons of each option. Format as a briefing memo under 300 words.”
Advanced prompts
“Create an implementation timeline for this legislation: who must do what by when?”
“Create an organizational chart for this legislation; what are the roles and responsibilities of each agency?”
Letters from camp: Have a particularly good (or wild) experience with this quest? Tell us all about it!
Quest 2: Brainstorming
Ranger Tip
AI can help you explore policy solutions from multiple angles and generate innovative approaches to complex legislative challenges that you might not have considered on your own. This collaborative thinking process can lead to more comprehensive bill drafting, stronger amendment strategies, and creative compromises that advance your Member's priorities.
Quest Directive
Use an institution-approved LLM to:
Develop policy solutions - Generate multiple approaches to address a specific policy problem, exploring different mechanisms, stakeholder perspectives, and implementation strategies
Create new legislative strategies - Brainstorm creative amendment ideas, coalition-building approaches, or procedural strategies to advance priority legislation
Sample Prompts
“We're working on legislation to address the teacher shortage in rural areas. Brainstorm 8 different policy mechanisms we could include: 4 focused on recruitment incentives and 4 focused on retention strategies. Consider federal programs, tax incentives, loan forgiveness, and partnerships.”
“Generate 6 potential amendments to the recently introduced infrastructure bill (text attached) that would specifically benefit rural districts like ours in [State-District]. Focus on: broadband access, transportation, and water systems. Include brief rationales for why each could gain bipartisan support.”
Letters from camp: Have a particularly good (or wild) experience with this quest? Tell us all about it!
Quest 3: Content Creation
Ranger Tip
AI can streamline your policy writing process by helping you with initial legislative ideation, creating comprehensive briefing materials, and developing clear explanations of intricate policy issues for various audiences. By using AI in this way, you can focus your expertise on policy analysis and refinement rather than starting with blank pages.
Quest Directive
Use an institution-approved LLM to:
Create draft policy documents - Draft legislative memos, summaries, or briefing materials to help clearly communicate complex policy positions and/or proposals
Create draft educational content - Create explanatory materials, fact sheets, or talking points that make technical policy issues accessible to different audiences (constituents, media, colleagues)
Sample Prompts
“Draft a one-page bill summary for our rural broadband legislation based off of the attached bill text and memo. Include: problem statement, key provisions of the bill, funding levels, implementation timeline, and expected outcomes. Write for an audience of bipartisan Congressional colleagues who aren't telecom experts.”
“Create a fact sheet explaining our healthcare cost transparency proposal for town hall distribution based on the attached policy memo. Use: approachable language, 3 key benefits for families, how it works in practice, and answers to 3 potential common concerns. Keep under 200 words with bullet points.”
Letters from camp: Have a particularly good (or wild) experience with this quest? Tell us all about it!
Quest 4: Strategizing
Ranger Tip
AI can help you brainstorm a strategic approach to advancing your Member's legislative priorities with intention and developing your own expertise as a policy professional along the way. This dual-focused strategic thinking can help you navigate today’s complex political landscape while building the knowledge and relationships that drive successful policy careers.
Quest Directive
Use an institution-approved LLM to:
Develop a legislative advancement strategy - Develop comprehensive strategies for building support for priority legislation, including coalition building, timing decisions, and stakeholder management approaches
Develop policy expertise - Create strategic plans for deepening your policy knowledge, building external relationships, and positioning yourself as a subject matter expert in your issue areas
Sample Prompts
“Our rural broadband bill has 12 cosponsors but needs 25+ for serious consideration. Develop a strategic plan to identify and recruit the remaining cosponsors. Include: target member analysis, messaging strategies for different regions/parties, coalition partners who could help, and optimal timing for outreach efforts.”
“I want to become a recognized expert in agricultural policy to advance my career. Create a strategic development plan including: key knowledge areas to master, important relationships to build, conferences and events to attend, and ways to demonstrate expertise through writing or speaking opportunities.”
Letters from camp: Have a particularly good (or wild) experience with this quest? Tell us all about it!
Quest 5: Predicting the Future
Ranger Tip
We're approaching an era where AI tools could help staff analyze thousands of bills simultaneously, model policy impacts in real time, and identify legislative opportunities that human researchers might miss. The fundamental nature of policy research and analysis is evolving, and those who understand these capabilities will shape the future of evidence-based policymaking.
Quest Directive
Use an institution-approved LLM to:
Explore advanced policy analysis - Experiment with having AI conduct complex comparative policy analysis across multiple jurisdictions and time periods to understand future research capabilities
Investigate systemic pattern recognition - Ask AI to identify patterns and connections across different policy areas that might reveal insights about governance challenges requiring new approaches
Sample Prompts
“Analyze how AI powered legislative tools might revolutionize legislative research by 2030. Describe specific capabilities like real-time bill impact modeling, automated stakeholder analysis, and predictive legislative outcome assessment. What new types of evidence and analysis might become possible that could transform how we develop and refine policy proposals?”
“Imagine the creation of an AI powered system that can track every policy implementation across all 50 states in real time. How might this change federal policymaking? Walk me through how we might discover policy innovations, identify implementation challenges, and refine federal approaches based on comprehensive state-level data analysis.”
Letters from camp: Have a particularly good (or wild) experience with this quest? Tell us all about it!
Letters from Camp
Have a particularly good (or wild) experience with this quest? Tell us all about it!
