HY 357 Lecture Notes - Lecture 42: Civil Rights Cases, Planned Parenthood, North American Free Trade Agreement
6 Jun 2018
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Tactics of Interest Groups
Interest groups not only report developments or trends but also try to influence them in a manner
that benefits their members or the cause they support. This persuasion is accomplished through
lobbying, grass-roots campaigns, political action committees, and litigation.
Lobbying
Lobbying efforts are directed primarily at the national level: committees of Congress that
consider legislation, administrative agencies that are responsible for writing or enforcing
regulations, and executive departments. Lobbyists depend on their personal
relationships with members of Congress and the executive branch, which are based on
keeping in regular contact. Many lobbyists have served in government themselves. This
means they have worked, in some cases for years, with the very people they are now
lobbying; this experience gives them invaluable insights into how things are
accomplished in Washington.
The critical legislative work in Congress takes place in committees. Lobbyists testify at
committee hearings, provide the staff with information, and, more frequently than most
people realize, actually write the legislation. They are sophisticated professionals and
do not simply say to senators, "Vote for this bill or else," but instead explain why the bill
is important to their constituency as well as what impact it will have in the senator's
state. A lobbyist may have a politically connected member of the interest group contact
the senator.
Important public policy decisions are made by regulatory agencies such as the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC). Lobbyists or interest-group lawyers, particularly
those representing corporations and trade associations, use the same tactics with
agencies as they do with Congress. Developing regulations is a multistep process that
involves initial drafting, hearings and submission of comments, and the issuance of final
rules. Interest groups are involved in all stages: They testify before administrative
hearings, submit comments or file briefs, and draft the regulations their clients are
required to operate under.
One of the criticisms of lobbyists is that they have too direct a role, based on their
relationships with government officials, in how laws are written and implemented. The
term iron triangle (also known as a cozy triangle) describes the ties between
congressional committees, administrative agencies whose funding is set by the
committees, and the lobbyists who work closely with both. Few policy areas are still
governed by tightly knit subgovernments, however. Policy in areas such as
telecommunications and banking generally emerges from much more complex issue
networksinvolving diverse players who are united, if anything, by their expertise in the
area.
Grass-roots campaigns
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Interest groups not only report developments or trends but also try to influence them in a manner that benefits their members or the cause they support. This persuasion is accomplished through lobbying, grass-roots campaigns, political action committees, and litigation. Lobbying efforts are directed primarily at the national level: committees of congress that consider legislation, administrative agencies that are responsible for writing or enforcing regulations, and executive departments. Lobbyists depend on their personal relationships with members of congress and the executive branch, which are based on keeping in regular contact. This means they have worked, in some cases for years, with the very people they are now lobbying; this experience gives them invaluable insights into how things are accomplished in washington. The critical legislative work in congress takes place in committees. Lobbyists testify at committee hearings, provide the staff with information, and, more frequently than most people realize, actually write the legislation.
