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Aim: How do Interest Groups influence legislators?

Explore how interest groups influence legislators and public policy through lobbying, grassroots efforts, campaign contributions, and more. Discover the impact of money and information on legislative decisions.

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Aim: How do Interest Groups influence legislators?

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  1. Aim: How do Interest Groups influence legislators? Do Now: Do you agree with Ted Kennedy that the U.S. Congress is the greatest congress money can buy?

  2. 8 Categories of Interest Groups: • Business and Industry • Trade Associations • Organized Labor • Agriculture • Professional Associations • Public Interest • Government • Cultural/Ethnic/Religious

  3. How do Interest Groups Influence Public Policy? • By providing information to legislators through public hearings, informal meetings, office appointments, reports and position papers • Interest groups have experts who can educate government officials on complex issues • Testifying before Congress: providing expert witnesses • Socializing: Interest groups hold social functions to cement relationships with govt. officials • Helping to draft legislation • Grassroots Lobbying

  4. 4. Instituting lawsuits: • file lawsuits and class action suits (NAACP and Brown v. Board of Ed.) • Submit amicus curiaebriefs: friend of the court briefs where the interest group is not a party to the lawsuit, but offer advice to judges in making decisions

  5. 5. Educating and mobilizing the public 1. press releases and propaganda 6. Acting as a watchdog on the government 7. Making campaign contributions • Some are forbidden to do so by law: corporations, trade groups, and unions • They form PACs 8. Electioneering on behalf of a candidate a. Provide endorsements, rate legislators who are running

  6. Lobbying: • When interest groups try to influence legislation, they are lobbying for a bill or issue • Revolving Door: Many former legislators act as paid lobbyists for interest groups. • Direct Lobbying: meeting privately with govt. officials to suggest legislation and present arguments supporting their position

  7. Money and Interest Groups • Money is not as effective in influencing legislators as information • The more complex and issue, the more a lobbyists information will be useful • Money does grant access to legislators • There are enough interest groups and PACs with money to give that legislators can still remain independent • Often legislators can call the shots when dealing with PACs

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