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Aim: How do Interest Groups influence legislators?

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?. 8 Categories of Interest Groups:. Business and Industry Trade Associations Organized Labor Agriculture Professional Associations

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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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