Interest Groups in Action

1
Interest Groups in Action
2
Activities of Interest Groups

• Interest groups attempt to influence policy by
  supplying public officials with things they want

3
Activities of Interest Groups

• Credible information
• Public support
• Money
• Trouble

4
Credible Information

• Includes policy info to allow a legislator to
  take a position on an issue or technical info
  needed to implement a policy

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Credible Information

• Interest group is most powerful when the issue is
  narrow technical there are no competing
  interest groups to supply competing info

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Credible Information

• Supplying info may involve political cues
• Allows a public official to line up on the
  liberal or conservative side of the issue

7
Public Support

• Grassroots mobilization is a tactic chosen by an
  increasing number of interest groups
• Environmental interest groups have successfully
  mobilized support for against legislators with
  the Dirty Dozen campaign

8
Money

• Interest groups can establish PACs to finance
  political campaigns
• Lobby Congress to reduce or increase
  appropriations for gov. agencies provide jobs
  for former gov officials (revolving door)

9
Money

• To obtain money beyond member dues, interest
  groups have turned to
• Foundation grants
• Federal grants contracts
• Direct mail solicitation

10
Trouble

• Tactics such as protest marches, sit-ins,
  picketing, violence have always been part of
  politics
• Used by both left right

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Purpose of Trouble

• Disrupt the workings of some institutions to
  force it to negotiate with you
• Enlist the support of third parties (media)
• Provoke attacks arrests are made so that
  martyrs are created

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Regulating Interest Groups

• Many policies have been enacted to regulate
  interest groups
• All must deal with the fact that interest group
  activity is a form of political speech protected
  by the First Amendment

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Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946

• Register with the secretary of the Senate clerk
  of the House of Rep.
• File quarterly financial reports

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Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946

• Supreme Ct. upheld the law
• Limited its impact to groups whose principal
  purpose is to influence legislation
• Both the law Supreme Ct. ruling left
  significant loopholes for interest groups to
  exploit

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Regulating Interest Groups

• In 1995 Congress passed tighter regulatory
  legislation
• New law broadened the definition of lobbyist

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Interest Group Regulation 1995 Law

• Require more advocates to register with the House
  Senate
• Require lobbyists to require more info about
  clients

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Regulating Interest Groups 1995 Law

• Lobbyists must now register if they spend at
  least 20 of their time lobbying and/or paid
  5,000 or more for lobbying in any 6 month period
• Corps groups must register if they spend more
  than 20,000 in any 6 month period on their
  lobbying staff

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1995 Law

• Lobbyists must submit biannual reports that list
• Names of their clients
• Income and expenditures
• Issues on which they worked

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1995 Law

• Although the law did not establish a new
  enforcement agency, violations may be referred to
  the Justice Dept for investigation
• Fines for breaking the laws could amount to
  50,000

20
1995 Law

• Barred those tax-exempt nonprofit groups
  currently receiving federal funds from lobbying
• Most effective restraints on interest group
  activity may result from tax code (threatens to
  revoke groups tax-exempt status if it engages in
  lobbying)

21
1995 Law

• Spending limits can be circumvented by bundling
• Bundling occurs when a PAC solicits funds for a
  candidate a donor writes the check for the
  candidate
• All of these checks are delivered as a bundle

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1995 Law

• Federal campaign records reflect a series of
  individual donations the PACs role is not
  evident
• Bundling has become one of the most common PAC
  practices has been used with considerable
  success

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Regulating Interest Groups

• An outstanding practitioner of bundling is
  EMILYs List
• PAC that supports pro-choice, Democratic women
  candidates

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Regulating Interest Groups

• Even the best regulations may be ineffective
  barriers against the power of interest groups
  PACs