7.4 Learning Assessment by Shriya Rawal https://padlet.com/shriya_rawal/lt4oaqpywtcj Made with big dreams en-us 2019-05-06 17:14:06 UTC 2019-05-06 17:21:09 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f967.png How do special interest groups seek to influence U.S. public policy shriya_rawal https://padlet.com/shriya_rawal/lt4oaqpywtcj/wish/357295327 Political Power
  • By representing more than one individual, an interest group has a stronger bargaining position with leaders in government. The number of members needed to influence government leaders varies with the size of the community involved. 
  • On the state and national levels, an interest group draws from the financial resources and expertise of its many members. Organized and equipped with sufficient resources, an interest group can exert influence far beyond the power of its individual members.

Lobbying
  • Interest groups seek to influence public policy, wherever it is made—in all branches of government and at all levels. They use many strategies to achieve their goals—from using advertising to create public support for their causes to suing in court or seeking a constitutional amendment.
  • Meeting with elected officials to persuade them to make certain laws or policies is one way that interest groups influence public policy.

Providing Useful Information
  • One of the important ways that lobbyists make their cases is by providing government officials and their staff with facts and data about the policy the interest group wants enacted. 

Drafting Bills
  • In addition to providing information to lawmakers, lobbyists and interest groups sometimes help write bills. 
  • Many well-organized interest groups have research staffs that help members of Congress draft proposed laws. Studies have shown that interest groups and their lobbyists often draft parts of or entire bills for legislation.

Media Campaigns
  • Interest groups use the mass media—television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet—to inform the public and to create support for their views. 

Letter-Writing or E-mail Campaigns
  • Many interest groups urge their members to call, fax, or send e-mails to government officials to demonstrate broad support for or against a policy.
]]> 2019-05-06 17:14:45 UTC https://padlet.com/shriya_rawal/lt4oaqpywtcj/wish/357295327