Government 2

· Pull up interest group website to show class different kinds of interest groups!!!

Interest Groups and the American Political Tradition

· Lobby / Interest Group = an organized group of individuals that who share political goals and seek to influence public policy. Lobby and Interest Group are the same thing.

· Lobbyist = a representative of an interest group.

· Examples of Interest Groups:

· AFL-CIO – represents labor union members

· American Farm Bureau Federation – represents farmers

· Business Roundtable – represents big business

· Some people do not like interest groups in general because they are not equal to everyone – i.e. if you are not a farmer you are not a member of the American Farm Bureau Federation.

· Some people in society think that lobbyists bribe congressmen – study done showed that 4 out of 5 people thought that lobbyists bribed congressmen to vote in support of their cause.

· One study suggests that $10 billion is spent on lobbyists every year.

· Interest groups do represent one segment of society (i.e. farmers, doctors, students) but they are advocates for that group to make sure their voices get heard.

· What do lobbyists do?

· Representation

· They represent people before their government.

· Example: A lobbyists for the National Association of Broadcasters speaks for the interests of radio and television broadcasters when Congress or another agency is considering a relevant policy decision.

· Without that certain lobbyist the member of congress may not take that certain issue into consideration in the same way.

· Participation

· Interest groups are a vehicle for political participation.

· They provide a way for like-minded citizens to pool their resources and make a bigger impact together rather than separately.

· People come together because it is easier to get the government to listen to a group of individuals rather than one individual.

· Interest groups facilitate that participation of multiple people to come together to promote their common interests.

· Education

· Interest groups provide education to their own members, the public at large, and to government officials.

· Agenda Building

· Interest groups bring new issues into the government limelight.

· American society has a lot of problems but the government cannot address every single one of them.

· Interest groups are advocates for solving the problems of their group – they bring those problems to the limelight to try and see that something is done to solve them.

· Think about the saying “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.”

· Program Monitoring

· Interest groups also monitor programs – they engage in “program monitoring” – means they keep track of government programs of interest to their members.

· When a program is not operating like it should the interest group pushes the administrators to change it.

· Example: if there is a program offering federal subsidies to farmers in time of major drought – the interest group the farmers are a member of will monitor the program and if it is not working the interest group will push the government to change it.

How Interest Groups Form

· How do interest groups form, start, and get organized to get members and make an agenda?

· Interest Group Entrepreneurs = an interest group organizer or leader.

· The interest groups entrepreneur will succeed or fail the same way a business entrepreneur succeeds or fails – there must be something attractive to the “market” in order to convince people to join / form an interest group AND member(s) have to be persuaded that the benefits of membership / forming an interest group outweigh the costs.

· Note that some interest groups have actual members – i.e. farmers – and some interest groups don’t have a lot of members but hire lobbyists or establish lobby offices in DC because their company is so big they want to have a person in DC – i.e. Google has an office in DC and lawyers who are lobbyists who represent their interests because they are such a big company and have so many interests.

Lobbyists

· Some of the money that interest groups raise is used to pay lobbyists who represent their organization before the government.

· Lobbyists make sure that people in the government know their members want – AND – make sure their groups know what the government is doing.

· Example – hedge funds have lobbyists in DC so make sure the lobbyists are plugged into any new regulations that are being proposed that could impact them and their clients.

· A lobbyist may be a full time employee – OR – can be someone you hire by the hour that works for a public relations firm or a law firm.

· Lobbyists are usually people who are in the know, may be people who have served in high government positions and have influence and credibility.

· Example: Billy Touzin, Republican from Louisiana who chaired the House Energy and Commerce Committee – was later hired by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America – interest group for the drug industry. His credibility and access to members of the House made him a catch to the group. His initial salary was reported at $2 million / year.

· 40% of representatives and senators who leave Capitol Hill become lobbyists.

Lobbying Tactics

· There are three types of lobbying tactics we discuss:

· Direct Lobbying

· Attempts to influence a legislator through personal contact and personal relationship.

· A lobbyist will meet with the member of Congress or a member of their staff.

· The lobbyists will make their arguments / positions known and ask for support.

· The goal is to educate the policy makers and help them do their job by educating them about a certain subject.

· Sometimes lobbyists will be asked to come and speak before Congress in a meeting or congressional hearing to educate members about something and will present all sides of an issue.

· Grassroots Lobbying

· Lobbying activities performed by rank and file interest group members or people who sympathize with the interest group’s cause.

· Example: Letter writing campaigns, protests, emails, faxes, telephone calls.

· Information Campaigns

· An organized effort to gain public backing by bringing a group’s views to public attention.

· This is a public relations campaign.

· Involves sending speakers to meetings across the country, printing pamphlets, handouts, newspaper and magazine ads, making a website.

· Example: labor union for Wal Mart launched an informational campaign against Wal Mart and how they treat their employees.

Regulation of Lobbying

· In Texas, you have to register as a lobbyist and file a report with the Texas Ethics Commission if:

· Private-sector lobbyists who cross a compensation threshold of $1,000 per calendar year

· An expenditure threshold of $500 per quarter year – means if someone spends more than $500 per quarter to directly communicate with members of Congress to influence legislation or administrative action.

· The registration form requires the lobbyist to disclose the following:

· For whom the person lobbies, including information about those clients.

· The policy areas of their concern.

· The compensation category into which the salary or reimbursement falls.

· The identify of anyone that works for them that has direct contact with political officials.

· Expenditures for broadcast or print advertisements, mass mailings, or other communications designed to support of oppose legislation or administrative actions.

· Expenditures on members of the state legislature in excess of $114 (60% of legislative per diem) on food, drink, transportation and lodging.

· Must report expenditures in excess of $50 on gifts – including reporting the form of a gift, reported by name, date, place, and purpose.

·

· Lobbyists who foresee spending more than $1,000/year must file activity reports by the 10th day of each month – those who spend less just have to file annually.

· But lobbyists do NOT have to report the following:

· Compensation received to “prepare for lobbying”

· Office expenses like telephone, fax, copying, office supplies, postage, dues, transportation, cost of clerical help.

· Costs associated with events to which all members of the legislature are invited to attend.

· Campaign contributions to public officials – these are not reported as lobbying expenses but as campaign contributions so fall under the reporting requirements for campaign contributions.

· Overall – the public does NOT think it gets an accurate picture of the investments in lobbying that interest groups make.

· In Texas, The Texas Ethics Commission enforces reporting laws.

· Lobby Industry in Texas – statistics:

· You can look at the Texas Ethics Commissions’ website and see statistics.

· In 2014:

· 8,517 lobby contracts with 1,836 lobbyists.

· Contracts worth between $169M-$345M

· Most Texas lobbyists are affiliated with law firms.

· 30 lobbyists earned more than $1.5M for their services.

· 14 identifiable industries collectively paid more than $5 million EACH to have their interests protected and advanced.

· Who spends the most on lobbing in Texas?

· ATT&T Corp = $10.5M

· Texas Medical Association = $1.4M

· Association of Electric Companies = $1.3M

· Texas Trial Lawyers Association = $1.25M

Should Texas allow former lawmakers to become lobbyists once they leave office?

· Many states ban former law makers from becoming lobbyists immediately after leaving office for a period of time.

· Texas does not.

· The members of the Texas legislature make $7,200/year and lobbyists make A LOT more than that so when they leave office many interests groups would like to hire the former legislatures because they know people in Austin.

· Reasons to NOT allow former lawmakers to immediately become lobbyists:

· Former lawmakers created the legislation, regulated industry, and oversaw government agencies.

· If former lawmakers are allowed to go be a lobbyist then they may have the temptation to author legislation that helps the industry in which they hope to work after the leave office.

· Will they block “undesirable” legislation because a potential employer might look favorably on that?

· Banning former law makers from becoming lobbyists may ensure that ex-lawmakers wouldn’t grant benefits to future employers.

· Reasons to keep law the same – no ban on former lawmaker immediately becoming a lobbyist:

· Few people are better suited to be lobbyists than people who have actually worked in the legislature and know people and know how it works.

· Expertise leads to better laws that are written better and crafter better.

· Texas lawmakers are so poorly compensated for their public service that they should be able to get some kind of pay back when the leave the legislature.

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