Executive Branch Lobbying

1
Executive Branch Lobbying

• Managing White House relations with Congress is
  a lot like landing a Boeing 747. Doing it right
  is boring, routine, and expected not a feat
  that generates plaudits or praise. Yet doing it
  wrong can produce lots of sparks and heat, often
  leading to disastrous consequences for the
  president and his agenda.
• - Gary Andres, Bush Admin. Congressional
  Liaison

2
Lobbying the Executive Branch

• Interest groups and executive branch not a
  natural mix like Congress
• Lobbyists specialize in informal contacts and
  providing information less useful for President
• Different Agendas Int. Groups think narrowly,
  White House must think broadly

3

• Lobbyists work inside often shun publicity
  presidents live and die by publicity
• Reagan, Clinton, Bush, etc.

4
Interest Group Influence

• Groups do play a significant role. How?
• The President can lobby Congress
• Executive Branch agencies lobby Congress
• Interest Groups often lobby agencies to push for
  certain policies and against others
• Presidents agendas may align with certain
  interest groups

5
Presidents as Lobbyists

• How critical is presidential lobbying?
• Experts disagree
• Andres Presidents are key determinants in
  success or failure of a legis. program
• He selects lobbying team, sets the tone, assigns
  priorities and supports the team.

6
Topic Two

• Some political scientists doubt presidential
  lobbying skills matter
• Legislative action will be determined by the
  composition of Congress. Which party has a
  majority? Which congressional leaders favor
  action on Presidents agenda?

7
Summary

• Still, other analysts see indirect effects of
  presidential lobbying
• Presidents more likely to be effective on high
  priority issues because they spend more time and
  political resources
• Sullivan compared Head counts with actual
  roll-call votes to measure presidential influence
• The lesson stay focused on priorities

8
Bureaucratic Lobbying

• Exec. Branch agencies deal with narrower issues
  than White House better targets for inside
  lobbying from Groups
• In fact, some agencies grow so close to the
  interests that they are supposed to regulate,
  they are captured.
• Lowi Interest Group Liberalism
• Govt. is not a neutral arbitrator, but is
  designed to represent the well-organized at the
  expense of the larger interests of society

9
The Iron Triangle

• The dominance of congressional committees,
  executive branch agencies, and interest groups in
  the policymaking process.
• Presidents less relevant
• Little interest in constituency benefits
• Issues often not on presidential agenda that
  can be good
• 1940s-1970s

10

• Interest Group expansion in 1960s and 1970s,
  especially among citizen groups and public
  interest groups, brought new players to the
  table.
• Weakened the Iron Triangle
• Environmental, consumer protection, civil rights,
  and other groups ate into policy domains of
  interest groups and congressional committees.
• Rise of Issue Networks policymakers linked by
  expertise in a given area. Many networks and
  relationships, not just one under the old iron
  triangle.
• Shifting alliances, temporary friends, coalition
  politics, media strategies, etc.

11
New environment

• More groups meant more competition, less overall
  influence.
• Turn to other strategies litigation
• President more involved by setting the agenda and
  dictating who gets access
• Agendas more ideological
• The environment is more contentious among groups
  and between parties

12
Interest Group Intervention

• Groups are often successful in influencing,
  altering, defeating government regulations and
  rules enforced by executive branch agencies.
• How influential are interest groups in
  administrative decision making?
• Is this good? Does it support the interests of
  the wider society? Does it support or undermine
  rational decision making?

13
Intervention Strategies

• Direct Lobbying using comment period of the
  administrative rulemaking process. Usually comes
  in the form of hearings.
• Congressional influence. Groups might entice a
  sympathetic member of Congress to contact agency
  officials, or hold an oversight hearing about
  the agencys activities.
• Friendly Executives. Influence the selection of
  the top executives at agencies. White House
  personnel and congressional contacts are often
  lobbied to recommend or support the hiring of
  specific individuals.

14

• 4. Outside strategy. Mobilize the grassroots.
  Letter-writing campaigns, email campaigns,
  personal visits to agency officials.

15
Alternative Perspectives

• Economists
• Significant influence by well-organized groups
• Undermines democracy
• Bad for balanced economic growth
• Administrative agencies are captured
• Larger budgets than warranted, leads to larger
  deficits

16

• Legal Scholars
• Diverse interests represented
• Positive effects of interest group intervention
• Good for democracy
• Political Scientists
• Comes from both sides, all sides
• More numerous and more nuanced