Domestic Policy

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Domestic Policy
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Public Policy

• Public Policy is an intentional course of action
  or inaction followed by government in dealing
  with some problem or matter of concern.
• These policies are binding on people
• Those who dont comply can be penalized through
  fines, loss of benefits and even jail terms.

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Theories of Public Policy

• Elite Theory
• Bureaucratic Theory
• Interest Group Theory

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A Model of the Policy-Making Process

• The stages of the process
• Problem recognition and definition
• Agenda setting
• Policy formulation
• Policy adoption
• Budgeting
• Policy implementation
• Policy evaluation

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Problem Recognition and Definition

• There is rarely an agreed upon definition of a
  problem.
• How the problem is defined will help determine
  what sort of action is appropriate.
• Political parties and interest groups battle over
  the definition and recognition of a problem.

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Agenda Setting

• Once a problem has been defined, it must be
  brought to the attention of public officials and
  placed on the agenda.
• Agenda setters include the president, interest
  groups and political crises.
• The president uses the State of the Union, his
  budget and key speeches to push his agenda.
• Crises like 9/11 and the mortgage crisis have
  affected the agenda in recent years.

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Policy formulation/adoption

• These two steps are the most time consuming.
• Legislators, the president, interest groups and
  government agencies work together to try to
  create a policy that can be adopted.
• Usually the legislation is incremental, making
  only marginal changes to existing policy

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Budgeting/Policy Implementation

• The funding of a policy can determine its
  effectiveness.
• Public policy is generally implemented by
  government agencies (bureaucracy)
• The agencies are often given administrative
  discretion due to their expertise in that area.
• Congressional committees have the power of
  oversight and control over the budgets of the
  agencies.

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Policy Evaluation

• The process of determining whether a course of
  action is achieving its intended goals.
• Sometimes a program is judged to be good simply
  because it is politically popular or fits the
  ideological beliefs of an elected official.
• GAO- conducts hundreds of studies a year on the
  viability of programs and agencies.

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The Evolution of Health PolicyDescribe the
evolution of health policy in the United States.

• Medicare for disabled and over 65
• Medicaid for low income
• Health Insurance
• National health insurance first considered in
  1930s.
• Most people use single-payer private healthcare
  system.
• Costs are rapidly increasing.
• No universal health care.

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Public Health

• From AIDS to obesity, public policy makers have
  attempted to use government power to fight
  threats to the nations health.
• Tools employed by the government include
  immunizations, education, advertisements, and
  regulations.

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Public Health

• Government sponsors research at National
  Institutes of Health.
• Government plays a major role in public health
  management.

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The Evolution of Education Policy

• The Foundations of Education Policy
• Originally each state determined educational
  policies
• From school houses to public education
• Role in political socialization in a democracy

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How did Title IX change education? Title IX of
the Education Amendments of 1972 greatly expanded
educational and athletic opportunities for women.
As a result of these gender equity requirements,
women's lacrosse is one of the fastest growing
collegiate sports.
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The No Child Left Behind Act

• NCLB intends to promote
• results-oriented accountability
• state and local flexibility in use of national
  funds
• proven methods of achieving high-quality
  education outcomes
• school choice

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The Evolution of Energy and Environmental
PolicyExplain the evolution of energy and
environmental policy in the United States.

• 20th century cheap fossil fuels and economic boom
• Smog and other environmental problems emerge

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The Foundations of Energy and Environmental Policy

• Energy policy
• By 1970s, U.S. dependent on foreign oil
• Oil embargo crisis.
• Government set conservation and efficiency
  standards creates DOE
• Environmental policy
• National Environmental Policy Act of 1970
• Clean Air Act of 1970
• Clean Water Act of 1970
• Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974

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Energy and Environmental Policy Hibernates

• Reagan champion of deregulation
• 1981 National Energy Policy Plan, ended the price
  and allocation controls on crude oil and
  petroleum
• Bush and Clinton do little with exception of
• Clean Air Act of 1990
• Energy Policy Act of 1992

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Energy and Environmental Policy Returns to
Prominence

• 9/11 energy policy central to national security
• Increasing concern about global warming
• Kyoto Protocol in 1997
• States take the lead in environmental policy.