What is it called when special interest groups try to influence public officials?

Actually, there are three major types of interest groups. Animal rights groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals(PETA) and environmental interest groups such as Greenpeace usually organize as public-interest groups. These groups claim to work not for self interest but for the best interest of the public.

The National Organization for Women (NOW) pressures Congress and other legislative bodies to adopt laws and measures that they feel most benefit American women. They also work hard to get more women into elected office.

Underpaid professional workers may organize as groups. Lawyers belong to the American Bar Association, doctors belong to the American Medical Association, and teachers belong to the National Education Association or the American Federation of Teachers. Labor unions such as the AFL-CIO and the Teamsters' Union to protect workers in factories or businesses.

The most common type of interest group is formed around businesses, corporations, and trade associations. Part of their reputation for power is based on the fact that they represent about half of all interest groups in Washington. People who criticize interest groups for having undue power in government believe that the business groups get special privileges for people who already have more wealth and power than ordinary citizens. For example, the oil and tobacco industries each have interest groups who promote their respective interests on Capitol Hill.

How Interest Groups Work

Interest groups send representatives to state capitals and to Washington, D.C. to put pressure on members of Congress and other policymakers. They engage in lobbying, or the organized process of influencing legislation or policy. Lobbying can take many forms. Interest groups can testify in congressional hearings. For example, several years ago, when Congress was considering discrimination in private clubs, representatives of the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts appeared in hearings to try to persuade Congress to allow each one to remain a single-sex organization. Lobbyists also contact government officials directly or informally, present research results and technical information, talk with people from the press and the media, and sometimes even help to draft legislation.

The AFL-CIO is a massive labor union organization, with over 12 million members in 55 individual unions across America.

Why should the politicians listen? Interest groups also actively involve themselves in political campaigns. This electioneering is intended to help elect candidates who favor their positions or to defeat those who oppose them. It is generally conducted by political action committees (PACs), who serve as special political arms for the interest groups.

This chart outlines the donations of political action committees (PACs) that represent the tobacco industry from January 1997 to June 1998. Notice how the levels of giving fluctuate given the corresponding congressional action.

The number of PACs has grown rapidly since the early 1970s, when campaign finance reform laws were passed that restricted individual contributions to campaigns. PACs have changed the face of American elections. They have contributors who write checks to them specifically for the purpose of campaign donations. For example, if a person wants to support candidates who oppose gun control, he or she can contribute to the PAC that represents the National Rifle Association. The PAC, then, will make direct contributions to individual campaigns of selected candidates.

Do interest groups corrupt government by "buying" influence? Critics believe that they do because more money comes from businesses and corporations than from any other source. This, they contend, gives them a connection to government that ordinary people do not have. From another point of view, everyone is free to form and join interest groups. So many exist that there is literally a group for everyone. These multiple contacts make the American democracy stronger, because they give the opportunity for all Americans to have better access to their government.

Interest groups not only report developments or trends but also try to influence them in a manner that benefits their members or the cause they support. This persuasion is accomplished through lobbying, grass-roots campaigns, political action committees, and litigation. 

Lobbying

Lobbying efforts are directed primarily at the national level: committees of Congress that consider legislation, administrative agencies that are responsible for writing or enforcing regulations, and executive departments. Lobbyists depend on their personal relationships with members of Congress and the executive branch, which are based on keeping in regular contact. Many lobbyists have served in government themselves. This means they have worked, in some cases for years, with the very people they are now lobbying; this experience gives them invaluable insights into how things are accomplished in Washington. 

The critical legislative work in Congress takes place in committees. Lobbyists testify at committee hearings, provide the staff with information, and, more frequently than most people realize, actually write the legislation. They are sophisticated professionals and do not simply say to senators, "Vote for this bill or else," but instead explain why the bill is important to their constituency as well as what impact it will have in the senator's state. A lobbyist may have a politically connected member of the interest group contact the senator. 

Important public policy decisions are made by regulatory agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Lobbyists or interest-group lawyers, particularly those representing corporations and trade associations, use the same tactics with agencies as they do with Congress. Developing regulations is a multistep process that involves initial drafting, hearings and submission of comments, and the issuance of final rules. Interest groups are involved in all stages: They testify before administrative hearings, submit comments or file briefs, and draft the regulations their clients are required to operate under. 

One of the criticisms of lobbyists is that they have too direct a role, based on their relationships with government officials, in how laws are written and implemented. The term iron triangle (also known as a cozy triangle) describes the ties between congressional committees, administrative agencies whose funding is set by the committees, and the lobbyists who work closely with both. Few policy areas are still governed by tightly knit subgovernments, however. Policy in areas such as telecommunications and banking generally emerges from much more complex issue networks involving diverse players who are united, if anything, by their expertise in the area. 

Grass-roots campaigns

An interest group can influence policy by marshalling its constituents and appealing to the public for support. It may urge its members to write to their representative and senator or even call them on the eve of an important vote. The NRA is known for its effective use of this tactic. Direct mail can also reach people who are not members and solicit both their backing for a particular policy and a contribution. During the debate over the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), business and organized labor mounted major print and media advertising campaigns to rally public opinion. 

Groups with agendas as different as MADD's, the NRLC's, and the AFL-CIO's have organized demonstrations and protests that usually get media attention to publicize their cause. Interest groups may also directly help candidates who support their positions by providing them with campaign workers and using their own members to get people to vote; they may publicly endorse candidates for office as well as give money to the candidates' campaign funds. 

Political action committees

Political action committees (PACs) are groups that raise and distribute money to candidates. They may be affiliated with an existing interest group, such as a labor union or trade association, but they can be independent. When changes in campaign financing laws in 1971 limited the amount of money an individual could contribute, PACs became a major force in American politics. The number of PACs has grown dramatically in the last 20 years, as has the amount of money they donate. Under current law, there is a $5,000 limit on PAC contributions to candidates for Congress. 

PACs are not always separate from other interest groups. Often they are the campaign-financing wing of a larger lobbying effort. Among the top ten PACs, judged by their donations to campaigns in recent years are the National Association of Realtors, the American Bankers Association, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. It is not surprising that labor unions give the overwhelming majority of their contributions to Democratic candidates while most business groups favor Republicans. 

It is unclear how much the contributions actually change policy. Because most of the money goes to incumbents and because research has not turned up much evidence that members of Congress change their votes in response to contributions, many scholars doubt that the money has any direct impact. On the other hand, a member of Congress keeps a busy schedule and has little time to consider the desires of everyone. Contributions are a good way to buy time, either opening channels of access to representatives or convincing them to work hard promoting legislation. 

Litigation

When Congress and the executive branch are unresponsive, interest groups can turn to the courts for remedy. The NAACP, for example, played a major role in the landmark civil rights cases of the 1950s and 1960s. Pro-life groups have filed suit in state and federal courts to limit abortions. Planned Parenthood, on the other hand, has sought injunctions against demonstrators blocking access to clinics where abortions are performed. Interest groups may be a plaintiff in a lawsuit, provide the attorneys or underwrite the costs of the legal team, or submit an amicus curiae brief in support of one side or another. 

When an interest group contacts a public official and tries to influence public policy it is engaged in?

What term is used to describe someone who represents special interest groups and tries to influence legislators for or against a certain policy or bill?

What is a person who tries to influence the government on behalf of a special interest group?

What are the 3 functions of special interest groups?