The US Congress Management

“To my mind Judas Iscariot was nothing but a low, mean, prematureCongressman.” “It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is nodistinctly native American class except Congress.” — Mark Twain “If everybodyhere connected with politics had to leave town because of chasing women anddrinking, you’d have no government.” — Senator Barry Goldwater. One nightPresident Cleveland was awakened by his wife: “Wake up! There are burglars inthe house!” “No, my dear,” said Cleveland sleepily, “in the Senate maybe, notin the House.” “Israel controls the US Senate. The Senate is subservient, muchtoo much; we should be more concerned about US interests rather than doing thebidding of Israel. The great majority of the Senate of the US — somewherearound 80% — is completely in support of Israel; anything Israel wants, Israelgets. This has been demonstrated again, and this has made [foreign policy]difficult for our government.” — Senator W. Fulbright, April 15, 1973).

  The White House, not Congress, represents the nation. You are theleader and you set the legislative agenda. They can’t start business until yougive them State of the Union Address and a budget message. That’s your program– and theirs. Start your first term with a big legislative victory. The USConstitution says nothing on how you manage the Congress so feel free to usethe advice in these pages.

   4.1 How a Bill Becomes a Law

 A Senator or Representative introduces a bill in Congress by sendingit to the clerk of the House or the Senate, who assigns it a number and title.This procedure is termed the first reading. The clerk then returns the bill toappropriate committee of the Senate or the House. If the Committee opposes thebill, it will table or “kill” it. Otherwise, the Committee holds hearings tolisten to opinions and facts offered by members and other interested people.The Committee then debates the bill and possibly offers amendments. A vote istaken, and if favorable, the bill is sent back to the clerk of the House orSenate. The clerk reads the bill to the house — the second reading. Members maythen debate the bill and suggest amendments.  After debate and possiblyamendment, the bill is given a third reading, simply of the title and put to avoice or roll-call vote. If passed, the bill goes to the other house, where itmay be defeated or passed, with or without amendments, If defeated, the bill“dies.” If passed with amendments, a conference committee made up of members ofboth houses works out the differences and arrives at a compromise. Afterpassage of the final version by both houses, the bill is sent to the President.If the President signs it, the bill becomes a law. The President may, however,veto the bill, refuse to sign it and send it back to the house where itoriginated. The President’s objections are then read and debated, and aroll-call vote is taken. If the bill receives less than a two-thirds majority,it is defeated. If it receives at least two-thirds, it is sent to the otherhouse. If that house also passes it by at least a two-thirds majority, the vetois overridden, and the bill becomes a law.   If the President neithersigns nor vetoes the bill within 10 days — not including Sundays — itautomatically becomes a law even without the President’s signature. However, ifCongress has adjourned within those 10 days, the bill is automatically“killed”; this indirect rejection is termed a pocket veto.

4.2  Functions of Congress

  If you want to rule America, you have to rule the US Senate.Remember, you are one person concentrated on your program. Congress is a bigand disorganized, chaotic institution — not a single word pronounced by thesepeople ever makes history. Respect Congress anyway — it creates the illusionthat the American people influence big politics through their representatives.The functions of Congress are supposed to be: - lawmaking for all Americans -serve constituents as brokers between them and federal government -representation of diverse interests — which is often impossible, becausemembers can’t be delegates for everyone - oversight of the bureaucracy tofollow up the laws it has enacted to ensure that they are being enforced andadministered in the way Congress intended - by holding committee hearings andinvestigations, changing the size of an agency budget and cross-examininghigh-level presidential nominees to head major agencies (a formality, nothingserious) - the public education function - resolving conflicts in Americansociety (see “Interest groups” game).

Differences between the House and theSenate:       House                                                                     Senate 435members                                                       100 members   Members chosen from localdistricts                       Members chosen from entire stateTwo-yearterm                                                       Six-year termOriginally elected byvoters                                    Originally (until 1913) elected by statelegislatures                            May impeach (indict) federalofficials                       May convict federal officials Debatelimited                                                       Debate extendedFloor actioncontrolled                                            Unanimous consent rulersLess prestige and less individualnotice                    More prestige and media attentionOriginates bills for raisingrevenues                          Power to advise the President on, and consent to, presidential appointments andtreatiesLocal or narrowleadership                                       National leadership National leadership The major difference betweenthe House and the Senate is that the House’s rules and procedures are strict,while Senate rules are more broad and open to interpretation. There’s one thingthey have in common — inertia. Note: Members of the Senate serve for six years,with only one-third of the body up for reelection every second year. Thus,every other Senate term is not affected directly by a Presidential election andthis gives Senators greater freedom to oppose presidential initiatives withoutas much concern about short-term constituent pressures. The Senators’independence can be a problem for the president even if they are of the sameparty.

The Congress has five main checks over the President’s power: 1. to overridea veto 2. to approve your appointees to federal jobs 3. to approve treaties 4.impeachment 5. to stop funding executive department programs

Seniority (the length of continuous service on the record of a member ofCongress or Senate) is the single most important factor in determining: - whobecomes Speaker of the House or President pro tempore of the Senate - who isinfluential in floor debates - who has an easier time getting his legislativemeasures adopted on the floor of Congress

Never mind about Representatives (especially when it comes to foreignaffairs and national security) — they understand very little and can dopractically nothing due to their two-year term. Your problem is the Senate(though you have to be involved in Congressional elections every two years,too.) Yes, the Senate is a problem because it shares executive powers with thePresident (confirmation of appointments and approval of treaty ratification).And if it comes to impeachment, the final decision is the Senate’s. The Houseoriginates the most important thing in the United States — tax legislation, butthe Senate can amend any bill and the trick is — they do this toward the end ofthe session. And the worst problem on Capitol Hill is balancing the budget.  Committees of the Senate:  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry,Appropriations, Armed Services, Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Budget,Commerce, Science, and transportation, Energy and Natural Resources,Environment and Public Works, Finance, Foreign Relations, Government Affairs,Health, Education,Labor, and Pensions, Judiciary, Rules and Administration,Small Business, Veterans Affairs.   Committees of the House: Agriculture,Appropriations, Armed Services, Budget, Education and the Workforce, Energy andCommerce, Financial Services, Government Reform, House Administration,International Relations, Judiciary, Resources, Rules, Science, Small Business,Standarts of Official Conduct, Transportation and Infrastructure, VeteransAffairs, Ways and Means.

  4.3 What you don’t know about them 1. A Congressional session isnothing else but a waste of federal time and money — you don’t need debatesbecause Congressional staffers can do all the technical work and they cannegotiate between themselves and balance positions. Senators and Congressmendon’t even have to come to Washington — they can vote from their local offices.So these people can spend their time helping thousands of constituents, most ofwhom never saw their Senator alive. 2. The President is dependent onCongressional cooperation to carry out the executive responsibilities of theOffice because Congress has to authorize government programs, establishadministrative agencies to implement the problems and funds to finance them. 3.It’s important if President belongs to the party with a majority in the Houseand Senate. But if your party loses the majority in Congress, you have to workout new political strategy yourself. And you know what? Go to the polls rightaway and ask voters why they supported the other party. What happened? 4.President’s prestige (popular support or political capital) affectsCongressional response to his politics. 5. Influence in Congress is courtedonly for long periods of service; a Senator with 30 years in office (likeEdward Kennedy) has considerably more power than a Senator in his first orsecond term.This causes the electorate to increasingly favor incumbents, asdislodging one’s Congressman or Senator after 30 years, even if the candidateor his party have become unpopular, can be viewd as hurting one’s districtfinancially. It is often thought that a freshman would be less able to bringhome federal money for his state or district. 6. For most Senators, the Senateis a platform for Presidential election campaign. Senators who openly expresspresidential ambitions are better able to gain media exposure and to establishcareers as spokespersons for large national constituencies. 7. The first act ofa newly elected Representative is to maneuver for election to the Senate. Why?First, they enjoy their position, power and money for six years non-stop.Second, there are only a hundred Senators and the publicity is much, muchgreater. But…Representatives have a much better chance to be re-elected. 8.Congress rejects two thirds of President’s proposals. 9. Senators are alwayslooking for a BBD (bigger, better deal) and often shift from one committee toanother (a good choice is those dealing with taxes, budget, energy, commerce).10. Bills to benefit big business move smoothly. (Congress doesn’t like thepoor — they don’t contribute; sorry). To gain majority support for big businesslegislation members have a special trick — log rolling, when factions combineefforts. 11. Senators don’t depend on the people — they depend on the media.12. If a certain Senator is blocking the President’s proposal, appointment orplan, that means he wants to get the President’s attention. 13. When Senatorswant to bury issues without resolving them, they create committees. 14. TheSenate is a relatively small structure and personal relations between Senatorsare extremely important. 15. Senators have no incentive to study the details ofmost pieces of legislation and their decision is simplified by quickly checkinghow key colleagues have voted or intend to vote. 16.To have power a Senator hasto object: much of the Senate work is done by unanimous consent and if youobject you’ll be approached for sure by some influential people including otherSenators, Secretaries, President’s aides or the President himself. They’ll tryto press, blackmail or buy you — and that means you’ve got a piece of the powerpie. 17. Senators avoid responsibility and their legitimate functions androles, especially in economic policy. 18. Congress doesn’t like it when anygovernment agency grows, but these people love the military because militarycontracts are very lucrative for Congressional districts. 19. Senior Senatorsteach “newcomers” to vote against any reform which is a threat to theirstability. 20. A Senator has real influence on legislation only if he hasprofessional staff in charge of the projects. 21. Senators are afraid to voteagainst a defense budget increase because then they may be accused of a lack ofpatriotism (the Pentagon gives jobs in their states too). 22. Republicans andDemocrats are not really enemies, here, though both sides are always lookingfor a “traitor” or “insider” in the other camp. 23. You must have “insiders” inthe Senate yourself, because the other party could prepare secretly and thenlaunch officially some investigation against you or the members of yourAdministration. 24. A legislator does exactly what his voters want him to do —stealing federal money from other states and districts, because for him themost important thing is numbers — polls in his state showing how many peopleapprove his activity. His donors watch these numbers too and estimate theirinvestment and the necessity to support re-election. 25. Every member ofCongress has a so-called “split personality” — a “Hill style” while working onCapitol Hill and a “home style” while back in the state or district with thevoters. 26. A Senator makes a decision only after thinking about what it meansin terms of the re-election money that will come to him or to his opponents.His voting decisions depend on his party membership, constituency pressures,state and regional loyalty ideology, interest groups’ influence. Hisstubbornness comes from the fact that he doesn’t want to be seen by hisconstituents as a “rubber stamp” for President’s decisions, especially when thebill in question benefits a Senator’s state. (And the hidden problem is — youwant to move fast, especially during the first year while your personalpopularity is high — but for the Congress speed is not important). 27. Sooneror later every member of Congress starts playing the “pork barrel” game. It’snothing else but a diversion of federal funds to projects and places not out ofnational need but to enhance a member’s chances of re-election in his district(military projects, federal buildings, highways construction projects). So beready for a “Christmas gift” when these fellows add pork barrel amendments toappropriations bills you are about to sign. They often wait until late in eachsession to pass critical spending bills, which narrows your range of possibleresponses because a veto may not be feasible if Congress has adjourned and thefunds needed to run the federal government are contained in the legislation.28. In Congress a small percentage of bills (about 500 out of 10,000) actuallybecome law because many bills are introduced merely to get favorable press. Thestrategy is especially effective if the legislation is “tied” to the headlinesof the day (mass murders, natural disasters, ethnic riots etc.). 29. In theSenate it’s easier for  a minority to block the bill than for a majorityto pass it: a 60-vote majority is needed to force a final vote on the bill,while only 41 votes are needed to continue debate and delay a vote. 30.The  minority can hold the majority responsible as the party in power forwhatever legislation does or does not emerge from the Senate. But both partiesprefer to be the party in power in the Senate – all Senate legislation beginsin the committees, whose membership and chairmanship are controlled by theparty in power. Besides, each chairman has power in terms of controlling thecommittee budgets and deciding which hearings will be held and whichlegislation he will allow to be released to the Senate floor for a vote. He canalso “lock up the bill” in committee until it dies. Perfect!

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4. 4 A Few Congressional Run-ins with the Law Upon certification by theSenator’s/representative’s home state, a new Senator/Рepresentative takes anoath of office: ”I,(name) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I willsupport and defend the Constitution of the United States against allenemies,foreign and domestic;that I will bear true faith and allegiance to thesame;that I take this obligation freely,without any mental reservation orpurpose of evasion;and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties ofthe office on which I am about to enter:So help me God”.

1904    Senator Joseph Burton of Kansas is convicted ofbribery. 1924    Representative John Langley of Kentucky isconvicted of violating the National Prohibition Act.1931     Representative Harry Rowbottom of Indiana isconvicted of accepting bribes. 1934    Representative GeorgeFoulkes of Michigan is convicted of conspiracy to assess postmasters forpolitical contributions. 1946    Representative James Curley ofMassachusetts is convicted of mail fraud and conspiracy. 1947   Representative Andrew May of Kentucky is convicted of conspiring to defraud thegovernment and accepting bribes. 1948    Representative J.Parnell Thomas of New Jersey is convicted of conspiring to defraud thegovernment, payroll padding and receiving kickbacks from salaries.1954    Senate censures Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin forhaving acted “contrary to senatorial ethics” and for bringing the Senate “intodishonesty and disrepute.” 1956    Representative Thomas Lane ofMassachusetts is convicted of federal income tax evasion.1969    Representative Hugh Addonizio of New Jersey is convictedof extortion, conspiracy and income tax evasion. In a separate incident, onChappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts on July 18, a car driven by Senator EdKennedy plunges off Dike Bridge into the water. While the Senator manages toextricate himself from the vehicle, his young secretary Mary Jo Kopechne, apassenger, is trapped and dies in the car. 1970    Representative John Dowdy of Texas is convicted of conspiracy, perjury andbribery. 1972     Representative Cornelius Gallagher of NewJersey pleads guilty to tax evasion. 1973    Representative Frank Brasco of New York is convicted of conspiracy to receivebribes. Representative Bertram Podell of New York pleads guilty to conspiracy,bribery and perjury. 1975    Representative Andrew Hinshaw ofCalifornia is convicted of bribery and embezzlement.1976     Elizabeth Ray avers that Representative Wayne Haysof Ohio put her on the payroll solely because she was his mistress. TheWashington Post reveals a Justice Department investigation into influencebuying by Tongsun Park, a South Korean businessman. Representative JamesHastings of New York is convicted of mail fraud. 1977    Representative Richard Tonry of Louisiana is convicted of receiving illegalcampaign contributions and obstruction of justice. 1978    Representative Charles Diggs of Michigan is convicted of mail fraud andperjury. 1980    Representative Michael Myers of Pennsylvania isconvicted of bribery and conspiracy as part of the FBI’s ABSCAM investigation.Senator Harrison Williams of New Jersey is convicted of bribery and conspiracyin ABSCAM. Representative Raymond Lederer of Pennsylvania is convicted ofconspiracy and bribery in ABSCAM. Representative John Jenrette Jr. of SouthCarolina is convicted of bribery and conspiracy in ABSCAM Representative FrankThompson of New Jersey is convicted of bribery in ABSCAM. Representative JohnMurphy of New York is convicted of bribery in ABSCAM. Representative RichardKelly of Florida is convicted of bribery in ABSCAM. (ABSCAM was an FBI stingoperation in which a mysterious Arab sheik Abdul bribed top US officials andinveigled them into illegal investment schemes.) 1983   Representative George Hansen of Idaho is convicted of filing false financialdisclosure statements. 1987     Representative Barney Frankof Massachusetts, who had disclosed that he was a homosexual, was accused ofhiring a former sex partner as a personal assistant. 1988   Representative Mario Biaggi of New York is convicted of obstructing justice,tax evasion, conspiracy, extortion and accepting bribes. Representative PatSwindall of Georgia is convicted of perjury. 1989 Representative Donald Lukensof Ohio is convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.Representative Jim Bates of California accused of sexually harassing women onhis staff. 1990    Senator David Durenberg of Minnesota ischarged with receiving illegal reimbursements for housing expenses and forbackdating his purchase of a share in a condominium. The senate formallydenounces him in July 1990 and orders him to make restitution for his financialmisconduct. The “Keating Five”: As the trial of Arizona financier CharlesKeating proceeds, it becomes known that five US Senators (Alan Cranston ofCalifornia, Dennis DeConcini of Arizona, Donald Riegle of Michigan, John Glennof Ohio and John McCain of Arizona) used their influence to limit theregulation of Keating’s savings bank. (By 1987 McCain received about 2,000 inpolitical contributions.) The Senate Ethics Committee issues a reportreprimanding Senator Cranston for accepting more than 0,000 in contributions tovoter-registration groups that he sponsored in return for intervening onKeating’s behalf with bank regulators. The other four Senators are mildlyreprimanded for their conduct. 1991     Representative NickMavroules of Massachusetts pleads guilty to bribery and tax evasion.1993    Representative Larry Smith of Florida is convicted ofincome tax evasion and campaign-reporting violations. Representative AlbertBustamante of Texas is convicted of racketeering and accepting an illegalgratuity. 1994    Representative Carrol Hubbard of Kentuckypleads guilty to filing a false financial-disclosure statement.1995    Representative Mel Reynolds of Illinois is convicted ofhaving sex with a minor and obstructing justice.

        4.5 How to Control Congres

  The President can propose legislation, but Congress is not requiredto pass any of the administration’s bills. But you know already that Senatorsand Representatives need re-election more than anything else. So you can gowith indirect influence through appeals to the public; this is a confrontationand direct challenge to Congressional authority. You can also enlist thesupport of interest groups or direct influence through favors and personalinvolvement in the legislative process. (Get public support for a proposalbefore it’s discussed with the Congress.) And don’t hesitate to start anational debate — you have enough media attention for that.  You also havean independent tool, presidential power in the form of an executive order. Youcan give favors directly to members of Congress or to influential people intheir constituency, or the favor may be of benefit to the constituency itself:- appointments with the President and other high-ranking officials - federalgrants to recipients in the constituency, government contracts with localcompanies, the deposit of federal funds in banks, grants to local governmentand educational institutions - support of projects (military installations,research and administrative facilities, public works such as buildings, damsand navigational improvements to rivers and harbors, etc.) - recommendationsfor the US district court judges, attorneys, marshals, etc. - campaignassistance (cash contributions from the party’s national committee invitationsto bill-signing ceremonies, White House parties or to accompany President ontrips - bargaining and arm-twisting (pressure and threats to lose theprojects).

        Tools

1. The Congressional Relations Office. Used for: - intense lobbying to formCongressional coalitions if the opposition controls one or both houses -intelligence gathering (of policy preferences — centralized headcounts revealthe voting intentions on a particular bill and constituency concerns ofindividual members) - representation - creating “inner coalitions” -coordination of executive branch legislative activity (monitoring and trackingbills, controlling departments’ staff appointments, collaborating withdepartments’ liaison offices) Attention! Senators and Congressmen have to trustyour people, who must keep their mouths shut, otherwise there will be nobusiness. Anyway, watch these people — a Senator can call one of yourassistants and if they hear  “no,” he will try to reach somebody elseuntil he gets “Yes, the President will see you.” Don’t let this happen — ifit’s “no,” it has to be everybody’s “no.” There has to be no difference betweenpersonal views of your adviser and your official views. 2. CongressionalRelations personnel of various executive Departments are a conduit. Talk to theSecretaries and explain to them that they have to give the Director ofCongressional Relations their best people. 3. The White House interest groupsliaison staff (office of public liaison) 4. Veto. Threatened with a veto,Senators often seek compromise. Congress has its ways to undermine your vetoesor threats of vetoes. Because you can’t veto parts of a bill, they load upmajor legislation with amendments on a completely different subject (“riders”)that they know the President must accept. (Presidents who vetoed the mostbills: Franklin Roosevelt  – 635, Harry Truman – 250, Dwight Eisenhower –181, Ronald Reagan – 78, Gerald Ford – 66). 5. Executive agreement. It permitsthe President to enter into open or secret agreements with a foreign governmentwithout any advice or consent of the Senate. There are two categories ofexecutive agreements: а) presidential agreements made solely on the basis ofthe constitutional authority of the President and under his sole power tofaithfully execute the laws (or under his diplomatic or Commander-in-Chiefpowers). President needs to report secret agreement to the Foreign RelationsCommittees of the two houses no later than 60 days after such agreement hasentered into force. Congress has no authority to disapprove it. b)congressional-executive agreements, which cover all international agreementsentered into under the combined authority of the President and Congress.

Finally, this is what you can do with a bill: - sign the bill (the billbecomes a law) - do nothing (the bill becomes a law in ten days) - veto thebill (the bill does not become a law) - pocket veto the bill (hold the billuntil Congress is no longer in session, and the bill does not become a law)

    4.6  The “Iron Triangle,” a Sub-GovernmentMafia   The “Iron Triangle,” an anti-presidential control system, isa strong alliance among three groups — federal agencies, interest groups andCongressional committees and subcommittees, where each member has a mutuallybeneficial relationship with the other two and all members work together topursue common goals. (This strong connection between federal agencies and theCongress members is especially dangerous for the President in a political sense— it’s too hard to influence them). Agency careerists, interest groupslobbyists and members of Congress and their staffers with close personalmafia-like relationships discuss policy issues (proposed legislation, budget,personal concerns) and then agree on preferred outcomes on the basis of themafia principle of exchanging favors. Bureaucrats want unlimited funding andlegislation granting them maximum authority and discretion. In return, membersof Congress want preferential treatment for their constituencies, technicalassistance for their staff, and often help in drafting legislation. Interestgroups’ lobbyists want members of Congress to pass and fund programs thatbenefit groups and to help group members be appointed to and confirmed for keygovernment jobs. In return, Congress wants financial and political help fortheir campaigns. Interest groups want a strong say in federal agencies’decisions, including the writing of regulations, ideally through a formaladvisory system that would give the interest group either formal or informalveto power over such decisions. In return, federal agencies want the politicalsupport of interest groups, including positive congressional testimony andlobbying for additional funds for the agency.

Interest Groups

There are 80,000 lobbyists in Washington, DC . The National RifleAssociation has a full-time Washington, DC staff of 300 lobbyists.

 Congress can’t live without interest groups, interest groups can’tlive without Congress. They are glued together and you must know the hiddenmechanism of their relations if you want to manage the US Congress properly. Aninterest group is any organized group whose members share common objectives.These groups actively attempt to influence government policy makers, mostlySenators and Representatives, through direct and indirect strategies, includingthe marshalling of public opinion, lobbying and electioneering.  Lobbyists, like professional spies, are always looking for intelligenceinformation on everybody in Washington, DC from personal contacts, governmentmemos, press releases, public information programs, technical bulletins andregulations. For them the most important thing is to obtain information beforeit’s officially released — it allows their customers, i.e. corporations, todevelop PR campaigns to offset possible adverse reaction to their goals. Let’shave a closer look at their strategies.

I. Direct strategies1. Lobbying  The main activity of lobbying isprivate meetings, in which lobbyists make known to Congressmen the lobbyist’sclient interests, and possibly offer inducements for cooperating. Lobbyistsfurnish needed information Congressmen could not hope to obtain on their own.It’s to the lobbyist’s advantage to provide accurate information so that thepolicy maker will rely on him in the future.  Lobbying includes:testifying before congressional committees for or against proposed legislation;testifying before executive rule-making agencies, such as the Federal TradeCommission, for or against proposed rules; assisting legislators or bureaucratsin drafting legislation of prospective regulations (lobbyists often can furnishlegal advice on the specific details of legislation); inviting legislators tosocial occasions such as cocktail parties or boating expeditions; providingpolitical information to legislators (lobbyists often have better informationthan the party leadership about how other legislators are going to vote). Inthis case, the political information they furnish may be a key to legislativesuccess). 2. The “Ratings” Game The over-all behavior of legislators can beinfluenced through their rating systems. Each year the interest group selectsthose votes on legislation that it feels are most important to theorganization’s goals. Legislators are given a score based on the percentage oftimes that he or she voted with the interest group (from 0 to 100%) 3. Campaignassistance A strong side of interest groups is that they are able to provideworkers for political campaigns, including precinct workers to get out thevote, volunteers to put up posters and pass out literature. In states wheremembership in certain interest groups is large, candidates look for the groups’endorsement in the campaign. Endorsements are important because an interestgroups usually publicizes its choices in its membership publication and becausethe candidate can use the endorsement in his campaign literature. Making noendorsement can be perceived as disapproval of the candidate. II. IndirectStrategiesBy working through third parties — which may be constituents, thegeneral public or other groups, the interest groups can try to influencegovernment policy. Indirect techniques mask the interest group’s own activitiesand make the effort appear to be spontaneous. Furthermore, legislators areusually more impressed by contacts from the constituents than from an interestgroup’s lobbyist. 1.Generating public pressure Interest groups try to produce a“groundswell” of public pressure to influence the government. Such efforts mayinclude advertisements in national magazines and newspapers, mass mailings,television publicity and demonstrations. They may commission polls to find outwhat the public sentiments are and then publicize the results. The goal of thisactivity is to convince policy makers that public opinion wholly supports thegroup’s position. Some corporations and interest groups use such a method asclimate control — it calls for public relations efforts that are aimed atimproving the public image of the industry or group and not necessarily relatedto any specific political issue. Contributions by corporations and groups insupport of public TV and commercials extolling the virtues of corporateresearch are examples of climate control. By building a reservoir of favorablepublic opinion, groups believe it less likely that their legislative goals willbe met with opposition by the public. 2. Constituents as lobbyistsA veryeffective method is to use constituents to lobby for the group’s goals. In the“shotgun” approach, the interest group tries to mobilize large numbers ofconstituents to write or phone Congressmen or the President. This method isonly effective on Capitol Hill when there is an extraordinary number ofresponses, because legislators know that the voters did not initiate thecommunication on their own. A more influential variation of this technique usesonly important constituents (mostly local big business). 3. BuildingalliancesInterest group forms alliance with other group concerned about thesame legislation. The advantages of an alliance are that it looks as if largerpublic interests are at stake, and it hides the specific interests of theindividual groups involved. It’s also a device for keeping like-minded groupsfrom duplicating one another’s lobbying efforts.

One of the strongest iron triangles is a so-called “military-industrialcomplex” — its members include the Department of Defense, weapons contractorsand related firms and congressional armed services committees. Some popularinterest groups include: American Bar Association, American Farm BureauFederation, American Welfare Association, Fund for Constitutional Government,National Association of Community Action Agencies, National Rifle Association,National Organization of Women.

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