Interest groups influence government using variants on one of two strategies,
the inside game and the outside game. The inside game refers to
attempts to persuade government officials through direct inside contact. Another
term for the inside game is lobbying. Washington is filled with
thousands of lobbyists, covering every imaginable issue and viewpoint. Lobbyists
usually work for interest groups, corporations, or law firms that specialize in
professional lobbying.
Successful Lobbying
To lobby successfully, interest groups need a great deal of money.
Washington, D.C., is one of the most expensive cities in America, so simply
maintaining an office there can be very costly. Interest groups also pay for
meals, trips, and other operational expenses, which can be significant. Money
alone does not make an interest group influential, but a lack of money is
usually crippling. Lobbyists also need to be reputable because a lobbyist who
lies to a member of Congress, for instance, could be shunned or lose clients.
Therefore, being honest is in the best interest of lobbyists.
Targets of Lobbying
Lobbyists try to influence officials working in all three branches and in
the federal bureaucracy.
Lobbying the Legislative Branch
Interest groups spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year to lobby
members of Congress on a range of issues. These groups try to affect the
legislation being generated in Congress. Sometimes lobbyist speak with
congresspeople directly, but lobbyists also testify at congressional
hearings. The Senate publishes ethics guidelines to explain the complex
federal laws that govern the interaction among congresspeople and lobbyists.
Many corporations and foreign countries donate money to interest groups and
thus help sponsor lobbyists in Washington.
Lobbying the Executive Branch
Although some lobbyists have direct access to the president, most have
access only to the lower levels of the executive branch. Interest groups
particularly target regulatory agencies, which have the ability to set
policy affecting commerce and trade throughout the country. Some scholars
have claimed that lobbying of regulatory agencies has resulted in agency
capture, effectively handing control of the agency over to the industries it
was intended to regulate.
Lobbying the Judicial Branch
Interest groups work to influence the courts in a number of ways.
Interest groups often file amicus
curiae (friend of the court) briefs,
presenting an argument in favor of a particular issue. Sometimes interest
groups file lawsuits against the government or other parties. For example,
the NAACP worked for years to bring civil rights cases to the Supreme Court.
The American Civil Liberties Union also makes extensive use of the
courts.
