Public policy is any rule, plan, or action pertaining to issues
of domestic national importance. Public policy solves internal problems, such as how
to protect citizens from toxic waste or how to ensure that all children get equal
access to education. In order to be made official, public policy legislation goes
through five steps:
- The national agenda
- Formulation
- Adoption
- Implementation
- Evaluation
The National Agenda
When something becomes a concern for a significant number of people, that
concern becomes part of the national agenda, the list of things
that the public wants the government to address. An issue becomes part of the
national agenda for any of the following reasons:
-
As part of a larger trend: Some trends, like the rise in
violent crime in the 1980s and early 1990s, lead people to demand government
action, especially for stronger federal law enforcement.
-
After a major event: Sometimes, a single event forces an
issue onto the agenda. The September 11th attacks, for example, led many
Americans to demand an increase in national security. Likewise, the Exxon
Valdez oil spill in 1989 prompted many to call for environmental protection.
-
Through an interest group: An interest group or members
of a social movement work to raise public awareness of an issue. If enough
people get involved, the issue can get put on the national agenda.
-
Speeches: Prominent politicians attempt to put an issue
on the agenda through speeches. The president is particularly able to do
this due to the amount of media coverage of the White House.
After an issue gets put on the national agenda, people will begin
petitioning the government to take action.
Formulation
Policy formulation determines how the government will respond to problems
on the national agenda. Although people may agree that a particular problem
exists, they might strongly disagree about how to remedy it. Members of
Congress, executive branch officials, and interest groups may all propose
solutions, which then prompt intense debate in the media and in
Congress.
Example: The budget surplus was one
of the key issues in the election of 2000. In the last few years of the
Clinton Administration, the federal government ran a surplus for the first
time in years, and many people had ideas about what to do with the extra
money. Republican candidate George W. Bush pledged to return money to the
public in the form of tax cuts, whereas Democrat Al Gore advocated using the
money for some social programs, demonstrating how different people can offer
radically different solutions to issues on the national agenda.
Adoption
After debating the issue and proposals, the federal government chooses one
policy solution and then passes new laws to adopt the new policy.
Example: After winning the 2000
presidential election, George W. Bush worked with the Republican-controlled
Congress to enact the tax cuts he had promised.
Implementation
After a policy gets adopted, it must be implemented. The federal agencies
charged with implementing the policy must determine exactly how they will carry
it out. The federal bureaucracy promulgates the laws passed by Congress into
specific policy, drawing up the rules and guidelines for putting the law into
practice.
Example: The Federal Election
Commission (FEC) was charged with enforcing the Bipartisan Campaign Finance
Reform Act after it was passed in 2002. To do so, the FEC had to determine
the nuts and bolts of how the law worked and had to create rules governing
the enforcement of the new law.
Evaluation
People begin judging and evaluating a policy once it has been put into
effect. Feedback might come from the people whom the policy serves, bureaucrats
who monitor the implementation, and pundits and reporters who care about the
issue.
Example: Many different public
interest groups and think tanks, including the powerful Cato Institute and
the Heritage Foundation, evaluate government policies.
