1. How do they affect the legislative process?

2.  Group of people seeking to influence the goals of government affecting every aspect of life.  Sometimes called ‘special interest groups’, ‘leagues’, ‘unions’, ‘advocacy groups’, etc.

3.  Stimulate interest and make people aware  Represent the members of their group wherever they live  Provide useful, specified, and detailed information to the government about issues  Ways for people to participate in politics  Add another level of checks and balances making sure government officials perform as they should  Competition between them limits how far they will go to advance their own agenda

4.  Some interest groups have more influence than their size or importance warrants.  It is hard to tell how many or who a group actually represents.  Many do not represent the views of all the people for whom they claim to speak.  Occasionally, groups use tactics that are inappropriate such as bribes, threats, etc.

5.  Person who works for the issues that benefit the interest group who hired them and against those issues that may harm them  Are about 20,000 or more Congressional lobbyists  They know the legislative procedures well, and many are former Congressmen.  They have a large network of contacts that help out with information

6.  See that media items favorable to their cause reach important Congressmen  Testify before legislative committees  Use grass-roots (average voters) pressure to influence legislation – ex. emails, letters, phone calls, etc.  Keep track of how Congressmen vote on issues important to their interest group  Draft legislation, write speeches, etc.

7.  Federal Regulations of Lobbying Act of 1946 – required lobbyists to register with the clerk of the House and the secretary of the Senate  Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 – register and provide description of your activities; submit semi-annual reports of their lobbying activities