Hostname: page-component-669899f699-7xsfk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-29T16:20:06.076Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Organized Interests and the Decision of Whom to Lobby in Congress

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

Marie Hojnacki  and
David C. Kimball
Marie Hojnacki
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
David C. Kimball
Affiliation:
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In a departure from previous research, we focus on the dyadic relationship between lobbyists and committee members in the House of Representatives in order to test hypotheses about what factors shape the decisions of individual groups to lobby individual committee members. Our primary assumption is that organized interests seek to expand their supportive coalitions and affect the content and fate of bills referred to committees. In order to accomplish these goals, they give highest priority to lobbying their legislative allies in committee; allies may lobby other members of Congress on a group's behalf and shape legislation to conform with a group's preferences. But organizations with access to a strong resource base can move beyond their allies and work directly to expand support among undecided committee members and legislative opponents. Our empirical analysis provides evidence to support our expectations.

Type
Articles
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 92 , Issue 4 , December 1998 , pp. 775 - 790
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Abramson, Jill. 1995. “GOP-Controlled Congress, Lobbyists Remain Powerful as Ever—And Perhaps More Visible.” Wall Street Journal, April 20, 1995, p. A14.Google Scholar
Ainsworth, Scott. 1993. “Regulating Lobbyists and Interest Group Influence.” Journal of Politics 55(February):41–56.10.2307/2132227CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ainsworth, Scott. 1997. “The Role of Legislators in the Determination of Interest Group Influence in Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 22(November):517–34.10.2307/440341CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ainsworth, Scott, and Sened, Itai. 1995. “Lobbying Allies in Congress.” Presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago.Google Scholar
Almanac of American Politics, 1996. Washington, DC: National Journal, Inc. Google Scholar
Associations Unlimited. 1998. Detroit, MI: Gale Research.Google Scholar
Austen-Smith, David. 1993. “Information and Influence: Lobbying for Agendas and Votes.” American Journal of Political Science 37(August):799–833.10.2307/2111575CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Austen-Smith, David, and Wright, John R.. 1992. “Competitive Lobbying for a Legislator's Vote.” Social Choice and Welfare 9(July):229–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Austen-Smith, David, and Wright, John R.. 1994. “Counteractive Lobbying.” American Journal of Political Science 38(February):25–44.10.2307/2111334CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Austen-Smith, David, and Wright, John R.. 1996. “Theory and Evidence for Counteractive Lobbying.” American Journal of Political Science 40(May):543–64.10.2307/2111637CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bacheller, John M. 1977. “Lobbyists and the Legislative Process: The Impact of Environmental Constraints.” American Political Science Review 71(March):252–63.10.1017/S000305540025942XCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bauer, Raymond A., Pool, Ithiel de Sola, and Dexter, Lewis Anthony. 1963. American Business and Public Policy: The Politics of Foreign Trade. New York: Atherton.Google Scholar
Baumgartner, Frank R., and Leech, Beth L.. 1996. “The Multiple Ambiguities of ‘Counteractive Lobbying.’” American Journal of Political Science 40(May):521–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, Nathaniel. 1996. “Reporting Heteroskedasticity Consistent Standard Errors.” Political Methodologist 7(Spring):4–6.Google Scholar
Beck, Nathaniel, and Tucker, Richard. 1996. “Conflict in Space and Time: Time-Series–Cross-Section Analysis with a Binary Dependent Variable.” Presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Berry, Jeffrey M. 1989. The Interest Group Society, 2d ed. New York: Harper Collins.Google Scholar
Birnbaum, Jeffrey H., and Murray, Alan S.. 1988. Showdown at Gucci Gulch. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Congressional Quarterly's Washington Information Directory. 1996–1997. Washington, DC: CQ, Inc. Google Scholar
Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report. 1992–1994. “Lobby Registrations.” Washington, DC: CQ, Inc. Google Scholar
Cushman, John Jr. 1995. “Lobbyists Helped Revise Laws on Water.” New York Times, March 22, 1995, p. A16.Google Scholar
Denzau, Arthur T., and Munger, Michael C.. 1986. “Legislators and Interest Groups: How Unorganized Interests Get Represented.” American Political Science Review 80(March):89–106.10.2307/1957085CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dexter, Lewis Anthony. 1969. How Organizations Are Represented in Washington. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.Google Scholar
Drew, Elizabeth. 1996. Showdown: The Struggle between the Gingrich Congress and the Clinton White House. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Egan, Timothy. 1995. “Industries Affected by Endangered Species Act Help a Senator Rewrite Its Provisions.” New York Times, April 13, 1995, p. A20.Google Scholar
Engelberg, Stephen. 1995. “Business Leaves the Lobby and Sits at Congress's Table.” New York Times, March 31, 1995, pp. A1, A26.Google Scholar
Evans, C. Lawrence. 1989. “Influence in Congressional Committees: Participation, Manipulation, and Anticipation.” In Congressional Politics, ed. Deering, Christopher J.. Chicago: Dorsey Press. Pp. 155–75.Google Scholar
Evans, Diana. 1996. “Before the Roll Call: Interest Group Lobbying and Public Policy Outcomes in House Committees.” Political Research Quarterly 49(June):287–304.10.1177/106591299604900203CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gais, Thomas L., and Walker, Jack L. Jr. 1991. “Pathways to Influence in American Politics.” In Mobilizing Interest Groups in America, ed. Walker, Jack L. Jr. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Pp. 103–21.Google Scholar
Hagle, Timothy M., and Mitchell, Glenn E. II. 1992. “Goodness of Fit Measures for Probit and Logit.” American Journal of Political Science 36(August):762–84.10.2307/2111590CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, Richard L. 1989. “Committee Decision Making in the Post Reform Congress.” In Congress Reconsidered, 4th ed., ed. Dodd, Lawrence C. and Oppenheimer, Bruce I.. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press. Pp. 197–223.Google Scholar
Hall, Richard L., and Wayman, Frank W.. 1990. “Buying Time: Moneyed Interests and the Mobilization of Bias in Congressional Committees.” American Political Science Review 84(September):797–820.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, John Mark. 1991. Gaining Access: Congress and the Farm Lobby, 1919–1981. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Hayes, Michael T. 1981. Lobbyists and Legislators. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.Google Scholar
Heinz, John, Laumann, Edward, Nelson, Robert, and Salisbury, Robert. 1993. The Hollow Core: Private Interests in National Policy Making. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Hojnacki, Marie, and Kimball, David C.. 1998. “The Who and How of Organizations' Lobbying Strategies in Committee.” Working Paper PLSC-98-2. Pennsylvania State University.Google Scholar
Huber, Peter J. 1967. “The Behavior of Maximum Likelihood Estimates under Non-Standard Conditions.” Proceedings of the Fifth Berkeley Symposium on Mathematical Statistics and Probability. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Vol. I, pp. 221–33.Google Scholar
Jewell, Malcom E., and Patterson, Samuel C.. 1986. The Legislative Process in the United States, 4th ed. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Judis, John B. 1996. “The Bill.” New Republic, June 3, 1996, pp. 16–20.Google Scholar
Kingdon, John W. 1989. Congressmen's Voting Decisions, 3d ed. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.10.3998/mpub.7354CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kollman, Ken. 1997. “Inviting Friends to Lobby: Interest Groups, Ideological Bias, and Congressional Committees.” American Journal of Political Science 41(April):519–44.10.2307/2111775CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langbein, Laura I. 1991. “PACs, Lobbies, and Political Conflict: The Case of Gun Control.” Presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Laumann, Edward O., and Knoke, David. 1987. The Organizational State: Social Choice in National Policy Domains. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Light, Paul. 1985. Artful Work: The Politics of Social Security Reform. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Matthews, Donald R. 1960. U.S. Senators and Their World. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Matthews, Donald R., and Stimson, James A.. 1975. Yeas and Nays: Normal Decision Making in the U.S. House of Representatives. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
McKissick, Gary J. 1995. “Interests, Issues, and Emphases: Lobbying Congress and the Strategic Manipulation of Issue Dimensions.” Presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago.Google Scholar
Milbrath, Lester W. 1963. The Washington Lobbyists. Chicago: Rand McNally.Google Scholar
Mitchell, William C., and Munger, Michael C.. 1991. “Economic Models of Interest Groups: An Introductory Survey.” American Journal of Political Science 35(May):512–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olson, Mancur Jr. 1982. The Rise and Decline of Nations. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Pear, Robert. 1996. “Lawyers and Lobbyists Help Guide Effort by Republicans to Speed Drug Approvals.” New York Times, March 4, 1996, p. A15.Google Scholar
Politics in America 1996: The 104th Congress. 1995. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Riker, William H. 1986. The Art of Political Manipulation. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Ripley, Randall B., and Franklin, Grace A.. 1980. Congress, the Bureaucracy, and Public Policy. Rev. ed. Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press.Google Scholar
Rothenberg, Lawrence S. 1989. “Do Interest Groups Make A Difference? Lobbying, Constituency Influence, and Public Policy.” Presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago.Google Scholar
Rothenberg, Lawrence S. 1991. “Agenda Setting at Common Cause.” In Interest Group Politics, 3d ed., ed. Cigler, Allan J. and Loomis, Burdett A.. Washington, DC: CQ Press. Pp. 131–49.Google Scholar
Rothenberg, Lawrence S. 1992. Linking Citizens to Government: Interest Group Politics at Common Cause. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Salisbury, Robert H., Heinz, John P., Laumann, Edward O., and Nelson, Robert L.. 1987. “Who Works with Whom? Interest Group Alliances and Opposition.” American Political Science Review 81(December):1217–34.10.2307/1962586CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schattschneider, E. E. 1975. The Semisovereign People: A Realist's View of Democracy in America. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers.Google Scholar
Schlozman, Kay Lehman, and Tierney, John T.. 1986. Organized Interests and American Democracy. New York: Harper and Row.Google Scholar
Schneier, Edward V., and Gross, Bertram. 1993. Legislative Strategy: Shaping Public Policy. New York: St. Martin's.Google Scholar
Smith, Richard A. 1984. “Advocacy, Interpretation, and Influence in the U.S. Congress.” American Political Science Review 78(March): 44–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Richard A. 1993. “Agreement, Defection, and Interest-Group Influence in the U.S. Congress.” In Agenda Formation, ed. Riker, William H.. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Smith, Steven S. 1989. Call to Order: Floor Politics in the House and the Senate. Washington, DC: Brookings.Google Scholar
Smith, Steven S., and Deering, Christopher J.. 1990. Committees in Congress, 2d ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Walker, Jack L. 1991. Mobilizing Interest Groups in America: Patrons Professionals and Social Movements. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.10.3998/mpub.12845CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Washington Representatives. 1995. Washington, DC: Columbia Books.Google Scholar
Wright, John R. 1989. “PAC Contributions, Lobbying, and Representation.” Journal of Politics 51(August):713–29.10.2307/2131503CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, John R. 1990. “Contributions, Lobbying and Committee Voting in the U.S. House of Representatives.” American Political Science Review 84(June):417–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, John R. 1996. Interest Groups and Congress: Lobbying, Contributions, and Influence. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
Zeigler, Harmon. 1964. Interest Groups in American Society. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.