Lobbying the United States Congress

Paper Summary:

This paper describes the lobbying process in the United States Congress. It looks at the origins of lobbying, the purpose of lobby groups, what kinds of institutions and organizations compose a lobby group, and how lobbying efforts and the lobbying process has changed over time. The paper also looks at global lobby groups and the influence that lobbyists exert on the U.S. Congress in general.

From the Paper:

"Lobbying is the practice and profession of influencing governmental decisions, and is carried out by agents who represent the concerns of special interests to legislators and administrators.1 The term first originated in the 1830's, when representatives of interest groups tended to congregate in the lobbies of Congress and state legislatures, however, the term is now used in a broader sense to include attempt to influence any governmental actions.2 Lobbying in the United States today has become an accepted an ubiquitous part of the political system. Although federal and state legislators are technically representatives of geographical areas, they spend a great deal of their time with lobbyists, and at times are responding to interest groups rather than to their constituents, to the degree that legislation drafted by lobbyists is sometimes introduced."

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