The Context of Legislative Decision Making - Assignment Example

The Context of legislative decision making Q The role of political parties is to conduct elections of the local, and federal offices and define the political plans of the parties and also run campaigns for candidatures of parties. The persons who run the parties and offer advice and support are called its leaders. They assist in the right functioning of the parties and in implementing the broad goals and objectives of the political parties. In a democratic setup, the ruling parties table the motion for the passing of different legislations and it is put to vote. The opposition parties are at liberty to prevent the adoption of legislation, if need be. In a democratic set up, unless the majority members do not accept the passing, it would not be able to be carried and therefore, the motion would be negated. Therefore, it is the elected representative of the people, who, as members of the Parliament, are having the discretionary powers to accept or deny the motion. They are effective because only the legislation which have the unanimity of approval would be passed. However, although the approvals are required, it is often possible for interest groups to lobby for vested interests, and they may use their power of influence to gain benefits. Q. 2 The main difficulties that may be faced in studying party politics in the state legislatures is due to frequent switching done by the legislators, which makes it difficult to gauge the political situations. When legislators switch parties due to misunderstandings or misconduct, it may have impact on the proceedings of the legislature and this is one of the main difficulties in studying the state legislations. Q.3 The interest groups or professional lobbyists act to influence the legislative process when they need to secure passing of Bill by influencing public officials through information dissemination and also to influence or mould the minds of the public officials for reaching decisions though debating. The strategic effect of the effectiveness of lobbying is when the professional lobbyist is able to secure the passing of the legislative bill through successful lobbying. Q 4 Lobbying in Brussels was developed in the late 1970’s the event that ignited the lobby aspects was the direct election in the European Parliament in 1979. The business circles felt that they needed persons who could supply them with information about political activities. The passing of the Single European Act 1986 created avenues by which decision in councils could be enhanced through the use of lobbying through the councils, the commissions and most importantly through Parliament. The rights of the citizens with regard to lobbying are through the influencing of Members of Parliament (MP) to see their viewpoints on certain issues concerning the citizens. Private companies also indulge in lobbying in order to protect or exalt their business interests, or to receive favored treatment compared to their competitors or business rivals. In the present conditions, lobbying is often categorically used to present the works of private professional lobbyists who are engaged by organizations to voice their opinions in Parliament in a number of ways by arranging meetings, organizing protest rallies and Providing briefs for important matters of local interests. Q 5 The main requirements of the Democratic caucus would be To put pressure on the Government to reduce the Government spending, especially in the areas of defence spending for military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan There needs to be defence spending cuts which could be utilized for funding welfare programmes in the country. To raise voices against the imposition of high taxes, especially for the middle income groups To support schemes that ensure the protection and welfare of children and young persons through appropriate law To voice concern over the managing and supervising of veteran programmes, especially war veterans To pressurize the ruling government regarding tax savings for the families of military members It is said but true that a major portion of the budget have been assigned to the continued presence of American troops in the battle zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is a serious need for de-escalation of troops, in view of the enormous effect this would have on the economic well-being of the American people. The main requirements of the Republican caucus would be: Placing the safety, security and welfare of the people above party considerations Ensuring Medicare benefits to the people, especially the senior citizens and rural population The effects of the 5 year war on the morale of the troops has been considerable. It is therefore necessary that the Republican Party takes necessary steps to demilitarize its presence in Iraq, Afghanistan and other regions in a phased manner and for this the co-operative efforts of all the parties and agencies are required. The cost of the Gulf war has been tremendous running to trillions of dollars and therefore, its economic impact, in terms of interest costs, long term health implications of the soldiers and on the increasing oil prices is also relevant. The public fundings being provided for the Gulf war needs to be diverted to other welfare and socially beneficial programs like public heath and education, health policies and child and family health, among others. Although some efforts are being made in this direction, joint efforts by all concerned needs to be done, in order to consolidate the economic situation, especially in the areas of lowering external debt burdens, unemployment, crime, health and addressing to other malaises which needs to be better funded in order to achieve maximum results. Q 6 The following regulatory measures have been enunciated for the control of the lobbying Lobbying Disclosure Act 1995 which determines the parameters for the need and requirement for lobbying it is necessary to know who has released the funds for lobbying and what amount has been so released Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) The American people and administrators have the right to know the source of lobbying funds and the agencies and institutions who are lobbying and who are trying to be benefited by use of lobbying The people who represent foreign interest should be in a position to register their lobbying details with the local authority and also conform to the regulatory systems. Although there is no restriction for lobbying , the activities of lobbying needs to be publicly disclosed Congress has placed certain restrictions including that regarding gifts to be received by legislators etc. A congressman makes seek gainful employment while he is in office. Therefore he is banned for voting in any matter which could benefit his future employer. Again, after one year after leaving office, a Congressman is debarred from lobbying with his erstwhile colleagues The basic idea behind the regulations is not to prevent it but to make it publicly accountable and also to document the activities for record and future usage. There are certain codes of ethics and conduct which legislators need to address to and respect and therefore certain guidelines have been laid down for meeting these criteria. The laws also provide for punitive actions s for transgression of the rules, depending upon the severity of the offence and the consequential damages it is worthy of causing to the public. However it is also necessary to correctly assess the losses caused and the background reasons for the transgressions before penalizing the legislators The details of lobbying spending is below: House Candidates Tsongas, Niki (D)* (Massachusetts District 05) $1,946,563 Bonilla, Henry (R) (Texas District 23) $1,643,670 Rangel, Charles B (D)* (New York District 15) $1,242,509 Pelosi, Nancy (D)* (California District 08) $1,196,280 Hoyer, Steny H (D)* (Maryland District 05) $1,052,476 Young, Don (R)* (Alaska District 01) $1,018,134 Whitehead, Jim (R) (Georgia District 10) $983,185 Clyburn, James E (D)* (South Carolina District 06) $965,767 Frank, Barney (D)* (Massachusetts District 04) $918,206 Finegold, Barry R (D) (Massachusetts District 05) $901,696 Senate Candidates Kerry, John (D)* (Massachusetts Senate) $7,021,516 Franken, Al (D) (Minnesota Senate) $2,741,581 Corker, Bob (R) (Tennessee Senate) $1,999,436 Coleman, Norm (R)* (Minnesota Senate) $1,655,677 Dole, Elizabeth (R)* (North Carolina Senate) $1,653,612 Cornyn, John (R)* (Texas Senate) $1,446,352 Harkin, Tom (D)* (Iowa Senate) $1,145,675 Levin, Carl (D)* (Michigan Senate) $1,130,765 Menendez, Robert (D) (New Jersey Senate) $1,084,015 Kennedy, Edward M (D) (Massachusetts Senate) $1,067,862 (2008 General elections. 2007). Spending does not always result into legislative success, it is only the commitment and character of the candidates that could create avenues for success and merely by spending money it may not always be possible to make Bills suiting one’s requirements Q 7 According to the writer, the political parties have appropriate power for performing to the best of their capabilities Q 8 Yes it is possible for interest groups to influence the legislative decision making process without spending large sums of money. They could do it by exerting undue influence or By applying political pressures and subterfuge methods to sway the public opinions or the votes of MPs. Q 9 The different paths of interests that groups cold influence is the bill sponsoring, bill drafting, the reference to committee and the public hearing. The path of influence that is most likely to succeed is that of a public hearing. Through this method, it is possible to get the public also involved in the proceedings which would be for the common good. Therefore, the interest groups could discuss their issues with the public and also be able to get their approval for the passing of the bills so that future controversies could be avoided. Works cited 2008 election overview. Who’s spent the most? Open secret.org. 2007. 16 Nov. 2007 . Read More