In this activity students can first interview a fellow university student or students who have spent time as a legislative intern to get some insight to the legislative process, then choose a bill to track and lobby for passing, amending, or blocking. Students can put to work lessons learned from Participation Activity 3: Citizen Action Groups for this activity focused on a single bill. The objectives of this activity are:

1. To explore ways to make effective contact with government officials in order that your voice be heard on a particular bill.
2. To seek out other like-minded groups or individuals to form coalitions to influence passage or defeat of a bill.
3. To attract media attention for your bill, then try to use the spotlight as leverage for persuading government officials to pass, amend or block bill according to your agenda.
4. To research studies, professional opinions, and other data that support the validity of your claims.

Access is important in political advocacy. A group can almost always find ways to publicize its issue but, at some point, it will want access to those officials who have the formal power to act on the issue. This access is sometimes easily achieved but not always. Top officials, whether they are in government, business, or the university, typically have frantic work schedules and are overwhelmed with requests of one kind or another. Even if a group arranges a meeting with an official and gets an implied promise of some kind of action, nothing may happen. Over-promising is nearly an occupational hazard of those in power, and a group's request may lose out to a competing demand or get set aside temporarily and then forgotten.

For such reasons, a group may have more success if it takes an indirect route to the top. In seeking help from a member of Congress, for example, it may be more important in the beginning to have the backing of a key staff member. Staff members are directly involved in setting policy and priorities and have ongoing access to decision makers. They are also much easier to reach. Another indirect route to the top is to identify other officials and associates who have regular access to a top official and are known to have influence with him or her. At a college or in a community, a few inquiries are usually sufficient to locate someone who might be persuaded to intervene with the official on the group's behalf.

In the mapping of power, it is helpful to try to see the world through the eyes of those with the power. To whom do they owe their power?

Groups that seek a major change in the status quo can confront yet another type of situation and it's the most difficult of all to map. It involves what Peter Bachrach and Morton Baratz call "the other face of power." It's the face that keeps certain issues from receiving serious consideration. Attempts to move the issue along always fail. This situation is typically a result of entrenched power that is steadfastly opposed to a change.

How a Bill Becomes Law

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From page 355 of Patterson's The American Democracy 7^h edition

Citizenship: Getting Involved, Making a Difference

Each year, thousands of college students serve as interns in Congress or state legislatures. Many internships are unpaid, but students can receive college credit for the experience.

Internships provide an opportunity to see the legislative process firsthand. They are not always a great adventure. Many legislative interns envision themselves contributing ideas and research that might influence public policy only to find that they are answering letters, developing mailing lists, or duplicating materials. Nevertheless, few interns conclude that their experience was a waste of time. Most find it rewarding and, ultimately, memorable.

Many executive agencies at the federal and state 1evels also accept interns, and some have well-organized internship programs. The Department of State has one of the best internship programs, but it is in heavy demand and has an early application decline. The internships offered by executive agencies are typically more challenging than those provided by legislative offices. Legislators dedicate a lot of their staff time to constituency service, whereas agencies concentrate on the administration of policies and programs. On the other hand, legislative offices are usually more spirited, and interns in these offices are more likely to strike up friendships with other interns in the same or nearby offices.

Information about internships can be obtained from the American Political Science Association (http://www.apsa.org). In addition, there are organizations in Washington that arrange internships in Congress and the executive agencies. These organizations frequently charge a fee for their services, so you might want to contact a legislative office or executive agency directly. It is important to make your request as early as possible in the college year because some internship programs have deadlines and nearly all offices receive more requests than they can accommodate. You could also check with the student services office at your college or university. Some of these offices have information on internship programs and can be of assistance.

From page 367 of Patterson's American Democracy 7^th edition

Internet Resources

Yahoo Guide to Interest Groups
http://dir.yahoo.com/Government/U_S__Government/Politics/Interest_Groups/

Yahoo Guide to Political Issues
http://dir.yahoo.com/Government/U_S__Government/Politics/Political_Issues/

NetAction's Virtual Activist Training Course
http://www.netaction.org/training/index.html
Detailed course on how to be an activist.

Public Action: A Guide to Environmental Activism
http://nero.apl.washington.edu/activist/toolkit.html
Detailed step by step guide.

Office of Government Ethics
http://www.usoge.gov/

Government Resources on the Web
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/govweb.html
Annotated list of federal, state, international, foreign, political science, and statistical resources. (University of Michigan)

Thomas
http://thomas.loc.gov/
Federal legislative tracking service from the U.S. Library of Congress. The home page also has a link to state and local resources.

Congress Track
http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_keyvote.php
A service of Project Vote Smart. The service provide a variety of ways of tracking U.S. Congressional legislation.

Searching for the Meaning of: The American Democracy
Connecting the text and classroom with first-hand experience

1		How did the importance of "pork barrel" and "service strategy" work for or against your legislative agenda? (see pg. 338)
2		How does the party leadership structure affect the passage of a bill? (see pgs. 344-354)
3		Is the floor or the committees more important in the early life of a bill? (see pgs. 356-357)
4		How does the fragmentation of Congress affect its ability to pass legislation on broad issues? (see pgs. 359-362)
5		Is there too much pluralism in Congress to make it an effective legislative body? (see pgs. 368-369)