65 5.12 – ACTORS IN POLICY DESIGN and FORMULATION
ACTORS IN POLICY DESIGN & FORMULATION
Numerous government actors are involved in the policy design and formation process. Policy design and formulation occurs in government agencies, the executive and legislative branch, and even originates with interest groups and think tanks. Each actor plays a different role in the process: providing research and expertise to develop a policy, lobbying policymakers for specific language to include in the policy, and listening and acting on behalf of constituents. As we will see in the following section, bureaucrats, interest groups, and think tanks, rather than elite politicians, commonly play a significant role in policy development.
Government Agencies
Career bureaucrats working in government agencies play a critical role in the policy process. They help set the agenda, formulate, implement, and even evaluate policy. Many bureaucrats have been involved in policymaking for years and therefore have more professional expertise and knowledge in their specified field than do elected policymakers. During policy formation, government agencies provide research and other information to policymakers in Congress and the executive branch. This information often becomes the basis for future legislation. Agencies also provide Congress with information about the effectiveness of previous policies to ensure that inefficiencies are avoided in future legislation. For example, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) completed a study on the long-term health of the American economy. They concluded that current levels of public debt are unsustainable and suggested several changes to spending and revenue policy that would put the economy on a sustainable path (Dodaro, 2019).
The President
Presidents have the power to develop and formulate policy on a vast array of issues. The level of personal attention that presidents give to the “nuts and bolts” process of developing a policy varies and reflects the executive’s leadership style. For instance, President Bill Clinton preferred to create task forces and working groups comprising members of Congress, career civil servants, and his own staff. The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 was a joint effort between executive branch staff and state governors. Clinton’s unsuccessful attempt at health care reform was developed by a task force directed by Hillary Clinton. In contrast, President George W. Bush preferred a more centralized style of decision making. Many of his policy initiatives were created by a small group of advisors who worked in the President’s inner circle (Stewart Hedge & Lester, 2008).
Congress
Policy design and formulation is the primary responsibility of Congress. The legislative branch both develops new legislation and provides oversight and legislative review of existing legislation. House members passed House Resolution 1, the For the People Act, early in the 116th Congress. The legislation would address current issues in voting, campaign spending, redistricting, and public ethics. The For the People Act was created by a coalition of House members and was inspired by constituents who called for these reforms (Overby, 2019).
Interest Groups
Pluralism, introduced in chapter 4, posits that policy is shaped by bargaining, negotiation, and compromise among various actors in the policy process. Interest groups are one of the most prolific actors in the pluralist model. They animate the design and formulation phases and are, on occasion, directly involved in the actual writing of policy. Of course, this level of involvement can be positive or negative. Like bureaucrats, interest groups often have a deeper understanding of technical issues than do elected politicians. Conversely, interest groups possess extreme power to influence policy. Interest groups can “structure policy outcomes in a way that is characterized by corruption, backroom politics, a lack of long-range planning, and injustice” (Stewart Hedge Lester, 2008).
Think Tanks
Think tanks are policy planning organizations that conduct research and advocate for a vast array of topics, from social issues to economic policy, military, and cultural issues. Most think tanks are nonprofit organizations, but some are funded by the government, interest groups, or even corporations. Think tanks employ leading scholars and prominent political figures who review current academic research on topics of interest. They develop recommendations for policies and programs that they believe will solve pressing public problems. The recommendations are sent to the President, Congress, and the media (Dye, 2013). The Brookings Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and the CATO Institute are all prominent fixtures among the Washington elite. The influence of such think tanks should not be underestimated. When the time came for President Trump to nominate a Supreme Court Justice to replace Antonin Scalia, he relied on the Heritage Foundation to develop a list of potential justices (Mahler, 2018).
