How are policy agendas formed? Include of interactions and dynamics among actors, interests, institutions, and processes in the discussion. Agenda setting helps to bring attention to issues and thus enables policies to be made in order to fix said issues. It's similar to reporting what Congress will be addressing and attempting to fix. For example one major issue that needed attention was drinking and driving and texting and driving. As a result there has been multiple meetings and conferences to fix the problem. This is one way that issues make it to the agenda setting because they are new recent events that are drawing a lot of attention. Things like new technology and newly elected politicians can also help bring new issues into agenda setting because they help bring unknown and specific issues to the surface. Interest groups and other various institutions will attempt to bring their causes into the news and agenda in order to get a response from the government. For example, the recent gun issues at schools regarding shootings has brought interests groups like the NRA to get involved and advocate smart usage for guns and other preventative options. Also the EPA has brought many new laws and policies regarding the environment and animal protection into effect as a result of bringing their issues into the agenda. Interest groups also use various types of media to demonstrate their causes and the need for immediate action by manipulating the media and facts to benefit their own agendas which is similar to issue definition.
Trace the enactment of public policies by Congress and the president Once issues have been brought up in agenda setting then next they will begin to formulate and create policies for the issues. Formal proposals are brought up however often times a policy must be changed multiple times before it can be agreed up and enacted as an official policy. This happens because all parties and houses must come to an agreement and it has been the norm for many changes and amending to occur in order to please everyone and completely address all issues and conflicts regarding the bill. Enactment can stem from a proposal from the president, congress drafting up legislation or a court establishing a ruling through a court case like Marbury v Madison, Brown v Board of Education, etc. Discuss the implementation and interpretation of policies by the bureaucracy. Next is the implantation of the policies in order to see if these policies will work to fix the problems or issues which will then be followed by the evaluating of the policies that have been enacted. When policies are initially enacted, they remain extremely vague and open to amendments and changes if necessary in the future. Also if there is too much detail and specifics then its more likely that it will have a harder time getting passed due to disapproval from political parties, interest groups and organizations etc. Discuss the implementation and interpretation of policies by the courts in the policy process.
Since some of these policies are vague, it can lead to a wide range of interpretation over whether something may or may not be constitutional. This lead up to the courts and has been established by the court case of Marbury v Madison for judicial review. Information and testimonies will be collected by the court in order to fully judge and assess the situation and policy that has been brought up into question. Depending on the severity of the dispute and issue will determine to what extent the issue needs to be interpreted. Simple straight to the point issues like traffic compared to more complex issues like privacy and equality for same sex marriages.
Investigate and describe policy networks and issue networks in at least three domestic policy areas. These networks enable various people such as lobbyists, congressmen, committees, agencies etc. to meet up and discuss certain issues in particular areas/topics. They can discuss issues that are on a domestic scale or a global one. Three domestic policy areas include education, energy and the environment. Education for example has people such as teachers, principals, committees, congress, department of education, and superintendents. They are working to strengthen the education system and add reforms like Bush's "no child left behind" program. Energy includes the government, department of energy, and interest groups that support and promote renewable and alternative sources of energy. They hope to find more efficient ways of providing energy that can also help the environment and its resources. Environment includes congress, committees, interest groups, agencies, lawyers, and scholars. They all aim to improve the environment and help protect the planets resources and animals. Investigate and describe policy networks and issue networks in at least three foreign policy areas. Foreign issues include trade, defense, and human rights. Defense includes the CIA, department of defense, military officers, homeland security and committees that all work to prevent war and terrorism and protect against any foreign threats. Trade includes lawyers, congressmen, lobbyists, and committees that work help maintain trade between the US and other countries which is vital to our economy. It has been an extremely important area for our country and has been around since we first established ourselves as our own country from Britain. Human rights include the CIA, committees, congressmen, and interest groups that all try to protect individuals from issues like human trafficking, violence against women, torture etc. Identify and describe the impact of federalism on policy processes and policymaking in the federal context. Federalism has impacted policy making by creating much diversity due to people's freedom to believe and vote as they wish. This can lead to a variety of opinions and stances on one idea or policy which makes it extremely difficult to establish one specific policy. For example one area which demonstrates this is between the federal and state governments. Even though some laws are considered against the federal law and can lead to a crime punishable by fines and/or jail time like the issue of marijuana. As previously discussed marijuana use and/or being caught with it is considered a crime however there are various shops that dispense and sell marijuana for use because that state allows them to do so. It leads to a conflicting relationship since states and the federal government have different views on certain issues. Identify and describe the impact of interest groups on policy processes and policymaking in the federal context. Interest groups hold a lot of power and persuasion over getting their issues heard and brought into the agenda setting through their connections and ability to be heard. The most common way to get your voice heard regarding issues is by participating in interest groups because of the power that they can have with congress and getting policies passed to benefit their causes. They use their resources and connections through media and congressmen that they have to promote and bring attention to their issues and further work to get policies passed for them. Identify and describe the impact of political parties on policy processes and policymaking in the federal context. The two main political parties are the republicans and the democrats with each party having their own ideologies and therefore having different opinions and stances on issues. Republicans are more strict and wary on issues while democrats are liberal and more likely to vote yes in support of controversial issues. This leads to much disagreement and debate in congress which leads to gridlock since neither side can agree over the issue and the policy for it. Since these parties tend to vote alike, there are often many instances of a person voting for a policy despite having no knowledge or understanding of what they are voting for which helps explain the high percentage of Americans that have no idea what is going on with the government and its policies. Identify and describe the impact of elections on policy processes and policymaking in the federal context. Those who are running for election tend to rely upon the help and support of interest groups in order for them to have a shot at winning the elections so candidates feel pressure to agree to promote interest groups and their issues. They have a symbiotic relationship and take the interest groups issues into agenda setting which gets them one step closer to having a policy put in place to help solve their issues and concerns. When these candidates keep their word then they also have a chance at being re-elected like the president for example. He tends to make choices and support certain policies that will win him favor with the majority of the people so he can have support if he decides to run again. However often times the president can make less policies during a second term aka a lame duck.