How are policy agendas formed? Include of interactions and dynamics among actors, interests, institutions, and processes in the discussion.
-It gets put on the National agenda- which consists of all the issues that the government is trying to work through. This occurs once something has become a noticeable and significant political issue. It is something that the government needs to address. This usually happens after a major event (9/11), through a interest group or speeches, or as a part of a trend (like crime rates)
Interest Groups and other institutions try to get their issues on the national agenda, and get the government to work on them.
Trace the enactment of public policies by Congress and the president
-Policy Enactment/Formulation: How the government will respond to the issues on the national agenda. This includes all the different ways that the government could use to solve the problems.
There are a few ways that a policy could be enacted, such as congress designing legislation, a measure being proposed by the president, or the courts making a precedent through a ruling. In addition, thanks to checks and balances, these policies have to be checked by the other branches of government, before they can be put into place. Also, these proposals are incremental, which means that they are smaller policies that are not guaranteed to solve the problem entirely on their own.
Discuss the implementation and interpretation of policies by the bureaucracy.
-Implementation: The government and its various agencies (the bureaucracy) now have to out the polices from the previous stage into place. They also have to make sure that these policies are carried out effectively, and the way they are suppose to.
They bureaucracy can have a very difficult time with implementation because work with and compromise with various interest groups.
Discuss the implementation and interpretation of policies by the courts in the policy process.
- Since the president and congress tend to be fairly vague with their policies, it is the job of the courts to put in some specifics. They do this mainly by working with Interest Groups and other agencies/ parties that have worked/ depending on the policy. Furthermore, any challenges by the people concerning the policy can be heard in the Courts.
Courts also have their other powers, such as judicial review.
Investigate and describe policy networks and issue networks in at least three domestic policy areas.
--Issue Networks and Policy Networks: A shared knowledge group consisting of representatives of various interests involved in some particular aspect of public policy. Three domestic policy areas are:
Education: This includes the reformation of, and changes within our education system. For example, Obama is "Redesigning and Reforming No Child Left Behind", as well as fortifying the hard sciences. He is hoping that this will help restore middle-class security, and create a more educated society. Members include Congressmen and the department of education.
Healthcare: This currently has one of the largest issue networks. The members include Pharmacists, and members of the Entitlements and Healthcare committees.
Energy: Members who work on these policies include the Federal Government, along with the DOE (U.S. Department of Energy) and various interest groups.
Investigate and describe policy networks and issue networks in at least three foreign policy areas.
-Defense: Works to defend our nation, as well as to deter war. Members include the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and various military officers.
International Trade: Members of this network mainly include Lawyers, Lobbyists, and Congressmen. Still, this is one of the largest foreign policy issue networks, since so many people and companies depend on foreign trade.
War on Drugs: This primarily relates to Latin America, to prevent the spread of dangerous drugs. Members include the CIA, the ONDCP, and the Office of National Drug Control.
Identify and describe the impact of federalism on policy processes and policymaking in the federal context.
-Due to federalism, there is diversity in public policy- However, it also makes it more challenging to implement public policies. This mainly stems from the issues between National and State polices, because they don't always agree. Also, a policy now has to go through two layers of government, which can be very time consuming and difficult for the implementation process.
Identify and describe the impact of interest groups on policy processes and policymaking in the federal context.
-Interest Groups have a monumental role in deciding what gets put on the national agenda. By definition, an interest group is an organization of people with similar policy goals who enter the political process to try to achieve those aims. Politicians pay close attention to what the interest groups want, and Interest Groups have also been known to work the media. They do this to get their message out to the public. Interest Groups also have a role in the implementation of different public policies.
Identify and describe the impact of political parties on policy processes and policymaking in the federal context.
-The two main political parties (Republicans and Democrats) can make policy making very difficult due to their inherent ideological differences. They can make the public policy process very long and drawn out, and at times result in no resolutions. Also, members of these parties can vote blindly along with the rest of their party, without ever really understanding the issues (Kool-aid Drinking ;) )
Identify and describe the impact of elections on policy processes and policymaking in the federal context.
-In order to get reelected, politicians often attempt to pass as many policies as possible during their term (as long as those policies benefit their constituents). So as long as they are passing policies that benefit the area that they represent, they will likely get reelected and continue to do so. If they are unable to get policies passed, they will most likely not get reelected. However, this can also be bad because it can lead to pork barrel spending, and not be as helpful to the constituents.
-It gets put on the National agenda- which consists of all the issues that the government is trying to work through. This occurs once something has become a noticeable and significant political issue. It is something that the government needs to address. This usually happens after a major event (9/11), through a interest group or speeches, or as a part of a trend (like crime rates)
Interest Groups and other institutions try to get their issues on the national agenda, and get the government to work on them.
Trace the enactment of public policies by Congress and the president
-Policy Enactment/Formulation: How the government will respond to the issues on the national agenda. This includes all the different ways that the government could use to solve the problems.
There are a few ways that a policy could be enacted, such as congress designing legislation, a measure being proposed by the president, or the courts making a precedent through a ruling. In addition, thanks to checks and balances, these policies have to be checked by the other branches of government, before they can be put into place. Also, these proposals are incremental, which means that they are smaller policies that are not guaranteed to solve the problem entirely on their own.
Discuss the implementation and interpretation of policies by the bureaucracy.
-Implementation: The government and its various agencies (the bureaucracy) now have to out the polices from the previous stage into place. They also have to make sure that these policies are carried out effectively, and the way they are suppose to.
They bureaucracy can have a very difficult time with implementation because work with and compromise with various interest groups.
Discuss the implementation and interpretation of policies by the courts in the policy process.
- Since the president and congress tend to be fairly vague with their policies, it is the job of the courts to put in some specifics. They do this mainly by working with Interest Groups and other agencies/ parties that have worked/ depending on the policy. Furthermore, any challenges by the people concerning the policy can be heard in the Courts.
Courts also have their other powers, such as judicial review.
Investigate and describe policy networks and issue networks in at least three domestic policy areas.
--Issue Networks and Policy Networks: A shared knowledge group consisting of representatives of various interests involved in some particular aspect of public policy. Three domestic policy areas are:
Education: This includes the reformation of, and changes within our education system. For example, Obama is "Redesigning and Reforming No Child Left Behind", as well as fortifying the hard sciences. He is hoping that this will help restore middle-class security, and create a more educated society. Members include Congressmen and the department of education.
Healthcare: This currently has one of the largest issue networks. The members include Pharmacists, and members of the Entitlements and Healthcare committees.
Energy: Members who work on these policies include the Federal Government, along with the DOE (U.S. Department of Energy) and various interest groups.
Investigate and describe policy networks and issue networks in at least three foreign policy areas.
-Defense: Works to defend our nation, as well as to deter war. Members include the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and various military officers.
International Trade: Members of this network mainly include Lawyers, Lobbyists, and Congressmen. Still, this is one of the largest foreign policy issue networks, since so many people and companies depend on foreign trade.
War on Drugs: This primarily relates to Latin America, to prevent the spread of dangerous drugs. Members include the CIA, the ONDCP, and the Office of National Drug Control.
Identify and describe the impact of federalism on policy processes and policymaking in the federal context.
-Due to federalism, there is diversity in public policy- However, it also makes it more challenging to implement public policies. This mainly stems from the issues between National and State polices, because they don't always agree. Also, a policy now has to go through two layers of government, which can be very time consuming and difficult for the implementation process.
Identify and describe the impact of interest groups on policy processes and policymaking in the federal context.
-Interest Groups have a monumental role in deciding what gets put on the national agenda. By definition, an interest group is an organization of people with similar policy goals who enter the political process to try to achieve those aims. Politicians pay close attention to what the interest groups want, and Interest Groups have also been known to work the media. They do this to get their message out to the public. Interest Groups also have a role in the implementation of different public policies.
Identify and describe the impact of political parties on policy processes and policymaking in the federal context.
-The two main political parties (Republicans and Democrats) can make policy making very difficult due to their inherent ideological differences. They can make the public policy process very long and drawn out, and at times result in no resolutions. Also, members of these parties can vote blindly along with the rest of their party, without ever really understanding the issues (Kool-aid Drinking ;) )
Identify and describe the impact of elections on policy processes and policymaking in the federal context.
-In order to get reelected, politicians often attempt to pass as many policies as possible during their term (as long as those policies benefit their constituents). So as long as they are passing policies that benefit the area that they represent, they will likely get reelected and continue to do so. If they are unable to get policies passed, they will most likely not get reelected. However, this can also be bad because it can lead to pork barrel spending, and not be as helpful to the constituents.