1. Chapter 7.3 Influencing Congress
Factors that affect how a member of Congress votes….
Personal beliefs (positions)
Voters (constituents) What the people back home want, needs of district usually put ahead of nations. (BUT how many people actually check to see how their guy is voting) the guy running against you will bring up your voting record! $, infrastructure, jobs, immigration, etc.
Staffers- do the research on issues and have a large influence on who gets to meet with the Congressman.

2. People back home can make their wants known in several ways….
Meeting with Congressman
Writing letters, phone calls, s
Surveys

3. Influence of Political Parties…
Party voting- depends on the issue but for economy and social welfare issues it is over 80%.
Many lawmakers don’t know enough about an issue so they go along with their herd.
Some are pressured by party to vote a certain way (whips)

4. Other influences…
President- remember, he can only request that Congress pass certain legislation….
Lots of face time on TV

5. Interest Groups!!!- Group of people who share common goals and organize to influence government.
They hire lobbyist- paid representative of the interest group who contacts government officials on behalf of the interest group and tries to influence their opinion and actions.
How they influence members of Congress:
Draft legislation and give to lawmakers or their staff with research supporting their position
Visit lawmakers
Encourage citizens to contact their congressman
Advertising to gain publicity and persuasion

6. Lobbyist focus on congressional committees that cover their area of interest.
ie) American Medical Assoc. will focus on the Health, Education committee.
Lobbyists are often EXPERTS in the field.

7. Top lobbying sectors 1998–2010[70][71]
Client Amount Spent %
1 Finance, Insurance & Real Estate $4,274,060,331 15%
2 Health $4,222,427,808 15%
3 Misc Business $4,149,842,571 14%
4 Communications/Electronics $3,497,881,399 12%
5 Energy & Natural Resources $3,104,104,518 11%
6 Transportation $2,245,118,222 8%
7 Other $2,207,772,363 7%
8 Ideological/Single-Issue $1,477,294,241 5%
9 Agribusiness $1,280,824,983 4%
10 Defense $1,216,469,173 4%
11 Construction $480,363,108 2%
12 Labor $427,355,408 1%
13 Lawyers & Lobbyists themselves $336,170,306 1%
Total $28,919,684,431 99%[7

8. To stop the “revolving door”- former Congressmen, staffers from being the next day lobbyist, using their position, friendships etc to gain access. There is a one and two year ban. BUT Trump did this first week in office.
Every political appointee joining the executive branch on or after Jan. 20 — the day Trump took office — must agree to the lobbying bans. That includes avoiding, for five years after leaving, lobbying the agency they worked for. Banning administration officials from ever lobbying the U.S. on behalf of a foreign government and imposing a separate five-year ban on other lobbying.

9. American Association of Retired Persons
National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League
AFL-CIO
American Israel Public Affairs Committee
MoveOn.org
Americans For Prosperity
American Medical Association
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
National Rifle Association
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

10. Top interest groups contributing to members of the 114th Congress during the election cycle. 

11. Rank Interest Group Total Dem Pct GOP Pct Top Recipient
1 Retired $25,308,932 49% 50% Paul Ryan (R-Wis)
2 Lawyers/Law Firms $22,083,433 70% 30% Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
3 Securities/Invest $16,310,375 45% 55% Paul Ryan (R-Wis)
4 Real Estate $15,504,319 46% 54% Paul Ryan (R-Wis)
5 Leadership PACs $14,036,815 42% 58% Jon Tester (D-Mont)
6 Insurance $12,799,246 34% 66% Paul Ryan (R-Wis)
7 Health Professionals $12,468,582 41% 58% Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill)
8 Pharm/Health Prod $7,846,011 39% 61% Orrin G Hatch (R-Utah)
9 Lobbyists $7,428,166 39% 61% Paul Ryan (R-Wis)
10 Oil & Gas $6,651,084 14% 86% Paul Ryan (R-Wis)
11 Commercial Banks $5,926,207 31% 69% Patrick McHenry (R-NC)
12 Electric Utilities $5,759,990 33% 67% Fred Upton (R-Mich)
13 Crop Production $5,456,486 33% 67% Mike Conaway (R-Texas)
14 Democratic/Liberal $5,040, % 0% Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass)
15 Misc Finance $5,039,855 45% 55% Paul Ryan (R-Wis)
16 Transport Unions $4,751,686 58% 41% Peter DeFazio (D-Ore)
17 Accountants $4,353,653 40% 60% Dean Heller (R-Nev)
18 Education $4,346,088 78% 21% Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass)
19 Defense Aerospace $4,314,313 38% 62% Kay Granger (R-Texas)
20 Public Sector Unions $4,083,384 78% 21% Gerry Connolly (D-Va)

12. PAC’s Political Action Committees- these are political fund raising organizations established by corporations, labor unions and other special interest groups. They donate to individual candidates and party organizers. They support those who agree with their specific positions on certain issues.
Super Pac’s = huge $$$ they run ads to influence and raise issues that clearly support one party or another. Not individual.