Politics and American Public Policy

Public policy in the United States encompasses a broad range of topics from healthcare and education to national defense and environmental regulations. Policymaking is a complex process undertaken at all levels of government, from city councils and state legislatures to Congress and the White House. The policies set at these different levels of government have profound impacts on the lives of citizens and the workings of the country as a whole.

This article provides an overview of American politics and public policy. It begins with a discussion of the key institutions and actors involved in policymaking at the federal level, examining the roles of Congress, the presidency, the bureaucracy, and interest groups. Next, it explores the policymaking process, from agenda-setting to policy formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation. Major policy issues like healthcare, immigration, education, taxes, and social welfare are then analyzed. The article concludes with a look at policymaking at the state and local levels and a discussion of policy analysis.

Key Institutions and Actors in Federal Policymaking

The United States government is composed of separate institutions that share power and interact in the policymaking process. Understanding the roles and motivations of the key players is essential to grasping how public policy is formed.

Congress

As the legislative branch of government, Congress has the authority to make laws, alter taxes, and appropriate federal funds. There are two chambers of Congress: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Members of the House serve two-year terms and represent districts within their states based on population. There are currently 435 voting representatives. Senators serve six-year terms with staggered elections so that only one-third of seats are up for election every two years. Each state has two senators, bringing the total to 100 members.

Congress engages in a wide range of activities related to public policy. Key responsibilities include:

Introducing and considering legislative proposals
Conducting investigations and oversight of the executive branch
Confirming presidential appointments and ratifying treaties
Authorizing programs and appropriating federal funds
Representing local interests of constituents

Much of Congress’s time is focused on debating, amending, and voting on proposed legislation. For a bill to become law, it must pass both chambers and be signed by the president. Because of this complex process, most bills do not become law. Congress also has authority over non-legislative aspects of public policy through investigations and oversight hearings.

There are important differences between the House and the Senate that shape policymaking. With its larger membership and shorter terms, the House tends to be more partisan and reflective of current public opinion. The Senate’s smaller size and longer terms create greater stability, continuity, and moderation. The Senate is also responsible for confirming presidential appointments and treaties.

The Presidency

The president is the head of government and has a number of formal and informal roles in the policy process. Key presidential responsibilities include:

Proposing an annual budget and legislative agenda
Signing or vetoing legislation passed by Congress
Issuing executive orders and proclamations
Making appointments to positions in the administration and judiciary
Commanding the military as Commander-in-Chief
Shaping public opinion through speeches, press conferences, and use of media

The president’s ability to advance their policy agenda relies heavily on public prestige and skill in bargaining with Congress. Presidents vary in their desire and capacity to set the policy agenda. Some presidents pursue bold new policies, while others focus more on administration and relying on Congress for policy leadership. The growth of the federal bureaucracy has enhanced the president’s role in overseeing implementation of laws.

Modern presidents have increasingly used executive orders, proclamations, signing statements, and budgetary discretion to shape policies, particularly in the face of congressional opposition. However, presidents are still reliant on cooperating with Congress to enact significant, lasting policy changes. The constant negotiation between the legislative and executive branches is a central dynamic of policymaking.

Federal Bureaucracy

The federal bureaucracy encompasses all administrative offices, departments, agencies, commissions, and governmental corporations responsible for implementing and administering federal laws and programs. Major federal departments include Defense, State, Treasury, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security. There are hundreds of additional independent agencies and commissions like the Federal Reserve, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The bureaucracy plays a critical role in every stage of the public policy process:

Agenda Setting: Agencies identify issues and provide policy expertise and advice
Formulation: Agencies assist Congress and the president in drafting legislation and budgets
Adoption: Agencies lobby Congress and influence legislation affecting them
Implementation: Agencies administer and enforce laws through rulemaking and regulation
Evaluation: Agencies track and evaluate program performance and impacts

Career civil servants and political appointees head the various bureaucracies. They bring significant substantive expertise to managing policy programs. Ironically, as the bureaucracy has ballooned, presidents have struggled to control it and align it with their priorities. Most policy implementation occurs at the discretion of bureaucrats. They have considerable flexibility in rulemaking, allocation of resources, and enforcement. As such, effective bureaucratic management is essential to public policy success.

Interest Groups

From large trade associations and unions to small non-profits and grassroots movements, interest groups aim to influence public policy on behalf of their causes. They vary greatly in size, funding, organization, and tactics. Some of the most prominent include AARP (seniors), American Israel Public Affairs Committee (pro-Israel), National Rifle Association (gun owners), American Association of Retired Persons (AARP, seniors), American Civil Liberties Union (civil liberties), Sierra Club (environmental protection), Chamber of Commerce (business), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (racial equality), and Right to Life (anti-abortion).

Interest groups engage in a variety of activities seeking to shape policy:

Lobby members of Congress and the president
Testify at congressional hearings
File amicus briefs in courts for relevant cases
Mount grassroots advocacy and public relations campaigns
Provide input to agencies during rulemaking
Mobilize voters and make campaign contributions
Litigate to challenge laws or force action

By aggregating and amplifying the voices of their members, interest groups enhance their clout and name recognition. Still, their actual influence is constrained and groups must target advocacy strategically. Well-funded business associations often have an advantage. Controversial social issues like abortion and gun rights also animate strong single-issue interest groups. Overall, interest groups provide valuable information and perspective to policymakers but also skew the process toward narrow interests versus the public good.

The Policymaking Process

While messy in practice, public policymaking follows a general sequence of stages: problem identification, agenda setting, policy formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation.

Agenda Setting

Agenda setting is the crucial process of defining which policy issues merit government attention. With countless problems facing society, only a fraction make it to the government agenda for consideration. Policy issues are brought to the attention of political leaders by:

Catastrophic events, disasters, or crises
Changes in indicators, data, or research
Policy analysis and feedback on current programs
Interest groups campaigns
Media coverage and investigative reporting
Budgetary considerations
Legislative requirements or court decisions
Policy entrepreneurship by political leaders

This complex confluence of factors shapes what issues policymakers prioritize. Individual citizens have a limited role at this early stage. Groups like politicians, media outlets, and organized interests are more successful in elevating issues. Still, widespread public opinion and grassroots activism can exert pressure as well, capturing officials’ attention.

Policy Formulation

Once an issue makes it on the decision agenda, the initial policy solutions are developed and proposed. Policy formulation is done by:

Government agencies that have expertise
Congressional committees and staff
Executive branch advisors in the White House
Lobbyists and think tanks
Academics and researchers

Ideas that resonate with policymakers’ values and appeal to voters tend to get more consideration. Businesses, trade groups, and local governments will also weigh in with assessments of costs, administrative feasibility, and public support. Formulation seeks to couple identified problems with plausible solutions.

Policy Adoption

Adoption is the stage when authoritative decision makers select a policy option and enact it into law through votes. For federal policies, adoption occurs when Congress passes legislation and the president signs it. Constitutional amendments require approval by two-thirds of Congress and three-fourths of state legislatures. Policies can also be adopted via executive orders issued by the president or regulations created by government agencies.

Ideally adoption flows from a period of extensive policy analysis and debate. In reality, adoption is frequently rushed and messy under the pressure of crises, partisan politics, or upcoming elections. Well-organized interests and appeasing the median voter in Congress dictate many policy decisions. Getting policies adopted requires building coalitions through bargaining and compromise.

Policy Implementation

After a policy is authorized, the next phase is implementation. This involves translating the goals and objectives of a policy into concrete actions and service delivery by government bureaucracies. Implementation consists of:

Rulemaking to provide details absent from the initial legislation
Allocating budgets and resources to programs
Hiring personnel and training them to administer activities
Coordinating efforts across agencies and levels of government
Applying incentives or sanctions to elicit compliance from groups
Monitoring activities for compliance, efficiency, and program integrity

Discretionary decisions made by agencies can greatly shape on-the-ground implementation. Resistance from bureaucrats or target groups through litigation or non-compliance can also undermine implementation. Having clear goals, sufficient funding, and strong leadership improves the implementation process.

Policy Evaluation

The assessment of policy outputs and impacts is a crucial yet frequently overlooked stage of the policy cycle. Policy evaluation aims to determine:

If a program was implemented as designed
Whether objectives were met
If the policy had the desired effects
What intended and unintended impacts occurred
How costs and benefits compare

Evaluation employs empirical research methods like surveillance systems, surveys, interviews, randomized controlled trials, and cost-benefit analysis. Findings inform decisions on whether policies should be continued, modified, replaced, or terminated altogether.

Evaluation occurs through congressional oversight hearings, executive branch reviews, watchdog agencies like the Government Accountability Office (GAO), think tank and scholarly analysis, and investigative media coverage. Independent evaluators tend to provide the most objective assessments. However, evaluation is often politicized and used selectively to serve officials’ interests.

Key Policy Issues

Certain policy issues consistently occupy the attention of American policymakers and spur heated political debates. The costs, benefits, and impacts of policies in priority areas like healthcare, immigration, education, taxes, and social welfare fundamentally shape society.

Healthcare Policy

Providing access to quality, affordable healthcare for all Americans has long been a contentious issue in politics and policy. With healthcare accounting for nearly a fifth of the U.S. economy and costs continuing to climb, the stakes are enormous. Key policy matters include:

Scope of public insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid
Regulation of private health insurance markets
Approaches to mitigate rising drug prices
Prevention and treatment of critical diseases
Distribution of healthcare facilities and workers
Roles, training, and payment systems for providers
Quality control and error reduction strategies
Data privacy protections and technology systems
Reproductive health, mental health, and long-term care services

The 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) represents the most significant expansion of healthcare access since Medicare/Medicaid. However, problems of complexity, cost control, and partisan conflict persist in the system. Public health crises like COVID-19 can quickly move healthcare needs to the forefront.

Immigration Policy

Immigration policy regulates the admission and integration of foreign-born people into the country. Key aspects include:

Enforcement strategies and border security investments
Visa programs for temporary workers, students, and family reunification
Deportation and detention practices and due process protections
Pathways to permanent legal status and citizenship
Availability of public benefits, basic services, and in-state tuition
Rights of undocumented immigrants brought as children
Impacts on wages, jobs, and the economy

Naturalization and legal permanent residency require navigating a complex bureaucracy with long backlogs. Legislation on legalization and guest worker programs has repeatedly stalled in Congress due to partisan differences. Unauthorized immigration remains high amid increased border enforcement. Assimilation challenges persist even as immigrants continue integral to the workforce. Immigration policy must balance economic, social equity, and national security concerns.

Education Policy

Universal public education has been a cornerstone of American democracy. Education policies at federal, state, and local levels aim to improve access, equity, affordability, accountability, and quality across K-12 schooling and higher education. Key education policy issues include:

School funding formulas and adequacy
Standards, testing, and school/teacher accountability
Public school choice through charters, magnets, and vouchers
Support services for disadvantaged students and those with disabilities
College costs, financial aid, and accessibility
Training and compensation of teachers and professors
Curriculum, technology, and data usage in schools
Management and governance of educational institutions

Major federal legislation like the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act direct billions in funding for programs while imposing performance expectations. However, states, school districts, and colleges still have considerable leeway in education policy design and implementation.

Tax Policy

Taxation powers are critical to fund government operations, redistribute income, and incentivize behaviors. Tax policy decisions include:

Overall level of taxes to fund government activities
Relative reliance on income, payroll, sales, property, and other tax bases
Distribution of tax burden across individuals versus corporations
Progressivity of rates and income thresholds
Deductions, exemptions, credits, and incentives for goals like homeownership, retirement savings, and job creation
Level of taxes on investments, inheritances, and transfers
Enforcement policies to prevent tax evasion and sheltering

Most federal revenue comes from personal and corporate income taxes and payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare. Tax rates, deductions, credits, and other policies are frequently adjusted. State and local taxes add to the complexity. Contention often centers on tax burdens across income levels and how to alter taxes to drive economic growth.

Social Welfare Policy

Policies aim to ensure basic income, nutrition, housing, and healthcare to children, the disabled, and the elderly. Major federal programs include:

Social Security retirement and disability benefits
Medicare and Medicaid
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps)
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) cash assistance
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance
Section 8 rental housing vouchers
Pell Grants for low-income college students

These programs account for over half of the federal budget. Conservatives argue many programs are too costly, discourage work, and overreach federal responsibility. Liberals contend welfare programs reduce poverty, boost equity, and strengthen the social contract. Debates focus on eligibility rules, benefit levels, mandatory work requirements, and program effectiveness. Demographic shifts and technology-driven job losses will continue impacting welfare needs and policies.

State and Local Policymaking

While federal policies attract the most attention, states, counties, and municipal governments also actively make policies across these issue areas and more. State and local policies impact citizens’ daily lives most directly in areas like:

Education
Law enforcement and crime
Housing and land use
Transportation
Public health services
Social welfare benefits
Environmental protection
Economic development
Election administration

Within constitutional limits, state and local governments can enact distinct policies tailored to constituent needs and regional contexts. Federalism allows diversity. But funding constraints and limited jurisdiction over problems like pollution generate challenges. Coordination across levels of government is necessary when policies intersect.

State governments primarily shape policies through legislative statutes, agency regulations, executive orders from governors, and referendums. Local governments use municipal codes, ordinances, and administrative rules. Key policy actors include state legislators and agency officials, governors, mayors, city councils, county boards, school boards, police chiefs, and judges.

Citizens can access and influence state and local policymaking more easily. Still, well-funded lobbying remains influential. Policies often emerge through competition among jurisdictions to attract residents and businesses via taxes, services, and economic development incentives. Unique state and local policies can catalyze innovation through experimentation. But variability also risks inequity.

Policy Analysis

The scholarly assessment of public policies, programs, legislation, and regulations is termed policy analysis. Approaches to policy analysis include:

Textual analysis of laws and interpretations
Historical examinations of policy evolution
Quantitative evaluation of program data and impacts
Comparative studies across jurisdictions
Case studies and ethnographic observation of processes
Cost-benefit analysis to weigh financial tradeoffs
Forecasting and simulation of policy options
Stakeholder surveys, interviews, and focus groups
Review and synthesis of academic literature

Think tanks, advocacy groups, universities, legislatures, executive agencies, and private consultancies all employ policy analysts. Their work provides critical perspective on how policies could be improved. But analysis is often politicized or constrained by limited access to data and decisionmakers. Analysis frequently critiques past policies more than shaping new ones. Still, policy decisions grounded in strong evidence and analysis have the best chance for positive outcomes.

Conclusion

In an enormous, diverse country like the United States, public policy addresses many complex, contentious issues. Policymaking occurs through an interconnected system of institutions and actors at all levels of government. While messy, policies ultimately emerge through compromises around budgets, values, and power. With trillions of dollars spent annually on policies that shape society, outcomes depend on building broad coalitions, leveraging policy analysis, and navigating partisan tensions. When the policy process functions well, government is able to tackle pressing problems effectively. If gridlock or dysfunction prevail, policy failures or inaction ensue at a high cost. Engaged citizens and good governance remain vital for policies that enhance American prosperity, security, opportunity, and justice.