ABSTRACT
The evidence presented in chapters 4 and 5 strongly supports the conclusion that there are numerous interest groups with both the motivation and the resources to participate actively in the formulation of social policy. Each time Congress considers a major piece of legislation in the areas of housing, food and cash assistance, their hearings attract the participation of dozens of groups and individual witnesses. Many of these interest groups appear only once, and some are drawn into the debate by a narrow interest in some particular facet of the legislative proposal, not by a general interest in social policy outcomes. However, in each policy area there is a core set of groups that participate regularly. Most of these groups have adequate resources to remain more or less permanently mobilized. Data from the two group surveys show that these interest groups utilize a variety of strategies to try to influence the outcome of the legislative struggle.
