ABSTRACT
Lamenting that "everybody's organized but the people," public-interest lobbies appeared forcefully on the Washington scene in the early 1970s. 1 Warning that special interests, particularly business, labor, and the professional groups, exercised undue influence over governmental decisions and the lives of the powerless majority, public-interest groups set out to give the average citizen more influence on governmental decisions. Their impact has been visible in both congressional legislation and court decisions. Skill fully using publicity, expertise, and shrewd lobbying tactics, these groups have indeed brought about change, described by former Representative Abner J. Mikva (D-Ill.) as "the biggest change I've seen in Congress since I first came here in 1968.,,2
Two of the most active groups, Common Cause and Ralph Nader groups under the umbrella of Public Citizen Inc., have sparked major changes in the structure of the political process and government policy. Common Cause has used its professional expertise and Washington know-how to challenge the congressional seniority system and play a major role in the enactment of legislation financing presidential campaigns with federal funds, and has helped open up the bill-drafting sessions of the House of Representatives to all groups. Continuing their focus on change in government structure and increased accountability, Common Cause also pushed for a new lobby registration act, establishing stricter financial disclosure for all lobby groups and federal funding of Senate and House election races. Public Citizen, staffed with zealous young lawyers, focusing on consumer, environmental, and social policy issues, has been very successful in its lobbying efforts and court litigation. The Nader organization has been credited with passage of consumer protection legislation and court decisions making lawyers subject to antitrust laws. Critics of these two organizations complain that the "clean government" focus of Common Cause is too narrow, while the wide range of projects of Public Citizen is too broad, forcing the staff to spread itself too thin.
