Stealth Lobbying: Interest Group Influence and Health Care Reform

Politicians and lobbyists have incentives to conceal quid pro quo relationships, making it difficult to link campaign money to legislative votes. Amy McKay investigates how lobbyists influence the content of congressional legislation by using novel data sources to reveal hidden relationships between lobbyists' campaign assistance and legislators' action. Lobbyists who provide campaign money to members of Congress are more likely to secure meetings, introduce legislation, and achieve their legislative goals.

Format: Hardback
Length: 230 pages
Publication date: 28 July 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Politicians and lobbyists engage in intricate webs of concealment, making it exceedingly challenging for scholars to establish a clear connection between campaign funding and legislative votes. To overcome this obstacle, Amy McKay employs novel data sources, including legislators' schedules, fundraising events, legislative amendments, and the campaign contributions of individual lobbyists and the political action committees they control. Through her meticulous analysis, McKay uncovers hidden relationships between lobbyists' campaign assistance and legislators' actions on behalf of those lobbyists.

The data reveal a startling pattern: lobbyists who provide campaign money to members of Congress are more likely to secure meetings with those members, to see their requests introduced as legislation, and to achieve a larger portion of their legislative goals adopted into law. This discrepancy is particularly significant when compared to constituents and even average lobbyists.

These findings raise profound normative concerns about the ability of some individuals to use money to co-opt the democratic process. They suggest that the influence of campaign funding on legislative outcomes may undermine the principles of transparency, accountability, and democratic representation. It is essential to address these issues and implement measures to ensure that the democratic process remains free from the undue influence of money and power.

Weight: 490g
ISBN-13: 9781009188944