Public Pressure and Congressional Oversight

Evidence from Agency Rulemaking

How, if at all, should scholars incorporate mass public engagement into models of congressional oversight and bureaucratic policymaking? This paper develops and tests theories about the roles of individuals, organizations, legislators, and lobbying coalitions in bureaucratic policymaking. I argue that congressional oversight is often mobilized by broader lobbying campaigns. Pressure campaigns mobilize individuals to pressure executive-branch policymakers, both directly and indirectly by mobilizing members of Congress.