Executive Legislative Judicial Executive

INDIVIDUALS AND PRIVATE-

SECTOR BUSINESSES

Private citizens and businesses com-

monly form coalitions or interest groups 

to make their voices heard in the halls of 

government, but many also take steps on 

their own to infl uence government policy. 

These activities include writing to their 

elected offi cials about particular policies, 

writing letters to the editor of their local 

newspaper, and appearing at hearings 

and other public functions where policy is 

debated.

Because businesses are affected to 

a great degree by government policies, 

many corporations have established 

government relations offi ces to represent 

their interests in Washington. While a pri-

mary function of these corporate repre-

sentatives is to educate and communicate 

to policymakers how pro-

posed legislation will affect 

the corporation, they also 

serve other functions:

• Ensuring that their em-

ployers are aware of laws 

and policies that apply to 

them. This facilitates com-

pliance with the law.

• Providing expert, sub-

stantive advice about the 

effects of proposed legis-

lation, which can help law-

makers create fairer laws 

with fewer unintended 

consequences.

Corporate representatives who are

effective and principled advocates of

the interests of their companies and

of the business community as a

whole help government arrive at

better-informed … decisions.”

Bryce Harlow, 1984