The Effectiveness of Intergovernmental Lobbying Mechanisms in the American Federal System

Abstract

The national and state governments share power in the American federal system. However, to the chagrin of states, the federal government often has the upper hand in intergovernmental relations. This article explores how state legislators perceive the health of federalism in the United States and examines the tools that they use to influence policy enactment and implementation in Washington, DC. It concludes that states are less than sanguine about federal-state relations and that they use a wide array of tools to take their message to the federal government even though they question their effectiveness.