Category: goverment

.Federal Government
Notes: “The policy-making process”
Public policy can be defined as a plan of actions planned by the government to solve a problem
or to express a purpose/goal. The policy-making process involves 5 stages:
1) Agenda setting: the question to frame at this stage is to identify what the problem is.
Problems become matters of public concern (For example, prior to the Affordable Care
Act, a lot of people didn’t have access to health insurance).
2) Policy formulation: once the problem has been identified, there is a need to develop
formal plans or strategies to deal with the problem.
3) Policy adoption: It is the official decision of a government to create/pass a policy and to
put it into effect. The policy responds to the problem that was previously acknowledged.
There are different mechanisms on how to adopt a policy:
a. Legislative process (chapter 12): The Congress passes a bill
Example: The Affordable Care Act (see textbook chapter 17, public policy on
health care)
Every Student Succeeds Act to replace No Child Left Behind Act
(chapter 17, public policy on education)
b. Executive orders by the President
Example: Executive order # 13769 issued on 01/27/2017, known as the “travel
ban”. Executive orders can be accessed at: www.whitehouse.gov
c. Court decisions by different federal courts or Supreme Court of Justice
Example: ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing the same-sex marriage in
the case Obergefell v. Hodges.
d. Regulations by federal agencies
Example: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when in 2009 announced
standards for greenhouse emissions for automobiles under the Clean Air Act (see
textbook p. 664/665).
4) Policy implementation: It involves how policies are carried-out not just by the
government but by individuals and groups as well.
5) Policy Evaluation: Assessment/results of the policy.
For the final research project, students need to write a research project analyzing the 5 stages of
the policy-making process on a current public policy of your choice.
 Agenda setting
 Policy formulation
 Policy adoption
 Policy implementation
 Policy evaluation
The textbook provides information on different policies. It could be a social policy, on education,
health, environment, etc. If you are not sure if the policy that you chose is correct, please send
me a Bb message. Your paper must be at least 5 pages long, double spaced, with one-inch
margins, and include at least three sources of information.

News Assignment #1 American Government & Civic Engagement, Constitution, Federalism, Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Locate a current events article not older than 14 days from the day you submit the assignment. The article should be about an event, something that has happened in the United States. The event should be related to politics or government policy in the United States. The source must be credible such as a reputable news outlet. 1st Paragraph: Summarize the most important information from the article in your own words. As noted in the syllabus, Turnitin will be used on all assignments to detect plagiarism and AI. (See Academic Honesty policy in the syllabus). For assistance on how to summarize appropriately, visit the “Content” tab and Writing Assignments OR Purdue OWL: Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing. 2nd Paragraph: Relate the article to the topic and readings of the chapters you are currently completing. You should cite the text book, making specific connections. You should connect your article and discuss the content related to American Government & Civic Engagement, The Constitution, Federalism, Civil Liberties and/or Civil Rights. The connections should be clear. Use APA references for the article, textbook and any supporting sources. 4. 3rd Paragraph: Present your own informed opinion about the political issue. The total word count for the assignment should be 500-750 words. Do not write about the same U.S. politics issue twice in this course. Tips for Formatting: The first page is (APA 7th ) title page Do not use headings. Use transition sentences instead. The paper must be double spaced, Times New Roman, 12” font, left justified APA in text citations (Author, year) Separate APA 7th reference page at end AI will be treated the same as similarity on rubric. Check these scores when you submit.