IRON TRIANGLE
Iron triangles
The closed, mutually supportive relationships that often prevail in the United
States between the government agencies, the special interest lobbying
organizations, and the legislative committees or subcommittees with jurisdiction
over a particular functional area of government policy. As long as they hang
together, the members of these small groups of movers and shakers tend to
dominate all policy-making in their respective specialized areas of concern, and
they tend to present a united front against "outsiders" who attempt to invade their
turf and alter established policies that have been worked out by years of private
negotiations among the "insiders." The middle-level bureaucrats who run the
agencies may use their special friends in Congress to block the efforts of a new
President or a new Congressional majority leadership bent on reforming or
reducing the size of their agencies. The Congressmen and Senators on the
oversight committees can count upon their friends in the agencies to continue
"pet" programs and pork-barrel projects important to their local constituencies or
even to do special favors for their political supporters and financial backers.
Lobbying organizations provide useful information to the committees and the
agencies, provide campaign support for the relevant Congressmen, and often
help to mobilize public opinion in favor of larger appropriations and expanded
programs for "their" part of the government bureaucracy. In return, they tend to
be consulted and carefully placated when new laws or administrative regulations
or important appointments affecting their special interests are being made. These
triangles are said to be "strong as iron" in that these mutually supportive
relationships are often so politically powerful that representatives of the more
general interests of society are usually effectively prevented from "interfering"
with policy-making altogether whenever their concept of the general interest runs
counter to the special interests of the entrenched interest groups, bureaucrats
and politicians.
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Iron Triangle
In United States politics, the iron triangle is a term used by political scientists to
describe the policy-making relationship among the congressional committees,
the bureaucracy (executive) (sometimes called "government agencies"), and
interest groups.
For example, within the federal government the three sides often consist of:
various congressional committees, which are responsible for funding government
programs and operations and then providing oversight of them; the federal
agencies (often Independent agencies), which are responsible for the regulation
of those affected industries; and last, the industries themselves, as well as their
trade associations and lobbying groups, which benefit, or seek benefit, from
these operations and programs.
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Iron Triangles
An iron triangle is an alliance of people from three groups: a congressional
subcommittee that deals with an issue, the executive agency that enforces laws
on that issue, and private interest groups. Often, the members of the triangle
know each other well, and people frequently move from one corner of the triangle
to another. The members of the iron triangle work together to create policy that
serves their interests.
Example: An iron triangle might form around a particular weapons system. The
Defense Department may want a new weapons system, members of
congressional Armed Services Committees may want to look tough on defense
by voting for a new system, and military suppliers want to make money by selling
weapons systems. Therefore, it is in the interests of all three parties to push
Congress to authorize the new weapons system.
The Iron Triangle
Observers of the modern American government often point to an iron triangle
that best demonstrates who really does the work of government. The iron
triangle, sometimes called a subgovernment, consists of interest groups,
members of congressional subcommittees, and agency bureaucrats.
According to the theory, agencies and departments usually keep close contacts
with interest group lobbyists who want to influence their actions. Interest groups
may provide valuable statistics to government agencies, and they are motivated
to have their point of view heard. Both lobbyists and bureaucrats value contact
with congressional subcommittees that shape the laws that govern their interests.
Working together, these three groups set most government policies.
An example of such an iron triangle would be the American Association for
Retired People (AARP), the House Subcommittee on Aging, and the Social
Security Administration all working together to set government policy on Social
Security.
Advisers, bookkeepers, secretaries. So, it is not only the famous people — the
President, the Chief of Staff, the Speaker of the House, or the Senate Majority
Leader — who make the real decisions in government. Often, the real players in
government are the agency bureaucrats — the people behind the scenes.