The Influence Of Heritage Foundation In The Process Of American Public Policy Decision

Think-tank is a kind of dependent institute acting as external brain for policy decision maker which can provide useful information, expert opinion and alternative plan. The development of think-tank in the United States is most mature in the world. Heritage Foundation is one of the most famous think-tanks in America, which was founded in1973. It plays a very important role in American political stage, and influences the public policy a lot. As a think-tank with obvious Right deviation ideology, Heritage Foundation stands more for the interests of Conservatives. Comparing with the academic institutions and contract research organizations, Heritage Foundation is known more as an advocacy think-tank. In order to influence the public policy making, Heritage Foundation not only pays many attention on short-term, medium-term and long-term study, but also makes great efforts in media campaigns and making statements on Congressional Hearing. For these, Heritage Foundation can guide the public opinion, promote public popularity and promote the formation of public policy by influencing congressman directly or indirectly. Heritage Foundation’s work acts, it gains high popularity, and makes statements on Congressional Hearing even more often than Brookings Institution which is celebrated by its neutral position and dispassionate look and RAND Corporation which is the biggest think-tank in the United States. However, there has no unified standard to assess the impact of think-tanks. For this reason, it is difficult to evaluate the impact of Heritage Foundation. By studying its media appearance and statements on Congressional Hearing of Heritage Foundation, comparing and analyzing the effect of Heritage Foundation on every level of society and every stage in public policy making may be of use to learn the impact of Heritage Foundation in American public policy making.