Developing Policy through Legislation: A Description and Analysis of Agricultural Laws in the United States

Hanson, S.I.R. (1976). Developing Policy through Legislation: A Description and Analysis of Agricultural Laws in the United States. IIASA Research Memorandum. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: RM-76-063

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Abstract

Legislation is the primary vehicle for the realization and execution of policy objectives.

An awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the existing framework of laws facilitates the implementation of new policies. This paper examines the fundamental agricultural legislation in the United States to determine implicit or explicit legislative methods which have been enlisted in pursuing policy goals. The analysis reveals legislative conflicts and contradictions which are counterproductive to efficient policy implementation and suggests that effect agricultural regulation has been hampered by the tendency of legislators to rely too heavily on out-moded laws to solve current problems. Each major piece of legislation administered by the United States Department of Agriculture is discussed in terms of its stated policy objectives, its potential ancillary uses, its formal structure and legislative mechanisms, and its impact in achieving policy goals. For reasons of convenience, the classification of Acts into policy groups corresponds generally to those headings used in the Compilation of Statutes published by the United States Department of Agriculture. However, it is recognized that the multiple purposes of each Act makes these categories inaccurate.

This paper considers only those Acts which are directly relevant to the agricultural process and does not encompass environmental and commercial legislation which may indirectly affect agricultural activities.

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