1
Chapter
Sixteen:
Domestic
Policy
Learning Objectives
2
Describe and explain the significance of the
policymaking process and each of its stages:
 Agenda building,
 Policy formulation,
 Policy adoption,
 Policy implementation, and
 Policy evaluation.
Learning Objectives
3
 Discuss the rising cost of heath care and
provide several reasons for this trend.
 Identify which citizens are covered by Medicare
and Medicaid and how each of these federal
programs is financed.
 Explain how national health insurance works
and provide some international examples.
Learning Objectives
4
 Explain the main provisions of the 2010 Health
Reform Legislation. Articulate the reasons for
adopting this approach to health care reform
and the major objections to the legislation.
 Explain the origins of the modern
environmental movement and evaluate the
effectiveness of the major legislation (e.g.,
Clean Air Act of 1990; Clean Water Act of 1972;
Endangered Species Act) to improve the
environment.
Learning Objectives
5
 Explain what global warming is, basic
provisions of the Kyoto treaty, and the nature of
the political dispute over global warming.
 Identify the major challenges in constructing a
comprehensive energy policy in the United
States.
 Explain how energy policy is related to
environmental policy?
Learning Objectives
6
 Explain how the government determines
who is in a state of poverty.
 Briefly describe major government programs
to reduce poverty, including Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF),
Supplemental Security Income, food
stamps, and the earned income tax credit
(EITC).
Learning Objectives
7
 Compare and contrast the benefits and costs
associated with high rates of immigration.
 Give one or more reasons crime rates vary
over time.
 Define the incarceration rate and compare U.S.
incarceration rates with those of other nations.
The Policymaking Process
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 Agenda Building
 Policy Formulation
 Policy Adoption
 Policy Implementation
 Policy Evaluation
The Policymaking Process
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Health Care
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 Advanced Technology
 Government’s Role in Financing Health Care:
 Medicare
 Medicaid
 The Uninsured
 Uninsured
Employed
Health Care
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Health Care
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2010 Health Care Reform Legislation
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 New law on a combination of private insurance,
public programs like Medicare and Medicaid,
and new state-based non-profit health
exchanges to provide health insurance
coverage to almost all Americans.
2010 Health Care Reform Legislation
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Major provisions of the new health policy legislation:
 Requires all Americans who earn wages to have a
health insurance policy.
 Employers may purchase private insurance as they do
currently or, by 2017, participate in the state-based
exchanges as well.
 Eligibility for Medicaid will be expanded as will
insurance options for children of low-earning families.
 Prescription costs for seniors will be discounted
gradually until all their costs are covered.
2010 Health Care Reform Legislation
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The health insurance industry also received new
mandates:
 to insure younger Americans, up to age 26, on
their parents' policies.
 to not drop coverage for those who become ill.
 to eliminate lifetime limits on coverage.
Environmental Policy
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 Environmentalism:
 Conservation
 Preservation
 Environmentalist
Movement
 Ecology
Environmental Policy
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Cleaning Up the Air and Water
 The National Environmental Policy Act
 Curbing Air Pollution: The 1990 amendments to
Clean Air Act of 1963 led to a comprehensive policy
mandating cleaner air in urban areas.
 Water
Pollution: Clean Water Act sought to make
waters safe for swimming, protect fish and wildlife,
and eliminate the discharge of pollutants into the
water.
Environmental Policy
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Cost-Effective Solution:
 The Clean Air Act of 1990:
 As
a result of this law, air and water pollution is down
dramatically from what it was three or so decades
ago.
 Lead
content in the air is 3% of what it was.
 Sulfur
dioxide is down by four-fifths.
Environmental Policy
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 Other Environmental Issues:
 The
Endangered Species Act
 Global
 The
Warming
Kyoto Protocol
 The Global Warming Debate
Energy Policy
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 Energy policy: laws
that are concerned with
how much energy is
needed and used.
 Energy and the
Environment
 Nuclear Power—An
Unpopular Solution
Energy Policy
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Energy Policy
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Energy Policy
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 Alternative Approaches to an Energy Crisis
 Wind
Farms
 Hybrid Cars
 Energy efficient homes
 Cap and trade system
Poverty and Welfare
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 Income transfers: government transfers of
income from some individuals in the economy
to other individuals.
 Low Income Population
 Anti-poverty Budget
Poverty and Welfare
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Poverty and Welfare
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Basic Welfare:
 Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
(TANF)
 Welfare Controversies
Poverty and Welfare
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 Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
 Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
 Farm Subsidies
 Homelessness
Immigration
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 The Continued Influx of Immigrants: More than
a million people a year immigrate to this
country.
 Minority groups will constitute the “majority” of
America by 2060.
 Positives of immigration—offsetting the low
birthrate and aging population.
Immigration
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 Attempts at Immigration Reform
2006 Congress initiated, but did not pass, sweeping
legislation that would designate all illegal immigrants
as felons in the United States.
 Congress passed legislation authorizing the
construction of a 700-mile-long fence between the
United States and Mexico.

Immigration
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 Attempts at Immigration Reform (Continued)
 In
2010 Arizona passed a law that required state
and local police to check an individual's
citizenship or residency papers if they had been
stopped on suspicion of an offense.
Crime in the 21st Century
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 Crime in American History
 Committed by Juveniles: School Shootings
Crime in the 21st Century
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Crime in the 21st Century
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• The Cost of Crime to American Society
o
Prison Population Bomb:
 Incarceration
Rate
 International Comparisons
 Prison Construction
 Effects of Incarceration
Crime in the 21st Century
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Crime in the 21st Century
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Crime in the 21st Century
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 Federal Drug Policy: Money spent on federal
drug interdiction programs has not met with
much success, as illegal drug consumption in
the United States has remained steady.
 Confronting Terrorism: Counter-terrorism
strategies will necessarily be a part of federal
government policy for years to come.
Web Links
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 U.S. Census Bureau: reports current statistics
on poverty in the United States:
www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty.html.
 Federal Bureau of Investigation: since 1930
collects, publishes, and archives statistics from
the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program:
www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm.
What If…We Had Universal Health Care?
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 Today the United States has a private health
care system with about 40% of Americans
using government programs to pay for their
health insurance.
 Most wealthy nations have universal,
government-administered health insurance
systems, while the United States prefers a
private insurance model.
What If…We Had Universal Health Care?
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If a universal health care plan is implemented:
 Number of people without purchased health
insurance will increase.
 Number of those who do not have private
health insurance will increase.
 Burden on hospitals and clinics will increase.
 Costs to the government.
You Can Make a Difference—Doing Your Part:
Global Warming
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 Consensus exists among most scientists and
climate researchers that global warming is here
and will impact sea levels, rainfall patterns, and
snow and ice cover.
 Human beings probably are tipping the
ecological balance in the atmosphere with
increased population, deforestation, cars,
factories, and power plants.
You Can Make a Difference—Doing Your Part:
Global Warming
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Here’s what you can do:
 Switch to Energy Star fluorescent light bulbs.
 Try walking, taking public transportation, or riding a
bike.
 Recycle as much as possible.
 Buy recycled products and goods with less
packaging .
 Choose to buy green electricity, generated by wind
or solar power.
You Can Make a Difference—Doing Your Part:
Global Warming
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 Buy local produce.
 Educate yourself about global warming and
climate change.
 Let your elected representatives know you care
about global warming; urge them to support
actions to reduce pollution and save energy.
You Can Make a Difference—Doing Your Part:
Global Warming
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 Create a climate-friendly environment on your
college campus.
 Seek out and support nonprofit groups that
support green legislation.
You Can Make a Difference—Doing Your Part:
Global Warming
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 Clean Air–Cool Planet: can help develop a
Campus Climate Action Plan Toolkit, available
to anyone who is interested in making colleges
more climate-friendly. For more information, go
to www.cleanair-coolplanet.org.
 Focus the Nation: offers information on how to
plan events to get your campus involved,
contests promoting creative solutions, and to
participate politically. For more information,
contact: www.focusthenation.org.