groups in order to avoid the typical criticism that stakeholder participation is dominated by business interests. Finally, this research argues that interest groups involved in the pre-proposal stage, no matter their affiliation, are very well positioned to impact the language of the rulemaking. On a theoretical this research strives to illustrate the effectiveness of Kingdon’s MSF in explaining the actions occurring within each stage of the rulemaking process. The conclusion that Kingdon’s MSF can be applied to the rulemaking process is not new, as both Golden (2003) and Rinfret (2011a) have noted the usefulness of this framework. However, their research focused solely on the pre-proposal stage, which does not provide a full understanding of the rulemaking process. Clearly, the rulemaking process does not end when a rulemaking is proposed in the and a multitude of factors continue to impact the rulemaking Federal Register, process, most notably politically appointed officials and interest groups in the final stage of the process. Therefore, focusing on the pre-proposal stage alone provides only an incomplete understanding of how Kingdon’s model applies to the rulemaking process. As a result, this research illustrates that elements of Kingdon’s model are indeed present throughout the rulemaking process and provide insight regarding why a rulemaking process unfolds as it does. In sum, we argue that Kingdon’s MSF is a beneficial model to explain the policymaking processes at the congressional and administrative levels. Considering the increasing role of agency rulemakings in producing national policy, scholars will begin to analyze these rulemaking processes and the players involved more frequently. Therefore, the schematic model in Figure 1-1 should help future scholars to apply Kingdon’s model to the rulemaking process and begin to explain how agencies across the bureaucracy are making policy decisions. More specifically, this research adds to Kingdon’s model by outlining the significant role that interest
groups in order to avoid the typical criticism that stakeholder participation is dominated by business interests. Finally, this research argues that interest groups involved in the pre-proposal stage, no matter their affiliation, are very well positioned to impact the language of the rulemaking. On a theoretical this research strives to illustrate the effectiveness of Kingdon’s MSF in explaining the actions occurring within each stage of the rulemaking process. The conclusion that Kingdon’s MSF can be applied to the rulemaking process is not new, as both Golden (2003) and Rinfret (2011a) have noted the usefulness of this framework. However, their research focused solely on the pre-proposal stage, which does not provide a full understanding of the rulemaking process. Clearly, the rulemaking process does not end when a rulemaking is proposed in the Federal Register, and a multitude of factors continue to impact the rulemaking process, most notably politically appointed officials and interest groups in the final stage of the process. Therefore, focusing on the pre-proposal stage alone provides only an incomplete understanding of how Kingdon’s model applies to the rulemaking process. As a result, this research illustrates that elements of Kingdon’s model are indeed present throughout the rulemaking process and provide insight regarding why a rulemaking process unfolds as it does. In sum, we argue that Kingdon’s MSF is a beneficial model to explain the policymaking processes at the congressional and administrative levels. Considering the increasing role of agency rulemakings in producing national policy, scholars will begin to analyze these rulemaking processes and the players involved more frequently. Therefore, the schematic model in Figure 1-1 should help future scholars to apply Kingdon’s model to the rulemaking process and begin to explain how agencies across the bureaucracy are making policy decisions. More specifically, this research adds to Kingdon’s model by outlining the significant role that interest
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