Imagine that you are a staff member at a lobbying group that has an interest in the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act of 2023
For this assignment you will write a policy brief on the topic presented below. The goal of the policy brief is to convince the target audience of the urgency of the current problem and the need to adopt the preferred alternative or course of action outlined and therefore, serve as an impetus for action.
TOPIC: Recognizing the environmental challenges caused by plastic pollution, the H.R.6053 Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act of 2023 was introduced to address plastic pollution. The goal of this federal bill is to “amend the Solid Waste Disposal Act to reduce the production and use of certain single-use plastic products and packaging, to improve the responsibility of producers in the design, collection, reuse, recycling, and disposal of consumer products and packaging, to prevent pollution from consumer products and packaging from entering into animal and human food chains and waterways, and for other purposes” ( https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/118/s3127/text?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss).
Overall, the bill aims to (1) hold producers responsible for plastic throughout its lifecycle; (2) reduce plastic waste, (3) encourage reduction of single-use plastics and improving plastic recycling systems; (4) promote innovation to find more sustainable alternatives to plastic products.
ASSIGNMENT: Imagine that you are a staff member at a lobbying group that has an interest in the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act of 2023. Your goal is to persuade a Congressman from Florida to vote with you on this bill. You can choose your position – for or against this bill. To achieve your goal, you will have to
(1) Conduct research to understand the issue of plastic pollution in the U.S.
(2) Read in detail what Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act goals are ( https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/118/s3127/text?utm_campaign=govtrack_feed&utm_source=govtrack/feed&utm_medium=rss)
(3) Conduct research to understand the economics implications of the bill, its cost-benefit (pros/cons) trade-off, and the different impacts it will have (both positive and negative)
(4) prepare a policy brief, in which you will use the research and data you find to relate the impacts of this bill to Florida and to persuade a Congressman from Florida to vote with you on this bill.
Therefore, this assignment requires you to take a position and argue for OR against the proposed Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act of 2023. The choice of position is completely up to you; however, you need to ensure that your position is well-supported by research and economic/quantitative evidence.
LENGTH: Your policy brief should be 3-4 pages single-spaced using a 12-point Times New Roman font and 1’’ margins, not including reference list or any figures/tables/graphics that you may include in the appendix.
EVALUATION CRITERIA: Policy briefs will be evaluated based (1) content in each section of the policy brief; (2) effective use of sound arguments for or against the bill using quantitative/qualitative facts that support your arguments; (3) policy brief structure and writing style (i.e., your policy brief should follow the structure outlined below, be well-written, well-formatted, without typos and English grammar errors); (4) proper citation of your sources.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION: As UF students, you can have access to almost all scholarly articles you can find on google scholar and you can access them through the UF library. In addition to scholarly articles, for this policy brief, you can use reports, white papers and reliable news sources. Remember that the facts you include in your policy brief should come from reliable sources.
CITING YOUR SOURCES: All sources of information used for the policy brief should be properly cited in text and in your reference list. Please see additional guidance on how to cite your sources here https://academic.oup.com/documentlibrary/ajae/guide.pdf
PLAGIARISM: Your assignment will be checked for plagiarism through Turnitin. Keep in mind that any information or thoughts that are not your own, need to be properly cited. This means that using information for a policy brief from a source without citing it, is considered plagiarism.
TIPS FOR WRITING A POLICY BRIEF: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/policy-briefs/; https://post.parliament.uk/how-to-write-a-policy-briefing/
STRUCTURE OF POLICY BRIEF & GRADING RUBRIC
[5 points] Policy brief structure: Please make sure to your policy brief includes the elements described below and uses the outlined structure.
Title: choose a relevant title for your brief.
[10 points] Executive summary: A short overview and summary of your policy brief, highlighting your position and key arguments/facts supporting your position.
[20 points] Background & Information Pertinent to the Issue: Context of the issue and an explanation of the problem and its significance. Provide background, current status of the issue and any policies that are already in place to address plastic pollution in the U.S. at the federal level or state level.
[20 points] Controversy related to the policy: Is this a controversial issue? Outline current debate about the issue, and/or data about the issue, reasons for urgency of the issue, how the plastic production and pollution impact various stakeholder groups, outline various interests involved in this issue of managing plastic pollution.
[20 points] Impact of the proposed legislation: What will be the impacts of the proposed bill? Will there be any groups within the US who may substantially gain or lose due to the bill? How will this bill impact stakeholders in Florida specifically? What are the benefits or drawbacks of the proposed bill? What are the costs and benefits associated with the bill? Do the costs outweigh the benefits?
[20 points] Recommendations: List reasons for why the Congressman you are lobbying should vote for or against the bill (this depends on the position you choose to argue). This should include arguments for why the bill would benefit (or would be detrimental/too costly) to the people living in Florida and in the US.
[5 points] References: Use endnotes or in-text citations.
Appendices (if any): any graphs, tables or figures should be placed in the appendix.
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