This Week in Washington
- Feb 27, 2007 - comment
UPDATE: House Committee to Hold Hearing on Lobbying Reform Bill; Grassroots Communications Not Necessarily Safe
The House Judiciary Committee’s Constitution Subcommittee will hold a hearing Thursday, March 1 on ethics reform legislation that passed the Senate after striking a section that would have severely encumbered grassroots communications.
S. 1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007, as introduced in the Senate, included a section that would have required most grassroots organizations to submit detailed quarterly reports on all communications with congressional staff and concerned citizens. Fortunately, the Senate approved, on a 55-43 vote, an amendment by Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT) to strip the harmful section from S. 1 before passage of the bill in January.
The fear is that some House members, at a later date, could try to reinsert regulations on grassroots communications into the bill.
If you think organizations should be able to inform you on pro-family issues without having to report their activities, please tell your congressman that you oppose any legislation that places onerous restrictions on grassroots lobbying.
FDA Regulation of Tobacco Legislation Could Save Untold Number of Lives
Congress could pass legislation this year that would allow the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the marketing, labeling, sale, and distribution of tobacco products and thereby save untold numbers of children from allurement to lifelong tobacco addiction and premature death from tobacco-caused illnesses.
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (S. 625/H.R. 1108), introduced February 15 with 30 Senate cosponsors and 97 House cosponsors, has strong, bipartisan support and a likelihood of passage early in the 110th Congress.
For years, the FDA has had regulatory authority over products such as foods and safety devices to protect Americans from unforeseen dangers. Tobacco companies, however, continue to receive special treatment, undergoing little oversight.
The Senate and House passed virtually identical legislation in the 108th Congress by large margins, but it was killed in a conference committee.
Dr. Richard Land, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission’s president, testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on Tuesday, February 27, urging Congress to give the FDA oversight of tobacco companies. Dr. Land’s testimony can be accessed here.
If you would like to end special treatment for tobacco companies and help prevent them from marketing to children, please urge your senators and congressman to cosponsor the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (S. 625/H.R. 1108).
Further Learning
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