LIADA Newsletter April 2002
SECRECY IN THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION
The first time he went on the public payroll as governor of Texas in 1995m George W. Bush demonstrated a strong preference for conducting taxpayers' business in private. Recently, various Bush Administration initiatives have combined to dramatically reduce the power of individuals to keep their affairs secret from the government. Yet at the same time, the administration has repeatedly denied the public basic information about how the government is conducting its affairs at home and abroad.
• President Bush is trying to keep secret the names of attendees and information involving meetings of his energy task force. The work of this task force involved more than discussions among White house staffers. The panel sought and obtained recommendations from energy company executives only, who have crucial interests at stake in the country's energy policies. They included representatives of Enron Corp., Bush's major political benefactor and, since its collapse, a major source of misery for thousands of former employees. We already know the President appointed two people recommended by former Enron Chairman Ken Lay to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Everyone who drives a car, turns on a light switch, or pays taxes has a right to know who was giving advice and the advice given.
• Hiding behind a bogus claim of openness, Bush issued new rules that will greatly complicate the Presidential Records Act, a post-Watergate law intended to ensure the release of administration papers 12 years after a president leaves office. Reagan documents were due for public release this year. Instead, bush replaced Reagan's rules with new roadblocks that allow a designated representative of a dead or incapacitated president the right to assert executive privilege in the president's name, strip the Archivist of the United States' right to overrule former presidents' executive privilege claims, and give the current president an indefinite period to review those decisions. Administration opponents and critics of government secrecy believe Bush may be attempting to shield members of his administration who also served under Reagan, including Colin Powell, Gail Norton, and Bush's own father from embarrassing revelations. The government belongs to all of us, not just a selected group on a White House invitation list. The administration's program amounts to a giant "trust us." But that raises the troubling question of whether the administration has earned our trust.
- Ruth Shalom
ADAction: Write your Congressperson, Senators, and newspapers to express your outrage.
Rx PROFITEERING
Bayer's reported wholesale price for anthrax drug Cipro, for U.S. buyers who pay out of pocket
$4.67
Bayer's usual price for Cipro sold to U.S. government
$1.77
Bayer's new discounted price for 1st 100 million pills sold to the U.S. government
$0.95
Average price that 3 generic firms offered to the U.S. and that some federal programs already pay Bayer
$0.41
Maximum estimated cost of Bayer's real incremental cost to make more Cipro
$0.20
Price of generic copy of Cipro sold by some international drug distributors
$0.05
Prepared by D. Socolar and A. Sager, Boston Univ. SPH
Sources: G. Harris, Wall Street Journal, 26 Oct. 2001;
S. Vedantam, Washington Post, 26 October 2001
YEARS OF EFFORT PAY OFF - CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM IS LAW
For the past seven years, campaign finance reform has been the subject of countless articles in this newsletter, a ubiquitous entry on any list of ADA legislative priorities, and the target of hundreds of action alerts to our grassroots. And now, thanks to the refusal of countless Americans to let this issue go away, campaign finance reform is set to become law.
To applause for the visitors' gallery and beaming smiles from a bipartisan crowd of pro-reform Senators, the Senate voted 60-40 to sent the House-passed Shays-Meehan reform bill to President Bush. Bush disappointed many of his Big Money -dependent Republican colleagues by announcing his intention to sign the legislation into law.
The triumph of the reform bill is bold refutation of the cynical attitude that nothing good ever comes from our "fiercely partisan, out of touch" lawmakers on Capitol Hill. With strong, consistent backing from ADA and others, Reps. Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Martin Meehan (D-MA), along with Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Russell Feingold (D-WI), spent years doggedly leading the uphill battle to clean up the money-drenched campaign finance system.
Special thanks goes out to ADA leader Leon Shull, who consistently fought for campaign finance reform to be a top priority for ADA, even in the early years before it became a hugely popular issue.
Although the foes of reform will surely not let this issue die, vowing to file suit in federal court, we can look at the fight for reform as a shining example of successful grassroots lobbying. By not being discouraged and continuously pounding away on Congress, we proved that democratic action can still work.
KEEP PUSHING FOR HATE CRIME BILL
As Congress goes back to their home districts for Spring recess, we must ensure that they hear our loud calls for new, stronger anti-hate crimes legislation.
The law we are pushing for is the bipartisan "Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act" (LLEEA), which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee last year and came achingly close to passage in previous years. LLEEA (S.625/HR 1343) now has a solid 51 cosponsors in the Senate and 206 in the House. Senate majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) recently committed to bringing it to the Senate floor before Memorial Day.
ADAction: As Senators return to their home turf, call their home offices, make appointments to see them, or write letters to your local newspapers about the need for LLEEA. The law places more minorities under federal hate crimes protection and assists local authorities in combating hate violence.
PLEASE PAY YOUR DUES FOR 2002
Send your check of: $45 for single; $60 for family membership and $25 for limited income. Please mail check to:
LONG ISLAND ADA .
44 South Dr., Great Neck, NY 11021.