THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2010


KLMNO THE FED PAGE


THE INFLUENCE INDUSTRY Dan Eggen


Feeling the sting of Chinese ‘honey launderers’ W


ashington is buzzing over an unusual lobbying push by the U.S. honey


industry, which is asking the federal government for help amid lower domestic honey production and a flood of cheap imports from China.


With vocal assistance from


Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), U.S. beekeepers, honey producers and packers are pressing the Obama administration to crack down on “honey launderers” in China who ship the product through third countries to avoid the sting of anti-dumping duties. Industry groups and some


PHOTOS BY SARAH L. VOISIN/THE WASHINGTON POST


Activists from Common Cause and Public Campaign, with actors dressed as the Founding Fathers, march into the foyer of the Podesta Group lobbying firm to protest corporate campaign fundraising.


‘Founding Fathers’ stage finance protest Activists demand


lawmakers stop raising funds from corporations


by Carol D. Leonnig Washington watchdogs dressed


as Founding Fathers “stormed” the marble foyer of a powerful downtown Washington lobbying firm, demanding that members of Congress stop meeting behind closed doors to raise money from corporate lobbyists and instead spend their time working on laws to help the American public. Security guards held off the campaign finance activists at the elevator banks along with the his- torical figures accompanying them — Betsy Ross, George Wash- ington and Benjamin Franklin, actors dressed in wigs, brocade costumes and buckled shoes. Meanwhile, the lobbying work of the prominent Podesta Group hummed along on the ninth floor. The troupe targeted the Po- desta Group because it represents some of the biggest names in cor- porate America, including BP, Lockheed Martin and Bank of America, and frequently hosts the campaign fundraisers that activ- ists were protesting. On Wednesday, congressional


lawmakers and party committees were scheduled to raise money for their campaigns at 87 separate fundraisers. “As a founding mother, I have to


say I’m so disappointed that there seems to be less and less time for the good members of Congress to do the people’s work,” said an ac- tor portraying Ross. “I hear there are 87 fundraisers in Washington today!”


“Shame! Shame!” yelled the ac- tivists from the pro-public financ- ing groups Common Cause and Public Campaign. Behind them was a massive banner in Olde English font: “Declare Independ-


lawmakers are also pressing the Food and Drug Administration to establish a national “standard of identity” for honey to ensure that products are 100 percent pure, rather than diluted with other sweeteners to cut costs or evade import restrictions. But honey advocates complain


that the FDA and other federal agencies have swatted away their concerns. “A standard for honey would


protect consumers because they’d get what they’re paying for, and it would protect legitimate producers,” said Bob Bauer, executive vice president of the New Jersey-basedNational Honey Packers and Dealers Association. “But it’s not a priority for them.” FDA officials have said


Nick Nyhart, center, president of Public Campaign, speaks at the Podesta Group building about the need for fair elections.


ence from Big Money.” The protesters are rallying sup-


port for “Fair Elections Now,” new legislation proposed by two Dem- ocrats and a Republican that would allow lawmakers to raise money from small-dollar donors in their district and qualify for public matching funds. Sen. Rich- ard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and Reps. John B. Larson (D-Conn.) and Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.) argue the legislation would help end Con- gress’s reliance on corporate cash. “It’s time we take the ‘for sale’


sign off the Capitol lawn,” said Bob Edgar, Common Cause presi- dent. The Podesta Group lobbies for


BP, responsible for the oil spill cri- sis in the Gulf of Mexico; its lobby- ists have hosted 53 fundraisers in recent years, including four since the April 20 spill, according to fundraising data compiled by the Sunlight Foundation. Spokespeople for two lawmak- ers who were beneficiaries of those recent fundraisers, Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D- Fla.) and Glenn Nye (D-Va.) said their Podesta lobbyist-hosts never lobby them on BP concerns, and wouldn’t have gotten much trac- tion if they had.


But the head of the Podesta Group said Wednesday he, too, is weary of the current campaign fi-


nance system. “My first job in Washington was working for John Gardner at Common Cause,” Tony Podesta said. “I would hap- pily endorse any effort to ban lob- byists from raising or giving polit- ical contributions.” The protest was later repeated


at the Capitol Hill Club, a Repub- lican social club where 870 fund- raisers have been held in the 2010 campaign cycle, according to a Washington Post analysis of fund- raiser invitations kept by Sun- light. The timing of fundraisers has caused some awkwardness, and even ethical questions. On May 12, for example, oil company exec- utives, including BP’s chairman, Lamar McKay, appeared before the House Energy and Commerce Committee to discuss the gulf spill. About an hour earlier, House Republicans had gathered a few blocks away for an “oil and gas breakfast” fundraiser with indus- try members to benefit Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Tex). The House Office of Congres- sional Ethics is investigating eight lawmakers who held fundraisers or raised significant funds from fi- nancial firms within hours of a major key House floor vote in De- cember 2009 on regulatory re- form of financial services firms. leonnigc@washpost.com


Health-care site highlights options by N.C. Aizenman


Maybe you are a 21-year-old woman who has just graduated from college in Ohio and haven’t found a job yet. Or you are a 49- year-old unemployed man with high blood pressure who lives in West Virginia. How would you know what insurance options you have under the new health-care law?


A Web site that the Obama ad-


ministration unveiled Wednes- day aims to give everyone the full range of public and private health insurance plans available to them based on their individual circum- stances. Users of the site — Health-


Care.gov — will not need to di- vulge personal information such as their name, address or income. Instead, the site asks a series of questions including age, Zip code, job status and degree of dif- ficulty affording health insur- ance, then uses a person’s an- swers to produce a detailed list of potential coverage options from among 5,500 private plans as well as the full array of federal and state programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The woman, for example, would be advised of six options, including a list of nearby clinics


offering free or low-cost care. The man would have eight options, including a new state-based in- surance program for people un- able to get regular coverage be- cause of pre-existing conditions. The site, whose creation was


mandated by the health-care overhaul law adopted in March, also allows users to see how those options will change in coming years as various provisions of the law take effect. This could make it a useful component of the White House’s efforts to sell the public on the law. However, during a preview demonstration Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the most immediate goal was to ensure that small-business owners and workers who are currently un- able to get insurance through their jobs are aware of resources and new stopgap measures that can tide them over until the law’s broader safety net is put in place. “This is an incredibly impres- sive consumer tool,” said Sebeli- us, adding that the site is capable of providing tailored responses to about 3 billion individual scenar- ios. “This information can give folks choices that they just didn’t have any idea they had available to them.”


Sebelius said the site may help


expand coverage to the estimated 5 million children who qualify for the Children’s Health Insurance Program or Medicaid but who are not being served, often because their parents are unaware of the benefit. The site also inaugurates a sub- stantial change in the private in- surance market. Until now, con- sumers buying on the individual market and small-business own- ers shopping for group plans on behalf of their workers have largely had to do their own re- search or rely on brokers who work on commission and may be unwilling or unable to divulge the complete list of private plans available.


By allowing consumers to


make side-by-side comparisons of all the options they potentially qualify for, the Web site could help them ensure they are getting the best possible deal, noted Se- belius.


Such evaluations will be more easily done starting in October, when the site will list prices for each plan and feature user- friendly charts comparing plans according to measures such as their deductible and co-pay lev- els. For now, users must click on links to the insurer to get pricing information for any given plan. aizenmann@washpost.com


Watchdog report released The former third-ranking U.S. postal official improperly used his office to conduct personal business. B3


previously that a national purity standard for honey would tax the abilities of an already overstretched agency. FDA spokesman Ira R. Allen said the request is “under consideration in the context of other agency priorities.” The push for action comes at a


difficult time for the U.S. honey industry, which is grappling with a mysterious affliction known as “colony collapse disorder” that has decimated the honeybee population in the United States. Domestic production last year was down 12 percent, to 144


million pounds, according to the Agriculture Department; more than 200 million pounds of honey was imported, much of it from China and other Asian locales. The only problem: Many of those countries, including India, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia, have no history of significant honey production. U.S. officials believe most of the honey probably originates in China and is sent through other countries to avoid the tariff. China has been the target of a


honey duty since 2001 in retaliation for repeatedly dumping underpriced honey onto the U.S. market, according to federal officials. U.S. trade experts say Chinese companies evade the penalties by using third countries as transit points; mislabeling honey or diluted honey as malt sweetener or syrup; or using fly-by-night importers to ship the product and then disappear before paying duties. U.S. producers also raise health concerns: Earlier this month, the FDA announced the seizure of 64 drums of imported Chinese honey in Philadelphia that was contaminated with a potent antibiotic not approved by the agency for use in food. “Why would we allow China to just dump whatever honey they can’t get into Europe or anywhere else into the United States?” asked Richard Pasco of McLeod, Watkinson & Miller, who lobbies on behalf of several major U.S. honey producers. The industry’s five major trade groups banded together in 2006 to formally request a national


“This is just one more example of China playing by


its own rules.” — Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.)


purity standard for honey from the FDA, but so far the agency has not acted. Two industry groups, the National Honey Board and the True Source Honey Initiative, have launched public relations campaigns this year urging the agency to act and extolling consumers to purchase only pure honey. “A legal definition on the books is something that is needed to help successfully prosecute anyone who is caught trying to sell honey that is mixed with a cheap sweetener or is not 100 percent pure honey,” said Bruce Boynton, chief executive of the honey board, which operates under the oversight of the Agriculture Department. “A standard of identity would serve as a warning to dishonest individuals who try to cheat consumers and undermine beekeepers and honest companies.” The issue has received additional attention in recent months from the voluble Schumer, who is not usually associated with agricultural issues. New York ranks 12th in the nation for honey production, and is also one of the country’s top beekeeping states, the senator’s office says. Honey also fits into Schumer’s broader critique of Chinese trade practices. He and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) are crafting legislation that would increase the ability of the Commerce Department and other U.S. agencies to crack down on shady imports, including honey. “This is just one more example


of China playing by its own rules to the detriment of [everyone] else,” Schumer said in a recent statement, adding: “The federal government ought to issue a stinging rebuke to these practices, and level the playing field for U.S. honey producers.” eggend@washpost.com


S


A13


AN OPEN LETTER TO THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS TASK FORCE ON CIRCUMCISION


ATTN: Susan Blank, M.D., Ellen Plummer Buerk, M.D.,Douglas S.Diekema, M.D., Steven E.Wegner, M.D., Waldemar A. Carlo, M.D.,Michael Brady, M.D., Lynne G.Maxwell, M.D., AndrewL. Freedman, M.D., SabrinaCraigo, MD, Peter Kilmarx, M.D., A. Atwood, M.D., EdZimmerman


In April 2010, the Bioethics Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) astonished the world with a new Statement1


calling for a relaxation in


the federal law prohibiting all forms of female genital cutting (FGC).TeStatement suggested that pediatri- cians should be able to perform a ‘ritual nick’ on the clitoral skin of young girls whose parents – for cultural reasons – might otherwise subject them to more exten- sive ritual genital surgery as traditionally practiced in certain areas of Africa and theMiddle East.


Inthe Committee’s justification of its newpolicy, it stated:


“…many forms of female genital cutting are less extensive than the newborn male circumcision commonly practiced in the West.”


Tanks to the tens of thousands of messages sent to the Academy by outraged opponents of FGC, including Intact America’s constituents, the Academy reversed its call for relaxing female genital cutting laws. In a letter toGeorganne Chapin, Executive Director of Intact America, dated June 2, 2010, AAP’s ExecutiveDirector Errol Alden, MD, confirmed the retraction, and cited: “Te AAP does not endorse the practice of offering a ‘clitoral nick’.”Te letter also quoted AAP President Judith Palfrey, MD, as saying “…it is important that the world health community understands [sic] the AAP is totally opposed to all forms of female genital cutting, both here in the U.S. and anywhere else in the world…Te AAP’s goal is to protect the health and well-being of all children.”


Dr. Palfrey continued, “One good thing to emerge is that this discussion has shone [sic] a bright light on this issue and raised the world’s awareness about this harm to young women.”


Intact America asks, “Hasn’t this discussion shined an even brighter light on the issues of the genital cutting of all children?”


TeAAP’s current statement on newborn male cir- cumcision, issuedMarch 1999, considers the practice – like female genital cutting in countries where it is customary – to be part of a cultural, religious and ethnic tradition, rather than a medical intervention. It also states that “pediatricians must always resist deci- sions that are likely to cause harm to children.”


Clearly, the Academy has now placed itself in a very difficult position: attempting to justify surgically altering the genitals of boys for cultural reasons, while having just roundly condemned the surgical alteration of girls’ genitals for cultural reasons.


Tecontradictions evinced by the Academy’s issuing, and then quickly repudiating, an ill-considered female genital cutting policy has exposed its longstanding his- tory of having ignored the harms of male circumcision.


Even stranger, the Academy is currently engaged in an utterly confounding process; aTask Force is currently meeting to consider whether to actually recommend circumcision for normal, healthy baby boys in the United States.


Tis would be an extraordinary betrayal of the Academy’s goal to protect all children equally.


Enough is enough! Intact America calls upon the AAP to adopt a position acknowledging that both girls and boys have the right to an intact body, that they be free from genital cutting by doctors or any other ritual practitioners – and to recommend that pediatricians NOT engage in the cutting of children’s genitals.


Ultimately this is a gender equity issue - and therefore one of basic human rights. If it’s not right to cut the normal genitals of baby girls, how can it possibly be right to cut the normal genitals of baby boys?


In our shared goal to protect “all children,” we at Intact America call upon you, the members of the Task Force on Circumcision, and the general mem- bership of the American Academy of Pediatrics, to have the courage, wisdom, and integrity to declare that physicians stop cutting ALL children’s genitals.


Georganne Chapin ExecutiveDirector Intact America


1 “Policy Statement. Ritual Genital Cutting of Female Minors, Committee on Bioethics, Pediatrics Online version, April 26, 2010;


published in print version of Pediatrics, May 2010.


www.intactamerica.org


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