Briefly : In memory of Lee Metcalf
By Lance Olsen, New West Unfiltered 5-23-08
"Some, such as the National Coal Council, appear to be little more than corporate lobbying wings with special access to top agency officials. 'What we need is openness and transparency in these advisory committees so that we can feel that what they tell us is credible,' said Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat. 'I don't think FACA, as written, has gone as far as its framers hoped in diminishing the influence of industry,' agreed David Vladeck, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center."
"Were he still alive, Sen. Metcalf would likely be appalled—but not terribly surprised—by the fate of FACA. During his 1971 testimony, he warned that industry held 'a favored position' in the advisory process, raising the specter of a 'corporate state.' And he posed a question that remains relevant: 'Do we want the government to be open to all, or do we want it closed to all but elite industrialists?'"
http://www.publicintegrity.org/shadow/report.aspx?aid=974 [End of article]