James Tozzi

Dr. James J. Tozzi (also known as Jim Tozzi) was born in &plusmn;1938. He got his Ph.D. in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Florida. After spending some time in New Orleans he realized he would never make it playing jazz, Tozzi began working in Washington in 1964 at the Department of Defense, Office of the Secretary of the Army, where he worked on budget and strategic response issues. In 1972 he began working at Office of Management and Budget (OMB).


 * "[Tozzi] rose to OMB deputy administrator under Ronald Reagan. Under his directorship, the OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs was the gatekeeper for virtually all proposed regulations dealing with public health and safety. Tozzi was at the OMB when evidence arose in the 1980s that giving aspirin to children with flu symptoms increased the risk of Reye's syndrome, a potentially fatal complication. A federal health agency recommended that aspirin containers bear warnings, but Tozzi said he was not satisfied the evidence was good enough. It took years for activists and Congress to force the labeling issue -- years in which almost 200 children died of Reye's. Today, with labeling, the syndrome is extremely rare." (See Tozzi response below)

Jim Tozzi was the Deputy Administrator of OMB when he left the organization in 1983 at age 45.

Tozzi has been a member of the Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB) since 1992 and currently serves as chairman of the International/Energy Workgroup. The EFAB provides advice to the Administrator and Program Offices of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on "how to pay" questions for environmental protection.

In 1986 Thorne Auchter and James Tozzi founded Federal Focus, a Philip Morris-funded 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. At the end of 1991 Thorne Auchter founded the Institute for Regulatory Policy (IRP) as a subsidiary of Federal Focus and James Tozzi changed his focus to his company Multinational Business Services (MBS) founded around 1992. The "EPA Watch" of May 15, 1992 mentioned Jim Tozzi as the "director of the Washington-based Multinational Business Services Inc. (MBS)". At about the same time, Tozzi became involved in pro-tobacco activities for Philip Morris.

The 990 form of Federal Focus for 2002 (last available one on GuideStar) has four people listed as managers: Jim J. Tozzi (director), Barbara Tozzi (treasurer), William Kelly (secretary), and James Tang (vice president). Federal Focus still uses the same address in Washington that was also used for MBS. Tozzi, who played the coronet since age 7, still seems to like Jazz as the Federal Focus has their own jazz band for low-income children.

In 1996 Jim Tozzi, James MacRea and possibly also Thorne Auchter founded the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE)  of which Tozzi and MacRea are still a "Member of the Advisory Board". 

Tozzi was a major behind-the-scenes architect of the Data Quality Act (DQA) which he helped to become law in 2001.

Tozzi Response To Post Article on Reye's Syndrome(Source pgs. 305 & 309, Courting Change, a book published by the Public Citizen Litigation Group)

The Reyes Syndrome Rule Was Withdrawn From OMB Review By The Secretary Of HHS. The assertion that Jim Tozzi rejected the proposed Reyes Syndrome labeling is completely inaccurate. The facts are, as demonstrated in the record, as follows:

(1) Sept 20 1982    The Secretary of HHS sent a proposed labeling regulation to OMB.

(2) Nov 8 1982    The American Academy of Pediatrics announces" "Labeling aspirin-containing preparations as contraindicted in the treatment of influenza or chicken pox should be delayed until more conclusive evidence of the association of aspirin administration and Reye's Syndrome is shown by further investigation."

(3) Nov 18 1982   The Secretary of HHS withdrew the rule from OMB review.

The record clearly demonstrates that Tozzi did not delay the implementation of the review for years.

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Institute for Regulatory Policy
 * Smoking as a civic duty

Related Links

 * Stewart Fist, "The Sound Science Coalition", 2000?
 * "How Big Tobacco Defines Wireless and EMF Health Debates", Microwave News, November 2001
 * "Environmental Financial Advisory Board Newsletter: March 2002", Environmental Protection Agency,
 * "Jim Tozzi, Center for Regulatory Effectiveness", FederalTimes.com, November 11, 2002
 * "Jim Tozzi: On Jazz And OMB", The Federal Paper, November 18, 2002
 * "Steven J. Milloy: The &#8220;Junkman&#8221; Exposed", Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, December 2003
 * Chris Mooney, "Paralysis by Analysis, Jim Tozzi's regulation to end all regulation", Washington Monthly, May 2004
 * Rick Weiss, "'Data Quality' Law Is Nemesis Of Regulation," Washington Post, August 16, 2004.
 * Eric Bailey, "Activist Enlists Unlikely Ally in Bid to Legalize Pot," Los Angeles Times, July 18, 2005.

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