Center on Regulation and Economic Growth

The Center on Regulation and Economic Growth was a research project of the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution. The Center was involved in a number of projects that supported the tobacco industry. Robert W. Kasten, former Senator from Wisconsin, was Chairman of the Center on Regulation and Economic Growth for the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution (AdTI).  Kasten and AdTI assisted the tobacco industry in fighting the Clinton Administration's proposed Health Security Act in 1994. Merrick Carey (then president of AdTI) wrote on February 8, 1994 to David P. Nicoli of Philip Morris,

"Our three key executives, Cesar Conda, Bruce Bartlett and myself, will run this campaign and will devote the full energies of our operation and its consultants to this task. We plan to activate our key Advisory Board members, including Jack Kemp, Robert Kasten, Dick Armey, Michael Boskin and others to mount a public awareness campaign immediately (see enclosed list of Center on Regulation and Economic Growth participants)."

The enclosed list showed the committee members were at that time: Chairman: Robert Kasten Senior Advisory Board: Rep. Dick Armey Michael Boskin Gov. John Engler Dr. Arthur Laffer Sen. Trent Lott Congressional Advisory Board: Rep. Tom Delay Sen. Lauch Faircloth Rep. Joe Knollenberg Rep. Jan Meyers Sen. Don Nickles Sen. Larry Pressler Rep. Dick Swett Sen. Malcolm Wallop Business Advisory Board: Emil Assentato, Tradition Inc. John Paul Galles, National Small Business United Roger Stone, Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly Ronald Utt, Novecon Academic Advisory Board: Prof. Michael Darby, UCLA Dr. Thomas Duesterberg, Hudson Institute Dr. Robert Genetski, Genetski and Associates Prof. Thomas Hopkins, Rochester Institute of Technology

On May 17, 1994 Cesar Conda (AdTI) sent a fax to the Tobacco Institute (TI) for Bill Orzechowski (Chief Economist at TI) with attached the final draft of a report called 'The EPA and the Science of Environmental Tobacco Smoke'. This 25 page report was written by S. Fred Singer as president of the Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP) and Kent Jeffreys as an Adjunct Scholar of the 'Center on Regulation and Economic Growth' of AdTI. In the fax, Conda asked TI to review the draft with their lawyers but to keep the changes minimal. Conda also promised to approach for the 'Academic and Science Advisory Board': Michael Darby, Michael Boskin, Thomas Hopkins, Kip Viscusi, Richard McKenzie and Ken Chilton. The first three are all members of the 'Center on Regulation and Economic Growth'. Mr. Conda asked Bill Orzechowski to contact Tollison and some other people (if possible scientists, epidemiologists etc.)

The final version of the pro-tobacco junk science report was called : "Science, economics, and environmental policy: a critical examination". This 70 page document was published by AdTI on August 11, 1994 and only written by Kent Jeffreys (but nothing is mentioned about his position as Adjunct Scholar). Principal Reviewer was S. Fred Singer. Michael Darby and Thomas Hopkins were on the Academic Advisory Board while Cesar Conda, Bruce Bartlett, and Merrick Carey were Senior Staff and Contributing Associates.

See also AdTI-Funding

Other AdTI Projects

 * American Immigration Institute
 * Committee for the Common Defense
 * Focus on Agricultural Regulation and Markets (FARM)
 * International Monetary Fund Assessment Project
 * Teacher Choice
 * Opportunity Africa

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