Bob Williams

Robert (Bob) Williams is the Founder and Senior Fellow of the Freedom Foundation, previously known as the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, a libertarian organization whose mission "is to advance individual liberty, free enterprise, and limited, accountable government."

Williams also serves on the board of the State Policy Network and is a "visiting fellow" at the Mercatus Center.

ALEC, the Freedom Foundation, the Mercatus Center and the State Policy Network have all received funding or assistance from Koch-related funds.

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
In August 2011, Williams received the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC's) Private Sector Member of the Year Award. He is listed as an ALEC "scholar" and has worked on several ALEC Task Forces, including the Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force in 2011.

Background
Williams is also a visiting fellow with George Mason University’s Mercatus Center State and Local Policy Project, a Charles Koch-funded project. He is also the president of State Budget Solutions, which partners with the Koch-funded Evergreen Foundation. He previously worked as an auditor for the Pentagon and Post Office. He served five terms in the Washington State Legislature and was the unsuccessful 1988 Republican nomination for governor in Washington state.

The Mercatus Center was founded and is funded by the Koch Family Foundations. According to financial records, the Koch family has contributed more than $30 million to George Mason, much of which has gone to the Mercatus Center, a nonprofit organization. Democratic strategist Rob Stein described the Mercatus Center as "ground zero for deregulation policy in Washington.” The Wall Street Journal has called the Mercatus Center “the most important think tank you’ve never heard of,”

The Mercatus Center has engaged in campaigns involving deregulation, especially environmental deregulation. Fourteen of the 23 regulations that George W. Bush put on his hitlist were, according to the Wall Street Journal, first suggested by people working at the Mercatus Center.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Mercatus Center
 * George Mason University