Frontiers of Freedom

The Frontiers of Freedom Foundation, Inc., operating "simply as" Frontiers of Freedom (FF) was founded in 1996 by Republican ex-Senator Malcolm Wallop of Wyoming, a Yale University graduate.

Mission
According to the organization's web site, "Frontiers of Freedom is a cutting-edge, forward-looking policy group advancing center-right principles in today's fast-paced news and information age. We work with grassroots activists throughout the country to protect private property rights, secure our national security, and promote sensible public policies critical to our country's liberty.

"Frontiers oversees the work of six public policy centers and four websites. Each year, we publish thirty Policy Perspectives, brief analyses of issues of public concern, and six Science Reviews, easy-to-understand critiques of the intersection between science and public policy. We regularly brief Members of Congress and the Administration on important policy matters. We also regularly hold press briefings, host conferences, and write strategic op-eds for publication across the country on issues central to our mission.

"Since our founding, Frontiers has grown from a start-up organization with big ideas to a preeminent think tank that is making a real and tangible difference advancing common sense ideas for government. One of our greatest sources of pride has been our position on the front lines in the battle to make a national missile defense system a reality. Our efforts earned us a seat across the table, literally, from President Bush on the day he announced our withdrawal from the ABM Treaty. In addition, we have both provided and received briefings from Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and his Deputy Paul Dundes Wolfowitz. We are proud to be considered an asset to the national security community during these times of serious global insecurity."

Public policy centers
FoF groups its work under the banner of six "policy centers":
 * Center for Constitutional Government
 * Center for Economic Liberty and Property Rights
 * Center for National Security and Defense
 * Center for Free Market Environmentalism and Conservation
 * Center for Civic, Family, and Societal Progress
 * Center for Science and Public Policy

Funding
Frontiers of Freedom has received money from tobacco and oil companies, including Philip Morris Cos, ExxonMobil and RJ Reynolds Tobacco.

Exxon Funding
According to a 2003 New York Times report, "Frontiers of Freedom, which has about a $700,000 annual budget, received $230,000 from Exxon in 2002, up from $40,000 in 2001, according to Exxon documents. George Landrith, President of FoF told the New York Times "They've determined that we are effective at what we do" and that Exxon essentially took the attitude, "We like to make it possible to do more of that".

Funding from Exxon includes:
 * 2002: $100,000 for the "Center for Sound Science and Public Policy" (sic), $97,000 for "Global Climate Change Outreach Activities", and a further $35,000 for "Global Climate Change Science Projects";
 * 2003: $95,000 for "Global Climate Change Outreach" and a further $50,000 for "Project Support - Sound Science Center";
 * 2004: $50,000 for "Climate Change Efforts", $90,000 for "Global Climate Change Outreach", $40,000 as "Project Support - Climate Change" and a further $70,000 for "Project Support- Science Center & Climate Change";
 * 2005: $50,000 for the "Annual Gala and General Operating Support" and a further $90,000 for "General Operating Support" ;
 * 2006: $90,000 for "General Operating Support" and a further $90,000 for the "Science & Policy Center" ; and
 * 2007: $90,000 for "energy literacy".

Foundation Funding
Media Transparency reports that FoF has also received some $580,450 in 25 grants between 1996 and 2005 from the following five conservative foundations:


 * Earhart Foundation
 * John M. Olin Foundation, Inc.
 * Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
 * Sarah Scaife Foundation
 * Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
 * Carthage Foundation

IRS nonprofit status
The IRS "Search for Charities" does show "Frontiers of Freedom Institute Inc.".

But on Guidestar.org, of the 3 "Frontiers of Freedom" nonprofits that come up in a search, none has an IRS Form 990 filing available more recently than 2006:
 * Frontiers of Freedom Inc, 12011 Lee Jackson Mem Hwy 3rd Fl, Fairfax, Va; EIN 52-1904528 ; founded in 1995 (No 990s available);
 * 501(c)(4) Frontiers of Freedom Foundation, PO Box 69, Oakton, Va; EIN 54-2050093; founded in 2003; Category (NTEE): International, Foreign Affairs, and National Security / (Alliance/Advocacy Organizations); 990s available for 2004 and 2006;
 * 501(c)(3) Frontiers of Freedom Institute Inc, 4094 Majestic Ln #380, Fairfax, Va; EIN 54-1773197; founded in 1996; Category (NTEE): International, Foreign Affairs, and National Security / (Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis); 990s available for 2003, 2004 and 2006;

The accounting firm preparing the FoFI and FoFF 2006 tax returns was Hendershot, Burkhardt and Reed, used by many like-minded groups. But oddly, the 2004 and 2003 returns seem to have the tax preparer blacked out.

Frontiers of Freedom and Tobacco
In a 1996 memo, Jeff Taylor of Frontiers of Freedom writes to Alexander Spears, of the Lorillard Tobacco Company to solicit funding. Taylor describes the activities in which Frontiers of Freedom engaged to attack the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's efforts to regulate the tobacco industry. The memo also shows how Frontiers managed to generate a clamor among Congressmembers seeking the praise from Fof, a relatively new group. Wallop writes,


 * One sure gauge of our growth took place recently when we presented 15 members of Congress with our 'Defender of Freedom' award. When we returned to the office, we had calls from a handful of other Members asking why they had not been recognized by Frontiers.

FoF Achievement: founder Wallop guest-hosts Armstrong Williams show
One of the "Achievements" Frontiers lists for 1996 was Wallop's guest-hosting of the Armstrong Williams talk show. Armstrong Williams was recently revealed to have accepted $240,000 in taxpayer funds from the George W. Bush administration to comment positively on his show about Bush's "No Child Left Behind" education act. A USA Today article about the scandal can be seen at http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-06-williams-whitehouse_x.htm

Other policy topics
Other policy topics on which Frontiers of Freedom was active include privatizing Social Security, privacy and anti-terrorism legislation (and, ironically, this was all back in 1996).

Board of directors
Directors do not appear to be listed on the ff.org website, as of April 2011.

Directors in 2006
FoF Inc's 2006 Form 990 reports FoF's directors as:
 * Grover Norquist
 * Randall Roe, lobbyist for Burns and Roe Group
 * Diemer True, "Casper WY independent oil baron and former politician", Independent Petroleum Association of America
 * Ronald Docksai, Council for Inter-American Security founder
 * J.A. Parker, president of J.A. Parker and Associates consulting firm, and (as of 1998) president of Lincoln Institute for Research and Education, Inc and of the Abraham Lincoln Foundation for Public Policy Research]
 * Joseph Schuchert, was board member of Salem Communications Holding Co.

Directors in 1998
Available from Greenpeace is a Jan. 1998 FoF document listing directors and brief bios, including Wallop, Parker, Schuchert, True, Lawrence A. Kudlow, and Ellen R. Sauerbrey (former Republican nominee for governor of MD; Columnist, talk show host, commentator; former national chair of ALEC).]

Staff, 2010
As of January 2010, the staff were:
 * George C. Landrith, President
 * Belinda Rankin, Vice President, External Relations
 * Miklos K. Radvanyi, Vice President, International Policy
 * Christopher C. Horner of CEI, as General Counsel and Senior Policy Adviser
 * Paul Georgia of CEI, Chief Economist and Executive Director of the Center for Science and Public Policy
 * Amrita Singh, Director of Publications
 * Aaron Lee, Director of Special Projects

Staff, earlier
Sometime previously (date?), the staff were: In July 2004 Aaron Lee was added to the 'staff' page and 2 people were no longer listed: Other alumni: (In 1998, Bouchey and Ebell represented FoF on the 1998 Global Climate Science Communications Team, whose leaked memo laid out plans for a climate disinformation campaign.)
 * Malcolm Wallop
 * George C. Landrith - President. Landrith was a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's Fifth Congressional District.
 * Jason Wright - Vice President. Challenged Rep. Christopher Cannon for the GOP nomination for Congress in Utah's 3rd District.
 * Kerri Houston - Vice President of Policy
 * Kimberly A. Martin - Director of Development
 * Amanda E. Telford - Director of Operations
 * Aaron "Al" Lee, Director of Special Projects
 * Robert Ferguson, former CSPP head, then head of Science and Public Policy Institute
 * S. Fred Singer, former Adjunct Fellow
 * Christopher C. Horner, former Senior Adjunct Fellow
 * Lynn Bouchey, circa Sept 2003
 * Myron Ebell was FoF policy director before joining CEI.

Consultants
According to FoF's Form 990s for 2004 and 2006, Willie Soon was paid $60,000 in 2004 and an unknown amount in 2006 as a consultant.

Contact Details
12011 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway 3rd Floor (Suite 310) Fairfax, Virginia 22033 Phone: (703) 246-0110 Fax: (703) 246-0129 Email: info AT ff.org Websites: http://www.ff.org and http://www.opinioneditorials.com/

Earlier in its life, FF hosted other but now defunct websites including http://www.SpinFreeNews.com and http://www.BanzhafWatch.com

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Global warming skeptics
 * Think tanks
 * L. Francis Bouchey

External resources

 * http://research.greenpeaceusa.org/?a=download&d=2558 List of FoF directors with brief bios, date unknown; from Greenpeace.

External articles

 * J. Lee, "Exxon Backs Groups That Question Global Warming", New York Times, May 28, 2003, page 5.

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