Pacific Research Institute

The Pacific Research Institute (PRI) or officially the "Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy," is a think tank founded in 1979 whose stated vision is the promotion of "the principles of individual freedom and personal responsibility. The Institute believes these principles are best encouraged through policies that emphasize a free economy, private initiative, and limited government." The institute is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, and had $4.9M in revenue in 2005. The Pacific Research Institute has associated with other think-tanks like the American Enterprise Institute and the Cato Institute.


 * Former President - William H. Mellor

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
PRI's Director of Health Care Studies, John R. Graham, spoke at a Workshop at the 2011 American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Annual Meeting. The Workshop was titled, "Rationing By Any Other Name: Medicare's Independent Payment Advisory Board." According to his biography on the PRI webpage, he is also a "Senior Fellow of the National Center for Policy Analysis, Adjunct Scholar of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, and member of the Board of Visitors of the Benjamin Rush Society of medical students and physicians." ALEC, Pacific Research Institute, the National Center for Policy Analysis, and the Macinac Center are all members of the State Policy Network, which was one of the sponsors of 2011 ALEC Annual meeting.

The Pacific Research Institute also has ties to several ALEC "task forces," including the Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force, the Health and Human Services Task Force, the Education Task Force, and the Civil Justice Task Force.

John Clemens, former research director, is listed as private sector member of the Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force representing PRI at the 2010 Spring Task Force Summit and John Graham was listed as a speaker/advisor at that same meeting. Graham gave a report titled, “What ObamaCare Means for State Budgets.”

John Graham has also represented PRI on the Health and Human Services Task Force. He gave a presentation on his book Medical Tort: Ranking in the 50 States to the task force at the 2010 Annual Meeting.

Vicki Murray, former Education Studies Senior Policy Fellow, is a member of the Education Task Force. At the ALEC 2010 States and Nation Policy Summit she presented “10 Questions State Legislators Should Ask About Higher Education.”

Lawrence McQuillan, Director of Business and Economic Studies, has participated in the Civil Justice Task Force. He was part of a presentation on ranking state tort systems, the “2010 Tort Liability Index,” during the 2010 Annual Meeting.

Please see SPN Ties to ALEC for more.

PRI and the tobacco industry
In February 1987 Philip Morris executive Roy E. Marden sent a memo to other PM staff following a discussion with the then PRI President Chip Mellor "concerning their project on advertising and the market process." Marden noted the project was partially funded by Philip Morris."

In 1998 Philip Morris was canvassing possible organizations that might be an ally in its Youth Smoking Prevention programs. A memo from Roy Marden described the Pacific Research Institute as "I am vice chairman of this SF policy group. They have recently begun an effort on child development/reduction of welfare dependency/etc., & I could explore with them if/where YSP could be involved. We are long-time donors."

PRI and Healthcare
PRI head Sally Pipes, a Canadian residing in the United States, frequently speaks and writes against universal health care. Her bio lists as healthcare topics she had addressed "the false promise of a single-payer system as exists in Canada, pharmaceutical pricing, solving the problem of the uninsured, and strategies for consumer-driven health care." She also authored a 2004 book titled Miracle Cure: How to Solve America’s Health Care Crisis and Why Canada Isn’t the Answer.

On the FOX News show "The O'Reilly Factor" on January 10, 2007, Pipes spoke against California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to provide all state residents with healthcare. She warned that, "[I]f we provide health insurance, just like we provide welfare and education for illegal aliens, think about people that are illegal in other states. We're going to get a huge influx of illegal immigrants into California. And that's going to make it even more expensive [than the current system]." 

On December 26, 2011 Pipes posted the article "Doctors Say Obamacare is No Remedy for US Health Woes," to Forbes. In the article Pipes claims that nearly two-thirds of doctors expect the quality of care in this country to decline. Pipes cites the a recent survey done by the consulting giant Deloitte as evidence to her claims, but does not include the survey in her article. Forbes contributor Rick Ungar responded to Pipes with the article "Koch Brothers Financed 'Research' Institute Steps Up Misleading Obamacare Attacks," in which Unger finds that Pipes incorrectly analyzed the survey results.

PRI and Water Policy
PRI is based out of California, and has been involved in the water policy debate in that state. A publication released by PRI in December of 2008 suggested that the "problem for California is not lack of [water] supply but uneven distribution." PRI criticized California's current plan for facilitating distribution, which was based on state funded water projects. Instead, PRI suggested that distribution would be more properly managed through water markets, with consumers paying for water as any other consumable good.

Areas of Work
The PRI think tank lists the following as their goals:
 * Education – to provide all students with access to a quality education
 * Business and Economics – to strike down barriers to economic growth and innovation
 * Health Care – to provide better quality and access to health-care while lowering costs
 * Technology – to identify and limit harmful government regulation in the technology sector
 * Environment – to sustain the trend toward a cleaner environment

They said these were their accomplishments in 2006:
 * Reached an audience of more than 475 million through print and online outlets throughout the year
 * On average, more than 100 articles citing PRI’s research published each month, 1,254 in total
 * Articles placed in all of the top 10 daily newspapers in the nation and in all papers nationwide, including USA Today, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post.
 * Website page visits totaled over half a million, with 1.3 million pages viewed
 * Reached more than 40 million through radio and television nationwide

Staff
As of 2007 :
 * Sonia Arrison, Senior Fellow, Technology Studies
 * K. Lloyd Billingsley, Editorial Director
 * Cindy Chin, Events Manager
 * Jason Clemens, Director of Research, Strategic Planning, and Budgeting
 * Karen Chreston, Vice President of Finance and Administration
 * Adam Frey, Policy Fellow, General Studies
 * John R. Graham, Director, Health Care Studies
 * Steven F. Hayward, Senior Fellow, Environmental Studies
 * Rowena Itchon, Vice President for Marketing
 * Lance Izumi, J.D., Director, Education Studies; Senior Fellow in California Studies
 * Amy Kaleita, Policy Fellow, Environmental Studies
 * Nomi Deutch, Associate Director for Marketing
 * Lawrence J. McQuillan, Ph.D., Director, Business and Economic Studies
 * Vicki E. Murray, Ph.D., Senior Policy Fellow, Education Studies
 * Sally C. Pipes, President and CEO

Former Staff

 * Daniel R. Ballon, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Technology Studies

Board of Directors
As of 2013 :
 * Clark S. Judge, Chairman, Managing Director, White House Writers Group
 * Sally C. Pipes, President & CEO, Pacific Research Institute
 * Thomas C. Magowan, Secretary/Treasurer, Club Minibar, Inc.
 * Katherine H. Alden, Owner Woodside Hotels & Resorts
 * Robert J. Ernst, III, Attorney at Law
 * James T. Farrell, Managing Director, Calera Capital, LLC
 * Peter C. Farrell, Ph.D., AM, President and CEO, ResMed
 * Daniel M. Kolkey, Partner, Gibson Dunn
 * Hon. Daniel Oliver, Chairman Emeritus, Senior Advisor, White House Writers Group
 * Sandra Gale McGuire, Partner, McGuire & Associates, LLC
 * George M. Savage, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Proteus Biomedical, Inc.
 * Ted Ullyot, Vice President and General Counsel, Facebook
 * Richard A. Wallace, Consultant, Freedom Communications
 * Christopher Wright, President & CEO, Liberty Resources, LLC

Former Board Members

 * F. Christian Wignall, former Vice Chairman, Capstan, LLC
 * Katherine E. Boyd, Interior Designer
 * James B. Hawkins, President & CEO, Natus Medical, Inc.
 * Christine Hughes
 * Nersi Nazari, Pacific General Ventures, The Hasbun Nazari Charitable Trust
 * Daniel Oliver, Chairman Emeritus
 * Jean R. Wente, Wente Vineyards

Emeritus Board Members

 * Frank Baxter
 * Lisa Guillermin Gable
 * David H. Keyston

Core Financials
 2011 
 * Total Revenue: $4,706,288
 * Total Expenses: $4,904,662
 * Net Assets: $3,450,596

 2010  :
 * Total Revenue: $3,923,123
 * Total Expenses: $5,257,310
 * Net Assets: $3,601,719

 2009  :
 * Total Revenue: $4,707,728
 * Total Expenses: $4,962,507
 * Net Assets: $4,834,041

Funding
According to Media Transparency, PRI obtained 117 grants totalling $8,904,800 (unadjusted for inflation) from foundations between 1985 and 2005.

In 2003 PRI states that 50% of its income came from foundations, 13% from corporations and the remainder from individuals. It lists foundation and corporate supporters who contributed over $10,000 in the 2003 financial year as:

Corporations

 * Altria
 * ChevronTexaco
 * Cypress Semiconductor
 * Exxon Mobil Corporation
 * Freedom Communications
 * Microsoft
 * Pfizer
 * PhRMA
 * SBC (now AT&T)
 * Verizon
 * White House Writers Group

Foundations

 * Anschutz Foundation
 * Bernard Lee Schwartz Foundation
 * Capecchio Foundation
 * Center for American Unity
 * Charles G. Koch Foundation
 * Chase Foundation of Virginia
 * D & DF Foundation
 * D & D Foundation
 * David and Annette Jorgensen Foundation
 * Dean Witter Foundation
 * Earhart Foundation
 * Farrell Family Foundation
 * Girard foundation
 * Hugh & Hazel Darling Foundation
 * Lilly Endowment
 * Lynder and Harry Bradley Foundation
 * Milbank Foundation for Rehabilitation
 * Philip M. McKenna Foundation
 * Ruth & Lovett Peters Foundation
 * Sarah Scaife Foundation
 * Templeton Foundation
 * The Gleason Foundation
 * The Hickory Foundation
 * The Little River Foundation
 * The San Francisco Foundation
 * Walton family Foundation
 * Weiler Foundation
 * William E. Simon Foundation
 * William H. Donner Foundation

The conservative Capital Research Center (CRC) Spotlight project provides some additional, though a little dated, information on PRI's major funders. CRC lists the Lilly Endowment as having contributed $175,000 annually between 1999 and 2002 (inclusive). 

Contact Details
San Francisco Headquarters 755 Sansome Street, Suite 450 San Francisco, CA 94111 Tel 415-989-0833 Fax 415-989-2411 Web:http://www.pacificresearch.org/

Case Studies

 * Center for Medicines in the Public Interest

External Resources

 * Roy Marden, "YSP Ally possibilities", Bates No 2069615360, October 22, 1998.
 * Roy E. Marden, "Pacific Research Institute Advertising Project", Bates Number: 2023646840, February 26, 1987.
 * Pacific Research Institute Competitive Enterprise Institute, "CA Think Tank Releases White Paper Criticizing Lockyer for Suing the EPA", Press Release, December 8, 2003.
 * "Attorney General's vs. the EPA, December 2003.
 * Pacific Research Institute, Pacific Research Institute 2003 Financial Profile], 2004.
 * Media Transparency, Pacific Research Institute for Public policy, undated, accessed October 2004.
 * Capital Research Center, "Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, undated (approx 2002), accessed October 2004.
 * Sally C. Pipes interview, "California Seeks Free Healthcare for Immigrants," The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News, January 10, 2007.
 * Evelyn Pringle, "Protection Racket? The FDA and Avandia," CounterPunch, August 15, 2007.