USA

WARNING: This site deals only with the corporate corruption of science, and makes no inference about the motives or activities of individuals involved.
    There are many reasons why individuals become embroiled in corporate corruption activities - from political zealotry to over-enthusiastic activism; from gullibility to greed.
    Please read the OVERVIEW carefully, and make up your own mind.

OPINION ONLY

A public relations and lobbying firm set up by Patricia Bario, an ex Media Liason aide at the Carter White House. She provided the organisational structure behind a couple of think-tanks and policy organisations. Specifically, the Coalition Against Regressive Taxation (CART) and the Friends of Commercial Speech, Inc. — both of which were used as fronts by the tobacco industry.

She seems to have excelled in the organisation of coalitions of industries with similar problems — especially those with dangerous products facing advertising bans, and those trying to block the use of excise taxes to raise revenue.

Some key documents

• Lobby firm of 512 Eleventh Street SE Washington Fax 202/544-0966

1966 June 16: Patricia Bario works as a staffer for the Senate Antitrust and Monopoly Subcommittee.

1977 Oct 3: Patricia Bario is in the Media Liason office of the White House under President Jimmy Carter.

1978 April: A press bulletin from the White House... suggests that [Health] Secretary Joseph Califano is on the outs with President Carter and that Califano will resign within a year. Ms. Patricia Bario, Carter's associate press secretary, described Califano and Carter's relationship as "extremely "close" and said. Califano has no plans to leave in the next 12 months.

1985 August:

PAT BARIO...former deputy White House press secretary under President Carter, and briefly press secretary for Geraldine Ferraro, has opened Patricia Bario Associates at 1213 Clement Place, Silver Spring MD 20910 - 301/565-5184, according to Jack O'Dwyer's Newsletter.

    She says her principal client is the National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence, and that she will move to downtown DC in the fall.

1985 Dec 1:
    Patricia Bario Associates has sent this cartoon to Brown & Williamson [This came from a Patricia Bario Associates file]. She must now be working for the tobacco industry.

1986: Radio & TV News Directors Association (RTNDA) Convention in Salt Lake City. She is registered as being from Silver Springs MD

1987 Sept 30: Patricia Bario is now the contact for press-releases from the Coalition Against Regressive Taxation (CART)

1989 Jan 3: Patricia Bario Associates has devised a public relations plan for Coalition Against Regressive Taxation (CART). It is being circulated to the Tobacco Institute and other associated organizations.

    This copy appears to be in draft form — and it is being edited by Tobacco Institute staff before distribution. [Although it concentrates on alcohol, not on cigarettes]

    At the Tobacco Institute, Debbie Shoonmaker receives suggestions for improvement to the plan from higher up that

• Jim Savarese as our economist may have additional substantive ideas
• What does Bill O[rzechowski] recommend?
• Who are CART's spokespersons
• Our ed.grps [editorial groups?] may have ideas for CART to become more visible during this Congress.

More and more newspapers are refusing to carry op-ed pieces unless they are by-lined by a local resident. Therefore, member organizations would write first drafts of pieces and ask members or affiliates in targeted areas to offer the pieces, under a local by-line, to the paper.

    Assignments will be divided among CART members. Pieces would be by-lined by truck drivers, university professors, the head of the Beer Drinkers of America chapter, etc.

1989 Jan 23: Patricia Bario to the Coalition Against Regressive Taxation (CART) subcommittee:

The CART vice presidents have signed off on the total public relations plan we created for them, The option they selected under "Outreach to new members of Congress" was to invite to a breakfast all members and/or their staffer who will handle taxes.

1989 Sep 8: Patricia Bario advises the Tobacco Institute and others about a Coalition Against Regressive Taxation (CART) meeting. Those present were

• ATA [American Trucking Associations] — Ken Stinger and Ken Simonson [Note Tom Donahue was also involved]
• A-B [Anheuser-Busch] — Selim Bingoi
• Tobacco Institute — Debbie Schoonmaker
• PBA — Pam Jenkins and Patricia Bario

The consensus was that this session [of Congress] we face little danger of a excise tax hike to raise significant sums to fight the deficit ($8-10 billion) or to fund the war on drugs. However, we need to watch out for a small hit ($1-3 billion) that might be needed to piece out a package to handle the deficit.

    If the tax package Ways and Means is working on falls apart — as it well could — all bets are off.

1990 March: The Public Affairs Management Plan of the Tobacco Institute contains a report by their Information Officer. INFOTAB [the international tobacco lobby group] had requested some information on Policy Resources Inc of Helena, Montana and staffer Margaret Matthews. who had requested information about teenage smoking issues and advertising.

I contacted Ms Matthews and received a letter describing Policy Resources, Inc. of Helena, Montana.

    The company is a communications and issues management consulting firm. They are under contract to Anheuser-Busch and the Friends of Commercial Speech.

    Because of the similarities between alcohol policy issues and tobacco policy and politics, the firm tries to stay abreast of developments in taxation and advertising.

1990 June 12: The Tobacco Institute has a computerized form letter trying to promote the idea that their interests are under attack by Al Gore and Joseph P Kennedy II to

• Professional athletes
• Olympic sports
• Amateur sports organisations

CONTRIBUTORS:lrt3 samf GWSG