Chapter 9: The Bureaucracy
5/17/99

How far can a federal bureaucratic agency go in making rules and regulations? This is the central question for the Supreme Court in FDA v. Brown & Williamson, which is a case that will be decided in the 1999 Term of the Court. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken the lead in imposing regulations on tobacco products. Among the FDA's new mandates are a national minimum age for the purchase of tobacco products and a requirement that retailers check a photo ID for any purchaser who looks younger than 27. For decades, the FDA claimed a lack of authority to deal with tobacco products until new evidence released in 1996 showed tobacco companies knew of nicotine's addictive quality and manipulated its amount in tobacco products.

Last year, a federal appeals court ruled that the FDA had gone too far in imposing regulations on the sale and advertising of tobacco products. The appeals court basically ruled that the FDA could not substitute its policy judgements for those of Congress. Probably in May or June of 2000 we will find out if the Supreme Court agrees with that assessment. For more details on these federal court rulings go to Justices to Decide FDA's Role Over Tobacco at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/supcourt/stories/court042799.htm

1/14/99

President Bill Clinton created the National Performance Review on March 3, 1993. He appointed Vice President Al Gore as its leader. The review was largely staffed by about 250 federal career civil servants. In addition, some interns, state and local government employees on loan, and a few consultants were also engaged in the work of this interagency task force. According to the administration, The Reinventing Government initiative is the longest-running and most successful government reform effort in U.S. history. This initiative may well serve as the cornerstone for Gore's efforts in winning the presidency in the year 2000.

For more information about the initiative, visit Vice President Gore's National Partnership for Reinventing Government Web Site.

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