More Bad News from President Obama’s 2013 Budget

When President Obama released his fiscal year 2013 budget on February 13, 2012, there were many nagging questions by taxpayers.  The budget predicted deficits as far as the eye could see with a feeble attempt at cutting spending (read more here).  What many people didn’t see was a step backwards in transparency with the budget secretly stripping three anti-lobbying provisions from last year’s appropriations bill.  One federal program ready to take full advantage is The Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) Prevention and Public Health Fund. The Prevention and Public Health Fund is no stranger to using taxpayer dollars to lobby for higher taxes and has already spent more than $1 billion towards “wellness programs.”  The Taxpayers Protection Alliance is very concerned that tax dollars may once again be used to lobby for bigger government (read press release here).

Passed and signed into law last December, the omnibus bill’s Section 503 states that “any activity to advocate or promote any proposed, pending or future Federal, State or local tax increase, or any proposed, pending, or future requirement or restriction on any legal consumer product, including its sale or marketing, including but not limited to the advocacy or promotion of gun control” is not allowed by groups benefitting from grant monies awarded through the Affordable Care Act’s Prevention and Public Health Fund.  This provision was necessary because grants given under The Prevention and Public Health Fund have promoted “counter-advertising” against products such as soda drinks, high-fat snacks, trans-fat, sodium and tobacco.  Additionally, these grants have recommended zoning changes to locate fast food restaurants away from schools.  Some funded activities have included:

1. $3,000,000 to label calories on restaurant menus in New York
2. $1,000,000 to the Boston Public Health Commission to “support the successful implementation of the state’s calorie posting regulation”
3. $63,265 to the Cascade Bicycle Club, Washington, for “Complete Streets” which will “emphasize that new and reconstructed roadways meet the safety and mobility needs of all travelers…”

Despite the fact that the program is restricted from financing lobbying activities, grant money was awarded to the state health department in Wisconsin to hire lobbyists to push a “wellness” agenda at the local level.  According to CDC’s website, “Applicants should be aware of restrictions on the use of HHS funds for lobbying of Federal or State legislative bodies. Under the provisions of 31 U.S.C. Section 1352, recipients (and their sub-tier contractors) are prohibited from using appropriated Federal funds (other than profits from a Federal contract) for lobbying congress or any Federal agency in connection with the award of a particular contract, grant, cooperative agreement, or loan.”

On top of the loss of personal freedom, taxpayers can’t afford programs that waste money and are not accountable. President Obama should keep his word and expand transparency in government, not destroy it. Taxpayers deserve to know how their tax dollars are being used and taxpayers don’t want their hard earned money to be used to lobby and expand government.