The federal government is spending money, in violation of the law, to lobby for higher taxes on soda, George Will reports:
In Cook County, Ill., according to an official report, recipients using some of a $16 million CDC grant "educated policymakers on link between SSBs [sugar-sweetened beverages] and obesity, economic impact of an SSB tax, and importance of investing revenue into prevention." According to a Philadelphia city Web site, a $15 million CDC grant funded efforts to "campaign" for a "two-cent per ounce excise tax" on SSBs. In California, an official report says that a $2.2 million CDC grant for obesity prevention funded "training for grantees on media advocacy" against SSBs. A New York report says that a $3 million grant was used to "educate leaders and decision-makers about, and promote the effective implementation of . . . a tax to substantially increase the price of beverages containing caloric sweetener." The Rhode Island Department of Health used a $3 million grant for "educating key decision-makers to serve as champions of specific . . . pricing and procurement strategies to reduce consumption of" SSBs. In government-speak, "educating" is synonymous with "lobbying."
Clearly some of the $230 million in CDC/CPPW anti-obesity grants was spent in violation of the law, which prohibits the use of federal funds "to influence in any manner . . . an official of any government, to favor, adopt, or oppose, by vote or otherwise, any legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation."
