EDITORIAL: Doing the People’s Business?

By The Roanoke Times, Va.

Feb. 4–Have you ever wondered what makes legislators do inexplicable things?

Why, for instance, would the General Assembly rush to mandate that school-aged girls get a vaccine that could prevent cervical cancer just months after its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration?

Why would the House of Delegates ignore the clear will of the overwhelming majority of Virginians who want a ban on smoking in restaurants, passing instead a joke of a bill that will end even the requirement for nonsmoking sections in restaurants?

Why would both the House and the Senate ignore the testimony of former payday lending managers about the predatory and exploitative nature of that usurious industry and pass only mild and meaningless “reforms” rather than a cap on interest rates that would have effectively shut down the industry?

In each instance, the answer is the same: Lobbyists were at work.

Merck — maker of the new vaccine that protects against a common sexually transmitted disease that often leads to cervical cancer — has been pushing legislation around the nation to require girls entering middle school to have the vaccine.

All the better to head off potential competitors, especially if you can get the vaccine’s brand written into the bill.

Philip Morris is stepping up its lobbying against smoking restrictions in the state, according to The Washington Post. Last year, it gave more than $250,000 to Virginia candidates and political action committees.

Payday lenders reached even further into their pockets than the tobacco industry, giving nearly $400,000 to state lawmakers, concentrating most of it on those serving on committees that would handle legislation to restrict the industry.

These special interests have every right to attempt to influence legislation — with few impediments, given Virginia’s wide-open campaign finance system.

But ordinary Virginians should take note when legislators appear time after time to ignore the common good in favor of generous and self-serving special interests.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Roanoke Times, Va.

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