Has Lobbying made your Supplements dangerous?

Lobbying and lobbyists have long been a source of influence on government, whether it is on a local or federal level. Companies who want legislation passed or have an issue they consider important hire a lobbying firm that poses influences and has ties to the political spectrum. This is done to promote that companies agenda. Well, what if the supplements that are on the market were passed not because they are beneficial or even safe, but because a Senator was lobbied, and even influenced?

Senator Orrin Hatch (R) of Utah has long been considered one of the most powerful lawmakers. Utah has been called the Silicon Valley of Supplements. Senator Hatch also has ties to lobbyists. Hatch's son Scott is a named partner and registered lobbyist at Walker, Martin and Hatch LLC, a Washington lobbying firm. The firm was formed in 2001; the other two partners are Jack Martin, a staff aide to Senator Hatch for six years, and H. Laird Walker, who has been described as a close associate of the Senator's (Source Watch, 2008). The pharmaceutical industry that long has benefited from Sen. Orrin G. Hatch's legislative efforts has directed large sums of money to a charity he helped found -- and still raises money for -- while also hiring the Republican lawmaker's son as a lobbyist. This all came about, when a normally confidential tax filing was mistakenly released by the Internal Revenue Service to a nonprofit database last year. In March 2003, the Los Angeles Times quoted Senator Hatch as saying that the firm was formed with his "personal encouragement," and that he saw no conflict of interest in championing issues that helped his son's clients. He has also legislated for dietary supplements to be governed outside of the realm of drugs and food additives. When the FDA was reviewing the adverse effects of ephedra, Hatch defended the supplement industry. At the time, Walker, Martin & Hatch LLC were being paid, by companies with interests in ephedra manufacturing, for lobbying Congress (LA Times 2003).

In March 2009, the Washington Times reported that the pharmaceutical industry, which has "long has benefited from Sen. Orrin G. Hatch's legislative efforts," had previously undisclosed connections to Hatch. Five pharmaceutical companies and the industry's main lobbying group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), wrote checks in 2007 totaling more than $170,000 to the Utah Families Foundation, a tax-exempt charitable foundation which Hatch helped start in the 1990s and had vigorously supported since. Walker, Martin & Hatch LLC was paid $120,000 by PhRMA in 2007 to lobby Congress on pending U.S. Food and Drug Administration legislation (McElhatton, Seper 2009).

Scott Hatch has maintained he does not lobby his father even when it involves issues that Sen. Hatch is involved with. Sen. Hatch has admitted and finds no blurring of ethical lines. Everyone should help charity. Pharmaceutical and health-product companies already rank at the top of Mr. Hatch's political supporters, donating more than $1.25 million to his campaigns since 1998. Those donations are disclosed to the Federal Election Commission. In a Feb. 18, 2008, report to the IRS listing its 2007 revenue and expenses, the Utah foundation said Eli Lilly and Co. gave the charity $25,000; medical supply company Becton Dickerson, $25,000; Barr Pharmaceuticals, $30,000; AstraZeneca Pharm LP, $25,000; drug maker Sepracor, $27,500; and PhRMA, the major health-care lobbying group, $40,000. The donor information had been available on Guidestar.org, a nonprofit organization that gets public tax filings from the IRS and charities then posts the information online. However, the company removed the Utah foundation's donor information immediately after being contacted by The Times.

Some speculation has taken place whether Senator Hatch has such a proclivity to favor these companies and this industry due to his ties to Xango, a Multi Level-Marketing company that has health and supplement style products, or due to the fact that Utah is the “Silicon Valley of the Supplement Industry.” Xango LLC has been one of the top contributors to Senator Hatch’s campaign giving $48,200 in 2008 and $46,700 in 2006. To clarify, open secrets.org, a database and watchdog site states, “This table lists the top donors to this candidate in the 2007 - 2008 election cycles. The organizations themselves did not donate; rather the money came from the organization's PAC, its individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals' immediate families. Organization totals include subsidiaries and affiliates” (CRP 2009). This tie to the pharmaceutical and supplement industry is obviously a major influence on Senator Hatch’s lawmaking and has been one of the premier contributors to his campaign over his career. His ties to the pharmaceutical companies and supplement industry have deep roots and have obviously influenced his lawmaking and his ideals on supplements and the pharmaceuticals. The only information that was not found was Xango lobbying Senator Hatch but instead made significant campaign contributions and has found that Sen. Hatch has favor towards the supplement and pharmaceutical industry. Now, to be fair, these supplements are not harmful, but do not have to have any advantage. Many in the MLM industry have said that the important thing is the down line that is built, not the product. The product is only important in so far that is creates an income (David Griffiths, (personal communication, August 14, 2009). This does not mean that supplements can be of no nutritional value all the while making claims that they are the wonder fruit and miracle plant.
The issue is that it is up to the manufacturer to make sure these products are safe and effective, not the FDA, so there is no assurance they are safe or effective.

Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) supplements are regulated in a different way than food or prescription medication that has to be proven safe.

According to the FDA website, “Do manufacturers or distributors of dietary supplements have to tell FDA or consumers what evidence they have about their product's safety or what evidence they have to back up the claims they are making for them?
No, except for rules described above that govern "new dietary ingredients," there is no provision under any law or regulation that FDA enforces that requires a firm to disclose to FDA or consumers the information they have about the safety or purported benefits of their dietary supplement products. Likewise, there is no prohibition against them making this information available either to FDA or to their customers. It is up to each firm to set its own policy on disclosure of such information. For more information, see claims that can be made for dietary supplements” (FDA 2009).

“Various studies have found banned substances in 15-25 percent of supplements tested. Tainted supplements endanger health and risk athlete eligibility. When Red Sox slugger David Ortiz says he didn't knowingly use steroids and blames tainted supplements for his positive drug test in 2003, perhaps it sounds to you like blaming the dog for eating his homework. So maybe Ortiz is telling the truth, laughable as it may seem on its face. Even if he isn't, his case is an important reminder that a supplement doesn't have to be safe to be sold” (Meyer 2009).

Dehydroepiandrosterone, more commonly known as DHEA, is a substance found in over-the-counter supplements. This is not an illegal substance to possess or to consume. DHEA went before congress to be put on a banned substance list but never left committee. “Yahoo! baseball writer Jeff Passan… reported that Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, whose son is a lobbyist for a major DHEA production firm, killed the Senate bill attempting to reclassify DHEA” (Ziller 2009).

According to a press release from Senator Hatch he wants more regulation of supplements, but this does not seem to show in some of the laws. His press release reads, “Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) today welcomed the long-sought publication of good manufacturing practices (GMP) regulations for dietary supplements. Hatch and Harkin were the principal authors of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994, which gave the FDA the authority to write GMP guidelines specific to supplements, and they have been pushing the FDA to publish GMPs for more than a decade. “I can’t believe this day is finally here,” Hatch said. “GMPs are crucial because they assure the public that the products they are buying live up to their labels. That’s why we included GMPs in DSHEA. It took a long time to publish these GMPs, and they’re more than 800 pages. So I’m going to review them very carefully to make certain they are good regulations. But every indication leads me to believe the Administration was very sensitive to the impact the GMPs might have on the supplement industry, especially smaller companies.” “I am pleased that the Food and Drug Administration has, at long last, issued GMPs for dietary supplements,” said Harkin. “More than 150 million Americans regularly take dietary supplements. I look forward to reading this rule in its entirety, but it is my hope that these GMPs will increase consumers’ confidence that all dietary supplement manufacturers are adhering to the highest standards of quality. In the absence of FDA action, many companies have taken steps to adopt GMPs on their own, and I have applauded those steps. I hope that today’s announcement can build on that work” (Hatch, Harkin 2007).


Calls to Heather Barning Senator Hatch’s Press Secretary were not returned. A webform email on his website that was sent said he would reply by mail if contact information was provided.


















Source Watch, 2008 Taken From http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Walker_Martin_%26_Hatch Retrieved August 15, 2009
Chuck Neubauer, Judy Pasternak and Richard T. Cooper Los Angeles Times Mar 5, 2003 Taken From http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/300234371.html?dids=300234371:300234371&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+5%2C+2003&author=Chuck+Neubauer%2C+Judy+Pasternak+and+Richard+T.+Cooper&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=A.1&desc=The+Nation Retrieved August 15, 2009
By Jim McElhatton and Jerry Seper Monday, March 2, 2009 EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Hatch's secret drug firm links http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/02/the-fog-of-congressional-transparency/ Retrieved August 16, 2009
Copyright © 2009 Center for Responsive Politics http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=2008&type=I&cid=n00009869&newMem=N&recs=20 Retrieved August 16, 2009
FDA.gov Last Updated: 05/07/2009 http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/ConsumerInformation/ucm110417.htm#regulate Retrieved August 26, 2009

John Meyer. The Denver Post 8/11/09 http://www.denverpost.com/rockies/ci_13034036 Retrieved August 26, 2009

Tom Ziller. Fanhouse 2009 http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/08/06/steroid-rashard-lewis-tested-positive-for-completely-legal-in-ba/ Retrieved August 26, 2009

HARKIN, HATCH: GMPS KEY ASPECT OF DSHEA (2007)
Senators Welcome FDA Guidelines for Supplement Manufacturing http://hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.View&PressRelease_id=a3be409c-e2a8-4322-bce1-54080c548637 Retrieved August 26, 2009