Well, last night was time, yet again, for another #DemDebate. The slate of candidates is finally getting smaller (poor Tulsi!) but the same bankrupt ideas remain. Even the “moderate” candidates on the stage last night advocated for a new, nationwide government healthcare entitlement program that would drain federal coffers and promise taxpayers a world of pain. TPA has written ([link removed]) extensively ([link removed]) on this issue, and long story short, you cannot lower the high prices of medical care in America without free-market reforms that allow consumers to do their due diligence and find the best providers at the lowest cost. We’ve even written ([link removed]) about pet healthcare, and no, we’re not barking
up the wrong tree with this seemingly-wacky issue. As it turns out, the human healthcare sector can learn from its veterinary counterpart and introduce some prices and competition into the system. But unfortunately, most of the candidates on the stage last night were all bark and no bite and didn’t talk about promising reforms that could actually improve healthcare in America. But stay tuned, as TPA continues to weigh in on this Democratic debate and future ten-candidate melees.

National Vaper Madness

In a shocking move that goes against all scientific data and all available evidence, President Trump introduced a ban ([link removed]) on flavored life-saving vaping products on Wednesday. These reduced-risk products, which are proven to be 95 percent safer than smoking products, ([link removed]) twice as effective as traditional nicotine replacement therapies ([link removed]) , and promoted by governments across the world, ([link removed]) represent the best possible chance to save the lives of tens of millions
of smokers across these United States. In fact, the best available data on this topic published in the top peer-reviewed scientific journal Tobacco Control estimates that a government strategy to encourage smokers to switch to e-cigarette use would result in 6.6 million fewer premature deaths over the next decade ([link removed]) . So, it is deeply troubling to see the Trump administration, which has prided itself on a pro-market deregulatory agenda, making such a radical proposal which will seriously damage public health in the United States.

This proposal seems to be driven by a slew of misinformation. Policymakers bizarrely seem to believe that vaping leads to smoking, and that smoking rates are increasing. Neither of these are true: according to preliminary FDA data, teen smoking has decreased by 28.4 percent in the last year alone ([link removed]) , the largest yearly decrease in history. In fact, since vapes were introduced in 2011, the number of high school students smoking has plummeted from 21.8 percent to 13.9 percent ([link removed]) , while ([link removed]) every ([link removed]) single ([link removed]) credible ([link removed]) study
([link removed]) has proven that vaping does not lead to smoking. Additionally, there’s a remarkably stubborn belief that “flavors” are used to entice youths to smoke. In fact, while flavors help adult smokers ([link removed]) make the switch ([link removed]) to vaping, they have no impact on whether or not teens choose to smoke ([link removed]) . Finally, the media reports of hundreds of teenage vapers suffering a “mysterious lung condition.” In fact, in every case the users were vaping black market THC ([link removed]) (the active ingredient in marijuana) products, bought on the streets and laced with vitamin E acetone as a thickening agent. Not a single person affected has been found
to have only used legal, regulated vaping products.

As such, this ban will do nothing to promote public health or reduce smoking rates by teens. The ban will only result in more people smoking combustible cigarettes ([link removed]) , and more people dying as a result.

Actually, that’s not quite true. It will have one more effect: hinder President Trump’s re-election chances. This ban is not just bad policy, it is bad politics ([link removed]) . Close to 3 million vapers in the 12 key battleground states of the 2020 presidential election say that vaping is a key issue for them. That is more than enough to easily swing the election if the Democratic nominee embraces science.

If enacted, this ban will cost the lives of millions of smokers throughout these states, and very well might cost President Trump his re-election. We at TPA certainly hope the president comes to his senses and reverses this dangerous and foolhardy course of action.


Shutdown Déjà Vu?

Crazy things aren’t just happening at the White House though. Over at the Capitol, it looks like members of Congress still can’t do the job we pay them to do and we are once again looking at the prospect of a government shutdown ([link removed]) . With a little more than two weeks left before the end of the fiscal year, it’s looking increasingly likely that our elected officials won’t be able to complete their work by the due date because they wasted the year on political grandstanding rather than, again, doing their job.

It’s certainly possible that they will agree on a continuing resolution, but this should be no cause for celebration. In fact, taxpayers should be terrified that, in order to secure a deal, members of Congress left, right, and center will be demanding more spending for their districts, handouts for their preferred special interests, and ridiculous demands to please activist donors as they gear up for the 2020 election cycle.

If Congress was serious about standing up for taxpayers, they would instead be doing something to take on our ever-burgeoning debt. Our federal debt, already at $22 trillion dollars ([link removed]) (more than $160,000 for each and every American household), has increased by a staggering $1 trillion this fiscal year alone. ([link removed]) All this new spending was enacted in a year when revenue went up by an estimated $300 billion ([link removed]) . Clearly, we don’t have a revenue problem – we have a chronic over-spending problem, and in a time of increased economic
uncertainty, our federal government must usher in spending reforms. There are plenty of excellent suggestions for reducing spending out there – including in TPA’s Roadmap to Fiscal Sanity ([link removed]) . Groups such as the Heritage Foundation have also proposed ([link removed]) hundreds of billions of dollars in spending reductions. With hundreds of sensible suggestions proposed by dozens of think-tanks and watchdog groups, lawmakers and the White House have no excuse for failing to get our fiscal house back in order.

Blogs:

Monday: Watchdog Group Praises Treasury Donor Disclosure Rule ([link removed])

Tuesday: New USPS, PRC Leadership Must Act Quickly to Save Agency ([link removed])

Wednesday: New US Space Command creates a black hole of waste ([link removed])

Wednesday: Watchdog Slams Trump Administration’s Vaping Ban ([link removed])

Media:

August 30, 2019: FDA Reporter mentioned TPA in their article, “Taxpayers Protection Alliance: Get behind gene therapy revolution.”

September 7, 2019: The Science Advice Goddess mentioned TPA in their article, “The New Black Plague Is the Black-Market One Killing Vapers.”

September 8, 2019: TPA Policy Director Ross Marchand appeared on the “Tim Jones Show” (KEZK 102.5; St. Louis, MO) to discuss healthcare reform and “surprise billing” issues.

September 10, 2019: TPA Executive Director Tim Andrews appeared on KHUL (Santa Barbara, CA) to discuss federal spending issues.

September 10, 2019: TPA Executive Director Tim Andrews appeared on KHUL (Santa Maria, CA), to discuss federal spending issues.

September 10, 2019: The Washington Free Beacon mentioned TPA in their article, “Dems Want Donor Disclosures to the IRS for Intimidation Purposes, Critics Say.”

September 10, 2019: TPA Policy Director Ross Marchand appeared on “The Morning Briefing” (Sirius/XM POTUS Channel 124) to discuss spending issues in Congress.

September 10, 2019: TPA Policy Director Ross Marchand appeared on “Bill Martinez Live” (CRN Radio Network) to discuss spending issues in Congress.

September 10, 2019: TPA Policy Director Ross Marchand appeared on “Ox in the Afternoon” (KNSI 1450 AM; Minneapolis, MN) to discuss spending issues in Congress.

September 11, 2019: TPA Policy Director Ross Marchand appeared on the “Terry Maxwell Show” (KNZR; Bakersfield, CA) to discuss healthcare reform and “surprise billing” issues.

September 12, 2019: Catalyst ran TPA’s op-ed, “Lawmakers, Bureaucrats Need to End War on Video Games.”

September 12, 2019: The Detroit News ran TPA’s op-ed, “Vaping bans hurt adults smokers trying to quit.”

September 12, 2019: TPA Executive Director Tim Andrews appeared on WBFF (Fox; Baltimore, MD) to discuss budget battles in Congress.

September 12, 2019: The Hill quoted TPA in their article, “A vote for a broadband utility is a vote for a blank check.”

September 13, 2019: The Messenger (Fort Dodge, IA) ran TPAF’s op-ed, “A vote for a broadband utility is a vote for a blank check.”


Have a great weekend, and as always, thanks for your continued support.

Best,
Tim Andrews
Executive Director
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1401 K Street, NW
Suite 502
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx
www.protectingtaxpayers.org ([link removed])

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