Federal “stimulus” money was used to illegally lobby local governments on behalf of new anti-smoking ordinances – efforts which were later covered up by the recipients of these taxpayer funds.
The revelations stem from a 2011-12 investigation launched by Cause of Action, a Washington, D.C. based organization that “advocates for government accountability.” Early this year, Cause of Action issued a report revealing that funding appropriated for the so-called “Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW)” program – part of the federal “stimulus” – was misused by grant recipients in Florence County, S.C.
In February 2010, the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) awarded $6 million in CPPW funds to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), the “Smoke Free Florence (SFF)” coalition and the “Horry County Breathe” coalition. According to the report, these funds “were used to illegally lobby city council members in support of a pending local smoke-free ordinance.”
Federal law prohibits congressionally appropriated funds from being used “to favor, adopt, or oppose, by vote or otherwise, any legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation.”
In South Carolina, Cause of Action found what it referred to as a “case study of corruption.”
The “pattern of corruption can most easily be traced through the example of South Carolina,” where grant recipients developed legislation with local council members in direct violation of federal law. Not only that, they sought to cover up their illegal activities.
“CPPW staff in South Carolina orchestrated a cover-up to alter coalition meeting minutes to depersonalize the involvement of the DHEC CPPW program coordinator in directing illegal lobbying activities in support of smokefree ordinances,” the Cause of Action report found.
“While the CDC later reprimanded the South Carolina recipients for their misuse of funds, they largely ignored that meeting minutes were scrubbed to change the appearance of impropriety, raising other potential legal issues outside of improper lobbying,” the report concluded.
This is shameful …
While this illegal activity occurred prior to her arrival at SCDHEC, we call on current agency director Catherine Templeton to launch an immediate internal investigation into this matter – and fire anyone responsible. We also call on U.S. Rep. Tom Rice to investigate this fraud at the federal level.
We said all along that the so-called “stimulus” was really nothing but a bureaucratic bailout (with borrowed money), but we had no idea that millions of stimulus dollars were being used to lobby local governments on behalf of left-leaning causes.
Of course in corrupt-as-hell South Carolina, illegal lobbying isn’t condemned … it’s accepted as the norm.
CAUSE OF ACTION REPORT (.pdf)
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32 comments
Smoke-free ordinances are absolutely retarded in many cases. There’s no reason government should be allowed to ban bars, restaurants, and other businesses from allowing people to smoke on their property. That decision should be left to them and they should reap the consequences of their choice.
Yep, I don’t go to places that your clothes stink due to the smokers in the restaurant/bar, etc.
which is exactly the attitude everyone needs to have… you don’t like it, don’t go there….but don’t use govt to try and eliminate the option.
However, the right to smoke ends when it interferes with my right to breath clean air.
Your right to enter a private business is the business owner’s right. They have the right to refuse service to anyone and you have the right to read a sign and decide to vote on that owner’s decision with your wallet and your feet.
I did along with many others and the business is closed now. Had good food but couldn’t put up with all the smoke from just a few that ruined it for the majority of the patrons.
Using that logic, a business could discriminate on any basis they wish. In fact that was the argument anti civil rights supporters used.
Yep.
It was a well-thought-out strategy by BIG GOV. First, ban them indoors and force them onto the sidewalks. Now they are working to ban them from the sidewalks. Wouldn’t have worked the other way around.
I hate cig smoke, I gag when I smell it on the sidewalk..Fresh air is nice why ruin it? Unless it has that nice tangy sweet smell, then I linger.
You might like to read how these same funds are being used to get smoking bans on campuses and in multi unit housing. STIMULUS money – CPPW named. How is THIS STIMULUS?
Smoke-free ordinances are absolutely retarded in many cases. There’s no reason government should be allowed to ban bars, restaurants, and other businesses from allowing people to smoke on their property. That decision should be left to them and they should reap the consequences of their choice.
Yep, I don’t go to places that your clothes stink due to the smokers in the restaurant/bar, etc.
which is exactly the attitude everyone needs to have… you don’t like it, don’t go there….but don’t use govt to try and eliminate the option.
However, the right to smoke ends when it interferes with my right to breath clean air.
Your right to enter a private business is the business owner’s right. They have the right to refuse service to anyone and you have the right to read a sign and decide to vote on that owner’s decision with your wallet and your feet.
I did along with many others and the business is closed now. Had good food but couldn’t put up with all the smoke from just a few that ruined it for the majority of the patrons.
Using that logic, a business could discriminate on any basis they wish. In fact that was the argument anti civil rights supporters used.
Yep.
It was a well-thought-out strategy by BIG GOV. First, ban them indoors and force them onto the sidewalks. Now they are working to ban them from the sidewalks. Wouldn’t have worked the other way around.
I hate cig smoke, I gag when I smell it on the sidewalk..Fresh air is nice why ruin it? Unless it has that nice tangy sweet smell, then I linger.
You might like to read how these same funds are being used to get smoking bans on campuses and in multi unit housing. STIMULUS money – CPPW named. How is THIS STIMULUS?
Feds would do better subsidizing ganja as a cash crop in the old tobacco fields of the PeeDee…
How much money did Senator Leatherman get?
Feds would do better subsidizing ganja as a cash crop in the old tobacco fields of the PeeDee…
How much money did Senator Leatherman get?
I saw where the faddists at USC (and C of C) are entertaining the idea of making their whole campuses “smoke free.”
Wait till the first girl is raped at 2 AM two blocks from her dorm at the closest “legal” place. Remember recently the young nurse who was run over at the edge of the street near the hospital because that’s where she was allowed to smoke?
Discourage smoking, certainly, but don’t be idiots about it.
I saw where the faddists at USC (and C of C) are entertaining the idea of making their whole campuses “smoke free.”
Wait till the first girl is raped at 2 AM two blocks from her dorm at the closest “legal” place. Remember recently the young nurse who was run over at the edge of the street near the hospital because that’s where she was allowed to smoke?
Discourage smoking, certainly, but don’t be idiots about it.
Did any of that money go to Greer (City of Greed,) SC 29651?
Did any of that money go to Greer (City of Greed,) SC 29651?
Ban alcoholic beverages also………but that will never happen, will it?????
Ban alcoholic beverages also………but that will never happen, will it?????
Excuse me but these funds should be REPAID back to the federal government for REAL STIMULUS (like jobs and not anti smoking jobs) AND this is a civil crime and civil penalties should be enforced. Why is NO ONE held accountable? Katheleen Sebelius should be asked to resign. If you read the CDC website on these CPPW grants, these people were TOLD to get legislation through, in fact there were target dates assigned to getting smoking bans and increased taxes on cigarettes.
Excuse me but these funds should be REPAID back to the federal government for REAL STIMULUS (like jobs and not anti smoking jobs) AND this is a civil crime and civil penalties should be enforced. Why is NO ONE held accountable? Katheleen Sebelius should be asked to resign. If you read the CDC website on these CPPW grants, these people were TOLD to get legislation through, in fact there were target dates assigned to getting smoking bans and increased taxes on cigarettes.