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“Special and Other Interests”
by J. Winston Porter
(As published in the Austin American Statesman on 5/22/00)

Vice President Al Gore now mimics his new best friend, Sen. John McCain, in insisting that we reform the government to get the “special interests” out of Washington, D.C., and return government “to the people.” This is a phony distinction. We are all part of some special interest.

As a former regulator with the Environmental Protection Agency and a longtime environmental consultant, I can say from experience that your interests, special or otherwise, better be represented with Congress and the executive branch.

The reason is simple. Legislators and regulators can have a powerful impact on your life or business, ranging from taxes, to health care, to education, to the environment.

So, just which special interests would Al Gore kick out of Washington? Perhaps it would be the teachers’ unions who lobby against school vouchers? Or environmental groups arguing for funds to fight global warming? Or minority representatives who want affirmative action?

Or maybe we rid Washington of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, who lobby for federal aid to cities? What about the AARP, which wants more health-care money for seniors?
None of these special interests is going anywhere, and Gore knows it. If we want to reduce the influence of such groups in Washington, or Austin, it’s very simple. Just reduce the power of federal and state governments. Don’t hold your breath on this one.

Let me give you a few real-world examples of dealing with special interests from my days as an assistant administrator with the EPA.

My responsibilities included deciding which waste materials were to be labeled as hazardous. These decisions were highly controversial and could have had a huge impact on various businesses and other groups. Also, branding materials as hazardous or not is a long way from an exact science.

For example, I could have declared wastes from oil exploration and production as hazardous, almost wiping out small producers, without making much environmental improvement, because there are already lots of regulations affecting such operations. I was lobbied on this by big oil, small oil, service stations dealers, municipalities, and numerous environmental groups.

The lobbying was actually helpful because I got a lot of technical information on the subject.

Or, I could have labeled used automobile crank case oil as hazardous. Sounds good, but I received lots of angry input from cities complaining that such labeling would stigmatize their oil recycling programs. It also turns out that some oil recycling companies wanted oil to be called hazardous, while others did not, depending on their particular methods of operation.

I also had responsibility for municipal solid waste management programs.

One more example: I could have written national regulations mandating fixed amounts of trash recycling, as Germany and others have. Sure recyclers and environmentalists would have loved this, but many cities, states, and businesses didn’t because recycling requires quite a lot of flexibility due to market changes. I ended up setting a non-regulatory goal of recycling 25 percent of our trash, which was reached a few years ago.

Much of the information lobbyists provide is highly technical and resources are needed to play in this game. Some of the “comments” I received on complex regulations would run to hundreds of pages.

Many people have this image of Washington as a hot bed of Gucci-loafered, fat-cat lobbyists plying people like me with three-martini lunches. The truth is we are in a very competitive market place of ideas and interests, all of which are valid. Its called free speech.

All of us are a member of one or more special interests: retired people, educators, small or large business, environmentalists, organic farmers, whatever. Unless we greatly reduce the power of Washington, you better be in there pitching your ideas yourself or through your representatives.

So, Mr. Vice President, which special interests must go home? And when will the “real” people arrive who aren’t part of any dreaded special interest?

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Porter is president of the Waste Policy Center in Leesburg, VA.