TO PASS THE KIND OF LANDMARK LAWS THAT FUNDAMENTALLY change society means that you will have to take on, and then overcome, the most powerful special interests. This can lead you into a lonely battle, often against members of your own party whom you otherwise like and admire. But it’s essential never to be intimidated or discouraged. One consequence of the conservative campaign against government has been a rise in cynicism and apathy that makes it easier for those interests to operate barely noticed and has convinced many people, including some colleagues of mine, that Congress can’t or won’t look out for them. Over the years, I’ve experienced more than enough of these same frustrations myself. But I’ve also learned that the powers that the Constitution entrusts to every member of Congress are sufficient to protect the public interest. Used wisely, they can even overwhelm seemingly insurmountable foes.
In my own experience, whatever interest I’m up against always seems to have more money, better lawyers, swarms of lobbyists, and the resources to go on fighting for years. But tobacco companies, pharmaceutical makers, utilities, and government contractors share one overriding weakness: They’re usually seeking to hide certain central facts in order to maintain some economically advantageous position that makes them money. A sustained effort to air the truth is always the best strategy for defeating them.
One reason major legislation like the Clean Air Act is so difficult to pass is that large industries fight back by issuing what appear to be factual claims of their own, invariably warning of the catastrophe that will befall the industry, or even the entire country, should an unwanted reform be permitted to take effect. For years, utilities and chemical companies maintained that toxic air pollutants were not a problem—until we passed the Toxic Release Inventory and the hard data revealed a huge problem that Congress eventually was able to fix. An even better example is the 1994 bill I introduced banning smoking in restaurants, hotels, and other public places. The tobacco companies joined forces with the restaurant and hospitality associations to warn that if the law were passed, “smoking police” would drive away their clientele and ruin their businesses, leading to widespread bankruptcies and ultimately dragging the country into recession. We countered with data from the Indoor Building Association showing that a smoking ban would in fact save these same establishments millions of dollars a year, because tobacco smoke does tremendous damage to indoor spaces, requiring frequent and costly painting and cleaning, as well as expensive air filters. Several years later, after the ban went into effect, not only had public health improved, but the dire predictions turned out to be nonsense. The crowd still came out, and maintenance costs for hotels, restaurants, and bars plunged dramatically.
As we look ahead to our next set of national challenges, it’s vital that we keep these lessons in mind. Opponents of universal health care coverage, climate change legislation, and stronger financial regulation have already begun warning of the calamitous costs that serious reform would impose on an unprepared country. As the legislative process picks up momentum, these calls are sure to intensify.
PATIENCE, A KNACK FOR FINDING ALLIES (ESPECIALLY UNLIKELY ones), and the ability to persevere for very long stretches are the qualities that ultimately distinguish the best legislators. Confronting our biggest problems, like polluted air and pervasive death from smoking, is, if not a lifetime job, very close to a career. It can take years or even decades. But sustained focus and interest, and an ability to seize on openings as they present themselves, will eventually yield success, no matter how dark the present circumstance. The most significant clean air laws in our nation’s history took seed in the desperate defense against Reagan’s assault on the existing order. For the next decade, our proposals consistently reflected what scientists told us were the greatest threats to the environment: acid rain, toxic air pollutants, ozone depletion. Using oversight hearings to dramatize dreadful lessons like Bhopal and drive home the dangers of inaction, we eventually came away with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. And when, along the way, the science showed accumulating evidence of global warming, we began work on the first climate change bill, which we introduced in 1992. The years of subsequent effort and growing public awareness have laid the groundwork for what could soon become another historic piece of legislation.
The greatest lesson that my time in Congress has taught me is that even though significant achievements often seem likely to be long, hard, and wearying, they are nevertheless possible to bring about. Congress, as it always has, continues to produce important public benefits. Each preceding chapter is the story of a bill or a series of hearings that not only beat the odds by becoming law (or, with steroids, eliminating the need for one), but that, once implemented, has achieved what we set out to do. In some cases, like nutrition labeling or banning smoking on airplanes, the benefits of these laws have become so thoroughly ingrained that they’re simply taken for granted or, indeed, the original problem is forgotten altogether. How many people today recall reeking like an ashtray as they disembarked from a long flight? It’s amazing how often the most hotly contested issues are instantly forgotten once a good law has taken effect.
In forty years as a legislator, I’ve seen just about everything. I’ve worked with people who do a terrible job, watched plenty of good legislation die, and experienced the grinding frustration of being stuck in the minority party for more than a decade. If anybody should be cynical about our government and how it works, I should. But I’m not. Because despite the setbacks and frustrations, what Congress has achieved during my time has made clear to me that if you organize the right people, follow the facts, and force the issue, it is possible, and even likely, that good work can make a difference in the lives of millions of Americans—which, in the end, is a lawmaker’s highest purpose.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I want to thank Joshua Green for collaborating with me on this book. We spent many hours together, and he spent many more stitching my stories together. Josh is a superb and talented writer, and I am amazed at how he was able to articulate my thoughts in such a captivating way. I am grateful for the confidence placed in me by my publisher, Jonathan Karp, who thought a book about my experiences might give a different perspective on how Congress does and can work.
I have always felt that the key to success in legislation is having the best staff possible. It has been my great fortune over the years to be assisted by a dedicated and talented group of people who share my commitment and can help push the envelope to achieve results.
I want to single out three people for their instrumental roles in directing the staff and advising me on the legislation I have worked on in my career. I will always be indebted to them for their decades-long friendship and exceptional work: Phil Schiliro, my longtime chief of staff; Karen Nelson, the former staff director for the House Health and Environment Subcommittee who is with me still as the top health aide for the House Energy and Commerce Committee; and Phil Barnett, the former staff director for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and current staff director for the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
It has been a rare pleasure to have worked with so many capable people over the years, and I want to acknowledge the enormous contributions of Bill Corr, Bill Schultz, Rip Forbes, Andy Schneider, Tim Westmoreland, Greg Wetstone, Ruth Katz, Kristin Amerling, David Rapallo, Brian Cohen, Michelle Ash, Greg Dotson, Karen Lightfoot, Pat Delgado, Norah Mail, Becky Claster, Zahava Goldman, Rachel Sher, and Lisa Pinto.
I wrote this book for interested readers, but even more for my family, and I dedicate this book to them. Above all, I dedicate it to my wife and life-partner, Janet, whose love and devotion has been the single best thing that has happened to me; to my daughter, Shai Abramson; to my son, Michael Waxman, and daughter-in-law, Marjorie Waxman; and to my grandchildren, Ari, Maya, and No’a Abramson, and Eva and Jacob Waxman, who mean the world to me.
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Joshua Green would like to thank the invaluable Timothy Dickinson, along with Chloe and Alici
a, for their love and support.
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