Henry Waxman: The Waxman Report

Henry Waxman: Political Giant

Henry Waxman the U.S. Congressman is considered to be one of the principal members of the liberal party, and is currently serving as the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Waxman, growing up in a very politically minded household and was what it seemed like destined to become politician. Like his father, Waxman was a firm believer in the American government and the great things that it could do for its people. Acknowledging that our government has it flaws he spent his political career accomplishing things that once seemed impossible due to superior obstacles in his way. He learned that to make a difference in congress you cannot be afraid of the competition because most of the time they will have more muscle, more money, and more resources. The key is to persevere and be smarter than your rival. As a member of congress "a vital center of decision making and policymaking in our national government (Greenberg and Page 340) Waxman was able to enact major pieces of legislation despite opposition from powerful and influential interest groups including his help in the fight against the tobacco industry, nutrition labeling, and the clean air act.

Before Waxman entered congress, the tobacco industry for years was able to conceal and downplay the damaging effects that smoking created on the public. "Every day, tobacco kills as many people as would perish if two jumbo jets crashed and it continues killing at this rate, day after day after day" (Waxman 171). In the 70s people smoked everywhere including airplanes, restaurants, theaters, trains, and in the work place unchallenged by society because they were so accustom to it. Waxman couldn't understand why tobacco, already proven to cause cancer, was virtually unregulated by the government. In time he soon figured out that the tobacco companies had such a powerful influence in Washington that they were able to dodge the criticism that other industries had to undergo. They did this in a couple of ways first by electing officials from tobacco producing states, which would allow for a steady stream of people in congress with the same views on tobacco as the previous ones. The tobacco industry also made large donations to parties and funded charitable events, which created unlikely allies and silenced those who opposed the tobacco industry. The industry also knew that smoking killed minorities at a higher rate so to shield themselves they contributed large sums of money to inner city districts through community projects, charities, and school grants.

The key to winning the war on tobacco was proving the health risks of smoking and also the threat it put on the lives of others from second hand smoke and that's what exactly what Waxman set out to do. However he knew that major achievements in congress were rarely reached in a short period of time so he focused on obtaining small victories, which would lead toward the bigger picture. First he focused on getting the facts out there by using the help of celebrities to talk about the dangers of smoking. Then he focused on updating the warning labels because the old ones were outdated and didn't do the necessary job of stating the risks of the habit. Next he tried to highlight the effects of second hand smoke. Studies showed that "the disease risk due to the inhalation of tobacco smoke was not limited to the person smoking but can extend to those individuals who inhale tobacco smoke in room air" (Waxman 179). This new information was devastating to the tobacco industry and started anti smoking ordinances across the United States. Even with all of the new evidence on the dangers of smoking, tobacco was still the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S and the tobacco industry still was able to operate with little hassle from the government. The biggest victory against the tobacco industry came when Barack Obama, a former smoker, became president and signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. Allowing the FDA to limit nicotine and other chemicals in tobacco products, and ban tobacco ads geared toward children.

In the mid 80s people began to realize the importance of regular exercise and a nutritious diet to maintain good health. Waxman at the time was chairman of the House subcommittee on health and also struggled with his weight. Waxman noticed that anyone trying to watch their diet was