Congressman,
Attached is a copy of a complaint we filed with the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform back in December, 2011. Briefly, the CDC announced in a press release that they were going to conduct economic studies of the impact of smoking bans on bars and restaurants and in the same press release, CDC Director Thomas Frieden announced the OUTCOME of these studies.
We were outraged then, are outraged that your Committee did nothing and are now even more outraged that these studies are now completed and, surprise of all surprises, the results are what was announced in the 2011 press release.
Our organization represents hundreds of bar, restaurant and bowling alley owners. We KNOW the devastating affect smoking bans have had on our members. This is absolute abuse of government power to have pre-determined outcomes validated. If you know what the outcome of studies are supposed to be, it’s not hard to find numbers (if you look hard enough) to support those claims.
We asked for an investigation then and we are asking for one now.
Any questions can be directed to our media person, Pam Parker at 614-565-6560.
Thank you.
Patrick Carroll
President of Buckeye Liquor Permit Holders Association
