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Over the many months that officials in Washington debated sweeping new
regulations for internet providers, Jeffrey A. Eisenach, a scholar at
the conservative American Enterprise Institute, was hard to miss.
Think Tanks Inc.
Articles in this series examine how research institutions have become
part of the corporate influence machine in Washington.
Researchers or Corporate Allies? Think Tanks Blur the LineAUG. 8, 2016
He wrote op-ed articles, including for The New York Times, that were
critical of the rules. He filed formal comments with the Federal
Communications Commission, where he also met privately with senior
lawyers. He appeared before Congress and issued reports detailing how
destructive the new rules would be.
“Net neutrality would not improve consumer welfare or protect the public
interest,” Mr. Eisenach testified in September 2014 before the Senate
Judiciary Committee.
Intense advocacy by a think tank scholar is not notable in itself, but
Mr. Eisenach, 58, a former aide at the Federal Trade Commission, has
held another job: as a paid consultant for Verizon and its trade
association.
And he has plenty of company.
An examination of 75 think tanks found an array of researchers who had
simultaneously worked as registered lobbyists, members of corporate
boards or outside consultants in litigation and regulatory disputes,
with only intermittent disclosure of their dual roles.
With their expertise and authority, think tank scholars offer themselves
as independent arbiters, playing a vital role in Washington’s political
economy. Their imprimatur helps shape government decisions that can be
lucrative to corporations.
But the examination identified dozens of examples of scholars conducting
research at think tanks while corporations were paying them to help
shape government policy. Many think tanks also readily confer
“nonresident scholar” status on lobbyists, former government officials
and others who earn their primary living working for private clients,
with few restrictions on such outside work.
full:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/09/us/politics/think-tank-scholars-corporate-consultants.html
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