Cato Daily Dispatch for October 31, 2001
Postmaster General On the DefensiveEducation Department Tries To Get A Grip On Its Wallet
Bush Administration Cracks Down On Medical Marijuana
Postmaster General On the Defensive
Postmaster General John E. Potter went to Capitol Hill yesterday and defended the U.S. Postal Service against concerns that the agency gave Congress deferential treatment in safeguarding it against anthrax, while postal workers remained in danger, The Washington Post reports today.
In back-to-back hearings on the Hill, Potter was grilled by lawmakers who wanted to know why, for example, the Postal Service did not warn District postal workers of the possible contamination of the Brentwood postal facility after a letter to Sen. Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) opened Oct. 15 was found to contain anthrax spores. They also wanted to know why postal workers were not tested for exposure when congressional staffers were, and why the Brentwood building was not tested while congressional office buildings were closed on Oct. 17.
Potter, a burly Bronx native who assumed control of the beleaguered agency in June, doggedly repeated in both Senate and House hearings his stock response: The agency relied upon the experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for advice on whether there was a public health threat that warranted the closing of a facility.
In "Anthrax Recriminations," Steven Milloy, an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute and the author of the book "Junk Science Judo: Self-defense Against Health Scares and Scams," writes that "at the time, the reasonable course of action seemed to be treatment of Senate staffers who may have been exposed to the airborne spores. It didn't seem likely that postal workers had been dangerously exposed by a sealed envelope."
Education Department Tries To Get A Grip On Its Wallet
Education Secretary Roderick R. Paige yesterday unveiled a plan to address the flaws in fiscal oversight that caused the Department of Education to fail three consecutive audits and mismanage about $450 million in recent years, according to The Washington Post.
Developed by top Education Department officials, the new plan limits the use of department credit cards, tightens the system for issuing payments, increases the number of accounting reviews and limits the number of people who can approve payments.
In the Cato Handbook for Congress section "Department of Education," Douglas D. Dewey recommends that the Department of Education be abolished and that control of education be returned to families and localities. In "The Department of Education: An Anti-Celebration," Darcy Olsen argues that "Congress should simply end federal involvement in education and return the department's budget to the American people in the form of a tax cut."
Bush Administration Cracks Down On Medical Marijuana
Armed with a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court, the Bush administration has begun its first major crackdown on the distribution of marijuana for medical purposes, according to The New York Times.
In the last month, federal agents in California have uprooted a marijuana garden run by patients, seized the files of a doctor and lawyer who recommended the drug for thousands of sick clients and raided one of the state's largest cannabis clubs, in West Hollywood, where more than 900 people with ailments like cancer and AIDS bought the drug with the blessing of city officials.
The sudden rush of enforcement, coming three years after the last federal raid on a "medical marijuana" club in Oakland, represents the Justice Department's renewed attempt to impose federal drug laws in states that have legalized marijuana use for people who are sick or dying.
In "Punishing the Sick," Senior Fellow Doug Bandow lists the medical evidence that shows marijuana can help those suffering from AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and other ailments. "Morphine is illegal, but is routinely prescribed as a painkiller," he writes. "Not marijuana, however, which remains illegal under federal law for all uses." In testimony before Congress, Executive Vice President David Boaz urged Congress to respect state referenda on medical marijuana.
Earlier this year, the Cato Institute hosted the forum "The Law and Politics of Medical Marijuana" featuring Alan Bock, author of "Waiting to Inhale: The Politics of Medical Marijuana," and Kevin Zeese, President of Common Sense for Drug Policy. Video of the event is available online.
/div>