Letters: Mar. 24, 1986

Lo, the Lobbyist

To the Editors:

There is an adage that people get the kind of government they deserve. My question: What crimes did America commit over the past 200 years to merit being shackled today with a travesty like influence peddlers [NATION, March 3]? Marshall S. Berdan Washington

Your story on lobbying was an eye-opener. It says much about the state of our republic that so many former public officials can land private sinecures and then use these positions to undermine the policies they once upheld. In some countries, lobbyists would be called double agents. Eric Steel Oakland

Even though you allude to the fact that "the common citizen often benefits from various 'special-interest' breaks," I would venture that this benefit is minimal. If influence peddlers cannot be legislated out of existence, perhaps they can be put to practical use. Lobbyists should be charged at least $10 million a year for admission to "Gucci Gulch." Since there are 8,800 registered domestic lobbyists, those fees would go a long way toward reducing the deficit. Robert E. Brossman Wheeling, W. Va.

As a lobbyist, I find my job is one of educating busy legislators on matters that are minor to them but major to our industry. Protecting business interests is not always bad. I am continually amazed at how little lawmakers know about the effect a bill will have on the public. Arleen Goodman Tennessee Association of Tour Operators Nashville

Several months ago, Representative Marcy Kaptur and I introduced legislation that would remedy one of the worst aspects of the influence-peddling problem: officials who leave Government service and then market their professional allegiance as lobbyists for foreign interests. The Wolpe-Kaptur bill would prohibit high-ranking officials from lobbying for any foreign principal in the ten years after they leave office. It is outrageous that public service is being used as a training academy for lobbyists who will enrich themselves on $250,000 annual retainers from Singapore and Brazil. Howard Wolpe, U.S. Representative Third District, Michigan Washington

I do not want a PAC or high-priced fat cat speaking for me. I am the lobbyist who should count. I vote. George K. Bradley Birmingham, Mich.

Your story on Navy Surgeon Commander Donal Billig [MEDICINE, March 3] focuses attention on "widespread deficiencies in the nation's military health care system." There is a more insidious problem: physicians will not pass judgment on colleagues. Billig was fired from two private-sector positions before he went to Bethesda. But he could have found another job in a private hospital and still be practicing. The lesson to be learned from this episode reflects not just on the military but on the entire medical community. Joyce Gelfond, M.D. San Antonio

Your assertion that military medicine was on trial is correct. However, one fact that has been ignored is that Bethesda Naval Hospital rescinded Commander Billig's credentials in November 1984 on the basis of its own internal quality assessment. This was well over a year ago, and our system for monitoring the appropriateness of care in the hospital has continued to progress throughout that time. Edward S. Amis Jr. Commanding Officer Naval Hospital Bethesda, Md.