The Waxman Report: How Congress Really Works

  • Henry Waxman &
  • Joshua Green
Twelve: 2009. 256 pp. $24.99 9780446519250 | ISBN: 978-0-4465-1925-0

Most US scientists who are politically engaged on behalf on their profession have one objective: to enhance the budgets of their funding agencies. Their heroes are supportive advocates and congressional appropriators. But the rest of what Congress does may seem irrelevant, irrational or even mysterious.

Henry Waxman (below right) made tobacco executives testify in Congress in 1994 to sway public opinion. Credit: J. DURICKA/AP

In his first book, Henry Waxman — a Democrat, a member of the US House of Representatives since 1975, and one of the most accomplished legislators of our time — gives a useful corrective, focusing on policy and oversight, not just the money. The Waxman Report is a welcome guide for those who wish to learn more about the complex intersections of science and government, as the author describes his legislative fights against tobacco, HIV/AIDS and the use of steroids in sports; and his advocacy of food nutrition labelling, clean air and drugs for rare diseases.

Landmark legislation can be attained through organization, skill and hard work. Henry Waxman

Credit: UPI/J. RUYMEN/EYEVINE

Waxman represents the district that includes Hollywood, California, but he would not be called glamorous in appearance or style. He does, however, share other traits with his district's most famous industry — an aptitude for dramatic staging, an appetite for intriguing strategies and a recognition of star power. Some of his most stirring moments have come when using his hearing room as a stage to assemble powerful figures — from captains of industry to sports heroes — to expose deceptions that threaten public health or the environment. In this sense, he more closely resembles a morally driven film director than a committee chairman.

Waxman's legislative successes have often depended on understanding the importance of public support, shrewdly assessing how to get it, and effectively transmitting the message to key people. In 1994, he knew that Congress would not give the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) any regulatory authority over tobacco products. But he also knew that he could move public opinion in the right direction by bringing the heads of tobacco companies to testify before Congress and then asking embarrassing questions. That famous hearing — and the iconic photograph of the mass swearing-in of chief executives — helped to build public support for the extended powers over tobacco products recently granted to the FDA by Congress.

Some years earlier, when Waxman's bill to provide tax benefits for companies that made drugs for rare illnesses was threatened with a Senate defeat or a presidential veto, he asked friends in Hollywood to produce a television show that dramatized the problem, and asked others to lobby President Ronald Reagan at a holiday party. In this way, the Orphan Drug Act became law in 1983. He also praises Edward Kennedy's naming of one of the first major pieces of HIV/AIDS legislation in 1989 after Ryan White, a young patient with haemophilia who had been infected by a blood transfusion and who happened to live in a midwestern state represented by a senator whose vote was crucial. Even homophobic legislators were unlikely to oppose the Ryan White CARE Act.

Gimmicks, of course, do not work on their own. Waxman's successes have required a passion for progressive policy, patience, persistence and a deep knowledge of his subjects — traits that are all too rarely displayed in Congress these days. Waxman preaches a seemingly naive optimism, noting that “no matter how gloomy the outlook or fearsome the opposition ... landmark legislation can be attained through organization, skill, and hard work”. In fact, his victories have often depended on savviness as well as on industry. As a proponent of compromise with his opponents, he writes of the virtue of being open to “unlikely alliances”. And as a tactician, he notes that whereas big issues generate noise, they often have little effect on ordinary people's lives. Smaller issues such as food labelling, he explains, may “fly under the radar, but ... have a revolutionary impact”.

Waxman is tough and pragmatic, as well as clever and idealistic. He defends his provision of campaign funds to fellow Democrats who might later support his bills, saying that it is “useful to think of money as a political fact of life”. He speaks frankly about his opponents' faults and about his own occasional missteps, such as the day he yielded to an unfortunate compromise on the labelling of dietary supplements. And he recounts how he has made use of procedural tactics to achieve his ends, such as bringing the legislative process on a colleague's weak 'clean air' measure to a near-standstill.

Despite differences in social background, Waxman has much in common with the late Edward Kennedy. Recently eulogized as perhaps the most effective senator of the modern era, Kennedy was heir to a familial political tradition, entering the Senate with ease at a young age despite little experience. By contrast, Waxman was raised by a struggling Jewish family working its way out of the Depression in Los Angeles. After fighting his way, with a few lucky breaks and a law degree, to the California State Assembly in 1968, he positioned himself in 1974 for a newly created seat in the House of Representatives and won a subcommittee chairmanship only five years later.

In their respective halls of Congress, Kennedy and Waxman became similarly known as masters of the legislative process, combining liberal political ideals with a willingness to work with opponents to get things done. During long careers, both have produced remarkable legislative records in domains in which science is important, including health care and regulatory policy — yet without ever serving on those all-powerful appropriations committees. In this slim volume, we learn how Waxman did it.