Relatives of lawmakers work as lobbyists in DC

Date: 25-06-2003 Posted by: Anabolic Info TeamUnited States

Thanks in large part to the efforts of Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, for example, the controversial herbal stimulant ephedra remains on the market as an additive to dietary supplements promising weight loss. Hatch played a leading role in drafting a 1994 law that permits supplements to be marketed without prior scientific evidence of safety and efficacy -- the standard that is applied to prescription drugs and food additives.

In the past decade, the supplements industry has paid nearly $2 million to lobbying firms where Hatch's son Scott worked. And when Scott Hatch opened his own lobbying firm last year, a dietary-supplements trade group and an ephedra maker were among his first clients.