# Vile behavior by the US COC "U.S. Chamber of Commerce Works Globally to Fight Antismoking Measures" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 8, 2015, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-behavior-by-the-us-coc-u-s-chamber-of-commerce-works-globally-to-fight-antismoking-measures/724552 "2015-07-08T06:45:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-behavior-by-the-us-coc-u-s-chamber-of-commerce-works-globally-to-fight-antismoking-measures/724552/1 "2015-07-08T06:45:23Z")
[U.S. Chamber of Commerce Works Globally to Fight Antismoking Measures](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/01/business/international/us-chamber-works-globally-to-fight-antismoking-measures.html?_r=0) I am a member of the local Chamber of Commerce and this is astounding (to me) that at this point in history with what we know about smoking the US COC is on the march against anti-smoking measures in 2015. CVS apparently agrees. I’m going to talk to my local Chamber tomorrow but I think they are distinct from the US Chamber operationally. [CVS Health Leaves U.S. Chamber of Commerce Over Smoking Stance -](http://www.wsj.com/articles/cvs-health-leaves-u-s-chamber-of-commerce-over-smoking-stance-1436315618?mg=id-wsj) Move follows report saying the business lobby was working to fight antismoking laws around the world ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-behavior-by-the-us-coc-u-s-chamber-of-commerce-works-globally-to-fight-antismoking-measures/724552/2 "2015-07-08T13:25:36Z")
COC has migrated to being totally a mouthpiece for the Fortune 100. And for Koch. Support COC or not as you think your interests align with those entities. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-behavior-by-the-us-coc-u-s-chamber-of-commerce-works-globally-to-fight-antismoking-measures/724552/3 "2015-07-08T13:43:32Z")
I didn’t know anyone didn’t know that the US Chamber is mostly interested in evil. But I didn’t know they were doing evil things elsewhere! > [@astro](#): > > [U.S. Chamber of Commerce Works Globally to Fight Antismoking Measures](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/01/business/international/us-chamber-works-globally-to-fight-antismoking-measures.html?_r=0) > > I am a member of the local Chamber of Commerce and this is astounding (to me) that at this point in history with what we know about smoking the US COC is on the march against anti-smoking measures in 2015. CVS apparently agrees. I’m going to talk to my local Chamber tomorrow but I think they are distinct from the US Chamber operationally. Local chambers are generally totally distinct entities, though the US Chamber has awards and [affiliation programs](https://www.uschamber.com/members/chambers/federation-partnership). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-behavior-by-the-us-coc-u-s-chamber-of-commerce-works-globally-to-fight-antismoking-measures/724552/4 "2015-07-08T14:03:49Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I didn’t know anyone didn’t know that the US Chamber is mostly interested in evil. But I didn’t know they were doing evil things elsewhere! That’s a helluva thing to drop without cite or attribution. _I_ certainly don’t know anything about the US COC. Without judging its evilness or lack thereof, I offer this from Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is a business-oriented American lobbying group. It is not an agency of the United States government. > > Politically, the Chamber is generally considered to be a conservative organization. It usually supports Republican political candidates, though it has occasionally supported conservative Democrats.[1][2] The Chamber is one of the largest lobbying groups in the U.S., spending more money than any other lobbying organization on a yearly basis.[3][4] > … > > The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s own history of itself describes it as originating from an April 22, 1912, meeting of delegates.[5] The Chamber was created by President Taft as a counterbalance to the labor movement of the time.[2] > **[United States Chamber of Commerce](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Chamber_of_Commerce)** > > The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is a business association advocacy group. It is the largest lobbying group in the United States. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urging of President William Howard Taft and his Secretary of Commerce and Labor Charles Nagel. It was Taft's belief that the "government needed to deal with a group that could speak with authority for the interests of business." > The U.S. Chamber of Commerce claims to represent t... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-behavior-by-the-us-coc-u-s-chamber-of-commerce-works-globally-to-fight-antismoking-measures/724552/5 "2015-07-08T14:07:03Z")
For a more leftward partisan perspective, I offer this from SourceWatch: > [@](#): > > U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a powerful business lobbying group in the United States that “has become a fully functional part of the partisan Republican machine” since CEO and president Thomas J. Donohue took office in 1997. Prior to Donohue’s tenure, the Chamber “used to be a trade association that advocated in a bipartisan manner for narrowly tailored policies to benefit its members.” [1] The Chamber’s 2010 budget is approximately $200 million, but as a trade organization, its donors can remain anonymous. [2] > > According to its website, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce "has one overarching mission—to strengthen the competitiveness of the U.S. economy.[3] It describes itself as “the world’s largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.”[4] > > Despite these claims, the New York Times reported in October 2010 that half of the Chamber’s $140 million in contributions in 2008 came from just 45 big-money donors, many of whom enlisted the Chamber’s help to fight political and public opinion battles on their behalf (such as opposing financial or healthcare reforms, or other regulations). [2] The Chamber is “dominated by oil companies, pharmaceutical giants, automakers and other polluting industries,” according to James Carter, executive director of the Green Chamber of Commerce.[5] > … > Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council > > The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). It has been a member of the Civil Justice Task Force,[6] the Education Task Force,[7] the International Relations Task Force[8][9] and the Telecommunications and Information Technology Task Force,[10] according to ALEC materials. According to an August 2013 ALEC board document obtained by The Guardian, its Campaign for Free Enterprise terminated its membership in ALEC’s Education Task Force on April 22, 2013. Its Institute for Legal Reform, however, had also been part of this task force, and was not listed as “lapsed” or “terminated.”[9] > > Page Faulk, Vice President,[11] presented “The Promoting Merit in ‘Merit Selection’ Act” model legislation at Civil Justice Task Force Meeting at the 2011 meeting.[6] Stanton D. Anderson, Senior Counsel to the President and Chief Executive Officer,[12] issued remarks on the “Free Enterprise Education Act” model legislation, and Roberta Philips sponsored discussion and voting on the act, at the Education Task Force Meeting of the 2011 meeting.[7] Mark Elliot, Executive Vice President, and Andrew Kovalcin, Director of Stakeholder Advocacy, both of the Chamber’s Global Intellectual Property Center, introduced the “Resolution in Support of Federal Efforts to Address Rogue Internet Sites that Sell Counterfeit Products and Facilitate Digital Theft” at the Telecommunications and Information Technology Task Force Meeting[10] and presented on the “Erosion of Intellectual Property” and introduced the “ALEC Resolution to Counter Rogue Internet Sites” model policy at the International Relations Task Force Meeting at the 2011 meeting.[8] > > The Chamber’s International Division joined ALEC’s International Relations Task Force on July 3, 2013, according to ALEC board materials.[9] [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=U.S.\_Chamber\_of\_Commerce](http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=U.S._Chamber_of_Commerce) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-behavior-by-the-us-coc-u-s-chamber-of-commerce-works-globally-to-fight-antismoking-measures/724552/6 "2015-07-08T14:12:11Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > That’s a helluva thing to drop without cite or attribution. _I_ certainly don’t know anything about the US COC. You know we’re in IMHO, right? But the USCOC is a lobbying group for major industry. Its interests are generally aligned with those of major industry, and accordingly are generally not aligned with public health or the environment. There’s a pretty good look at its judicial lobbying efforts in the last segment of the documentary _Hot Coffee_, if you’re interested (it’s the one about the McDonald’s coffee-spill lawsuit.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vile-behavior-by-the-us-coc-u-s-chamber-of-commerce-works-globally-to-fight-antismoking-measures/724552/7 "2015-07-08T14:31:24Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You know we’re in IMHO, right? But the USCOC is a lobbying group for major industry. Its interests are generally aligned with those of major industry, and accordingly are generally not aligned with public health or the environment. There’s a pretty good look at its judicial lobbying efforts in the last segment of the documentary _Hot Coffee_, if you’re interested (it’s the one about the McDonald’s coffee-spill lawsuit.) I don’t know what being in IMHO has to do with it – t’s not a question of how you feel about them, but the lack of cites for those of us unfamiliar with the group. And there’s enough of a time delay that you should’ve seen the cites I’ve copied above.