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Heartland Institute

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The Heartland Institute, according to the Institute's web site, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is "to discover and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems".[1] The Institute campaigns in support of:

  • "Common-sense environmentalism", such as opposition to the the Kyoto Protocol aimed at countering global warming
  • Genetically engineered crops and products;
  • The privatization of public services;
  • The introduction of school vouchers;
  • The deregulation of health care insurance;

and against:

  • What it refers to as "junk science";
  • Tobacco control measures such as tobacco tax increases (the Institute denies the health effects of second-hand smoke);

The institute was founded in 1984 by David H. Padden, now the President of Padco Lease Corporation and Joseph L. Bast, Heartland's President and CEO.[2] In 2007 it spent over $5.8 million on its activities.[3]

The Institute sees its primary audience as "the nation’s 8,300 state and national elected officials and approximately 8,400 local government officials."[4] For five of the Insitute's priority policy areas, Heartland produces 20-page tabloid-sized monthly newspapers which are primarily distributed to elected officials, journalists and donors. (The five publications are Budget & Tax News, Environment & Climate News, Health Care News, Infotech & Telecom News and School Reform News.[4] Heartland also hosts PolicyBot, which it refers to as the "Internet's most extensive clearing-house for the work of free-market think tanks." The database contains 22,000 documents from 350 U.S. right-wing think tanks and advocacy groups.[5]

Contents

Mission

On its website it states that it "is a genuinely independent source of research and commentary founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1984. It is not affiliated with any political party, business, or foundation. Its activities are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code."[6]

A version of its mission stated, current until 2006, stated that Heartland was "devoted to turning ideas into social movements that empower people". Another think tank link to Heartland used a slightly different version of its mission statement: "Heartland's mission is to help build social movements in support of ideas that empower people".[7]

In a statement submitted to the charity research group, Guidestar, Heartland states that "people devote time to learn about subjects only if they believe acquiring specific knowledge will benefit them personally. Often, this seems unlikely. Consequently, most people choose rationally to remain ignorant about many public policy issues. The Heartland Institute has overcome the problem of 'rational ignorance' by inventing publications busy elected officials and the public will actually read and come to trust. Our publications are highly effective and inexpensive vehicles for communicating messages on public policy." [8]

Tobacco ties

Although Heartland calls itself "a genuinely independent source of research and commentary," its has been a frequent ally of, and funded by, the tobacco industry. According to a 1995 internal report by Philip Morris USA (PM) on its corporate contributions budget, the company uses its contributions "as a strategic tool to promote our overall business objectives and to advance our government affairs agenda," in particular by supporting "the work of free market 'think tanks' and other public policy groups whose philosophy is consistent with our point of view. ... [W]e have given general support over the years to such groups as the Heritage Foundation, Heartland Institute, Americans for Tax Reform, Citizens for a Sound Economy, Washington Legal Foundation and a variety of other organizations that help provide information about the ultimate course of legislation, regulation and public opinion through their studies, papers, op-ed pieces and conferences."[9]

Internal company documents show the following contributions from PM to Heartland (which is probably an incomplete list):

Roy E. Marden, a former member of Heartland's board of directors, was until May 2003 the manager of industry affairs for the Philip Morris (PM) tobacco company, where his responsibilities included lobbying and "managing company responses to key public policy issues," which he accomplishes by "directing corporate involvement with industry, business, trade, and public policy organizations and determining philanthropic support thereto." In a May 1991 document prepared for PM, Marden listed Heartland's "rapid response network" as a "potential spokesperson" among the "portfolio of organizations" that the company had cultivated to support its interests.[16]

In January 1993, PM executive Craig L. Fuller reported that Heartland was one of the "public policy organizations" being considered to sponsor a "conference on the impact of federal mandates/EPA regulations," as part of PM's strategic response to the EPA's decision that secondhand smoke should be classified as a proven lung carcinogen.[17]

In an April 1993 report, Marden noted that he was "developing strategy and tactics" to defeat legislation in California aimed at restricting smoking in public places. He was "liaising with contacts in the public policy arena (think tanks, public interest legal foundations) and the media to generate editorial, op-eds, letters-to-the-editor and position papers." With the Heartland Institute, he was working "re sponsorship of environmental seminars for interested journalists and legislators throughout the Midwest." Simultaneously, he was talking with PM's Washington office to decide how much money the company should give to public policy organizations in 1993.[18]

Fuller's monthly report for August 1993 noted that he had "leveraged numerous contacts in the public policy arena to generate positive publicity for PM and/or a fair hearing on our issues, with particular reference to the misapplication of science by the EPA and the resulting poor public policy ... and the policy arguments against the use of excise taxes to fund proposed health care reform." The Heartland Institute was one of the contacts they had "leveraged," along with the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, the Alexis de Tocqueville Institute, Americans for Tax Reform, Capital Research Center, Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy, Consumer Alert, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, and the National Center for Policy Analysis. He had also provided "background material" about environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) to "various policy groups and media contacts. As a result, EPA Watch, the Heartland Institute and Capital Research Center wrote commentaries addressing the EPA and ETS. These commentaries are expected to appear in various newspapers around the country."[19]

Marden's monthly report for February 1994 noted that he was "working with the Heartland Institute in the planning of a health policy forum for state-level think tanks to develop a unified strategy and action plan, and in the use of their fax-on-demand technology to promote health care positioning consistent with our interests to legislators, public opinion makers and the public."[20] In April, he reported that he was working with PM's Washington office "and the Heartland Institute in the development of strategy and ally mobilization to preserve the deductibility of tobacco advertising expenditures."[21]

In 1995, the Heartland Institute introduced "PolicyFax," a fax-on-demand service that offered to send thousands of policy position papers by fax as a free service to government officials and journalists. On February 2, 1996, Marden reported that the service would be adding the summary of a report on secondhand smoke. "This telephone service is linked to ALL state legislators and key regional media throughout the country and is free to those audiences," he wrote. "Heartland maintains statistics on documents requested and we will be able to track requests."[22]

Later that month, Heartland president Joseph Bast wrote a letter to Tina A. Walls, PM's Vice President for State Government Affairs, informing her of a collaboration between Heartland and the American Legislative Exchange Council, another PM-supported policy advocacy organization on whose board Walls sits. In a handwritten note at the bottom of the letter, Bast added, "Roy Marden's on our board!"[23]

In 1999, Heartland was listed again in an internal PM document as one of the "portfolio of organizations" with which the company planned to mobilize against a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit, with Heartland's "rapid response network" among the company's "potential third party activities."[24] On October 26 of that year, Marden sent an email to John Ostronic and Frank Gomez in which he listed "the key groups in my portfolio & key actions taken by those groups in opposition to the Fedsuit." Heartland's contributions to the effort included "blast faxes to state legislators, off-the-record briefings, op-eds, radio interviews, letters."[25]

Notwithstanding this long and intimate partnership with the tobacco industry, Heartland president Joe Bast bridled in February 2005 when writer Glenn Fleishman characterized the institute as a "sock puppet of industry" and criticized its role as both a tobacco mouthpiece and an opponent of municipal wi-fi initiatives. "No, there is no 'Philip Morris exec.' on our Board of Directors," Bast wrote in reply to Fleishman's article. Bast did not respond to a query from Fleishman pointing out that a biographical note on the Heartland website indicated that Marden worked at PM.[26] What was unknown was that Marden had left PM in May 2003 and the biographical note on Heartland's website was outdated.

Following SourceWatch's documentation of Heartland's ties to the tobacco industry, the group wrote that Marden "helped convince others in the company to approve contributions to us because of our opposition to high taxes on cigarettes, the abuse of tort law leading up to the Master Settlement Agreement, and other tobacco-related issues. This was not a conflict of interest: All nonprofit organizations put representatives of foundations and corporations on their boards with the expectation that they help “give or get” financial support ... Heartland was speaking up for over-taxed smokers and against nanny state regulations long before Philip Morris offered any funding and before Marden joined the organization’s board."[27]

Bast has also argued that "we do not take positions in order to appease or avoid losing support from individual donors. We have, in fact, a long record of standing behind our research even when it means losing the support of major donors." He also had no response when asked to provide specific examples from its "long record" of publishing reports against the pecuniary interests of its funders.[26]

More recently, in 2006 the Heartland Institute partnered with the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) in "a campaign to change public opinion about tobacco." The campaign will utilize press releases, letters to editors and an effort to win coverage in magazines and journals, according to an article about the partnership on the NPN Market Pulse web site, a news and information site for petroleum and convenience store marketers. Tom Briant, NATO's Executive Director, said, vowed to work to prevent public health smoking restrictions from being enacted in any more states. "We will certainly work to try and prevent similar statewide smoking bans from being adopted in other states," Briant said, "because we believe the owners of bars and restaurants should have the right to determine how they accommodate their customers and not have government dictate those kinds of regulations."[28]

In February 2009 Heartland lists 5 of its personnel as being "Tobacco Policy Experts".[29] These were Joseph Bast, Ralph Connor, the Local Legislation Manager; John Nothdurft, Heartland's Legislative Specialist; Brad Rodu, from the University of Louisville and W. Kip Viscusi, a Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University Law School.

Heartland also currently lists "Tobacco" as being one of its seven priority topic areas. In an essay -- titled "Tobacco and Freedom" -- Heartland's senior fellow - legal affairs, Maureen Martin and President, Joseph L. Bast, argue that smokers already pay too much tax, that proposals for further restrictions on tobacco and smoking are based on "junk science", that lawsuits against the tobacco industry are an example of "lawsuit abuse", that bans on smoking "hurt small businesses and violate private property rights", that the harm caused to smokers can be reduced by "educating" them "about their options" and that restrictions on smokers violate "the basic libertarian principles that ought to limit the use of government force."[30]

The introduction to Heartland's tobacco portal claims that it "cuts through the propaganda and exaggeration of anti-smoking groups by giving you access to the best available research and commentary from scores of independent research organizations, publications, and government sources."[30]

It also promotes Bast's July 2006 book of essays on tobacco, Please Don’t Poop in My Salad. Introducing the book, Heartland concedes that "defending smokers is a thankless task in today’s politically correct environment." While stating that "Bast doesn’t deny that smoking is an unhealthy habit" it argues that cigarette taxes and bans on smoking go too far and that there is a need to respect "the rights of smokers and the owners of bars and restaurants."[30]

Disputing global warming

In March 2008 the Heartland Institute hosted what was referred to as The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change.[31]

A similar conference was held in March 2009 in New York.[32][33]

The Third International Conference on Climate Change was held in Washington, DC on June 2, 2009 at the Washington Court Hotel, to "call attention to widespread dissent to the asserted 'consensus' on various aspects of climate change and global warming," according to Heartland's announcement of the event. "The conference's theme will be Climate Change: Scientific Debate and Economic Analysis. The theme reflects the fact that the scientific debate is not over and that economic analysis is more important than ever, now that legislation is being seriously considered. The real science and economics of climate change support the view that global warming is not a crisis and that immediate action to reduce emissions is not necessary. This is, in fact, the emerging consensus view of scientists outside the IPCC and most economists outside environmental advocacy groups," Heartland's website states. [34]

Water policy

Heartland opposes the Great Lakes Water Resources Compact, which was signed into affect in December of 2005 by the governors of eight states that border the great lakes, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York, and the premiers of the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario. As of 2008, the compact was ratified by all of the eight state legislatures. The compact was proposed in light of the unprecedented low levels of water in the lakes, which are now at the bottom end of the historical fluctuation range of 4-6 feet. In order to mitigate diminishing water levels, The compact will limit the consumption of water from the Great Lakes to areas within these eight states, or to areas outside of the boundary only by petition subject to strict regulation. [35] This new regulation also stemmed from proposals to ship water from the Great Lakes to other states like Arizona, or even out of the country into Asian water markets. [36]

In a research and commentary report released in March of 2007, the Heartland Institute criticized the compact, claiming water should be regulated through the market rather than through the government. [37] In this report, Heartland, as is typical of a free market think tank, contends that water is a commodity just like other resources, and should thus be regulated through market mechanisms. The report cites Terry Anderson, Director of the Property and Environment Research Center, arguing that "water rights should be allocated and traded in the marketplace, even if that means shipping water to Asia at the right price. It's no different than shipping out cars or iron ore." [37]

Funding

In its 20075 annual return to the Internal Revenue Service, Heartland disclosed its 2007 annual revenue as being $5.2 million while its total expenses were $5.8 million. The deficit of $648,458 ate through the group's start of year reserves of $535,113. By the end of 2007, Heartland was in the red to the tune of $113,345.[3] In its 2008 annual report to supporters, Heartland outlines that corporate sponsorships start out at $10,000, with the next rung up being "silver" sponsors which contribute $25,000, "gold" sponsors donating $50,000 and "platinum" sponsors kicking in $100,000.[4]

Secrecy on funding sources

While Heartland once disclosed its major supporters, it now refuses to publicly disclose who its corporate and foundation funders are. In response to an article criticizing the think tank for its secrecy, the group's President, Joseph Bast, wrote in February 2005:

"For many years, we provided a complete list of Heartland's corporate and foundation donors on this Web site and challenged other think tanks and advocacy groups to do the same. To our knowledge, not a single group followed our lead. However, critics who couldn’t or wouldn’t engage in fair debate over our ideas found the donor list a convenient place to find the names of unpopular companies or foundations, which they used in ad hominem attacks against us. Even reporters from time to time seemed to think reporting the identities of one or two donors--out of a list of hundreds--was a fair way of representing our funding or our motivation in taking the positions expressed in our publications. After much deliberation and with some regret, we now keep confidential the identities of all our donors."[26]

It has also claimed that "by not disclosing our donors, we keep the focus on the issue."[27]

Following the compilation of this SourceWatch article and articles on other websites, Heartland posted a list of responses to what it claimed was "misinformation" about the group. On its funding it stated that "in 2007 it received 71 percent of its income from foundations, 16 percent from corporations, and 11 percent from individuals. No corporate donor gave more than 5 percent of its annual budget ... ExxonMobil has not contributed to Heartland since 2006. Indeed, gifts from all energy companies - coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear - combined did not exceed 5 percent of Heartland’s budget in 2007."[27] (Heartland states that its 2007 revenue was approximately $5.2 million.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag Energy companies -- "coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear" -- contributed approximately 5% or around $260,000.)

Foundation funders

Media Transparency lists Heartland as having received $2,960,555 (unadjusted for inflation) in grants between 1986 and 2006 from a range of foundations including[38]:

Exxon funding

Greenpeace's ExxonSecrets website lists Heartland as having received $676,500 (unadjusted for inflation) from ExxonMobil between 1998 and 2006.[39] (As mentioned above, Heartland insist that Exxon has not contributed to the group since 2006.)[27]

Contributions include:

  • $30,000 in 1998;
  • $115,000 in 2000;
  • $90,000 in 2001;
  • $15,000 in 2002;
  • $85,000 for General Operating Support and $7,500 for their 19th Anniversary Benefit Dinner in 2003;
  • $85,000 for General Operating Support and $15,000 for Climate Change Efforts in 2004; and
  • $119,000 in 2005; and
  • $115,000 in 2006.

Personnel

Board of Directors

The members of the Board of Directors as of February 2009:[40]

Staff

Staff as of February 2009:[41]

Senior Fellows

As of February 2009, Heartland's "Senior Fellows" -- which it states on its website "write scores of articles--from letters to the editor to full-blown policy studies--conduct media interviews, testify at legislative hearings, and speak to audiences ranging in size from 10 to 10,000" -- are[42]:

Former Staff

Former Board Members

Publications

Former Publications

Contact

Heartland Institute
19 South LaSalle Street
Suite 903
Chicago, IL 60603
Phone: 312 377-4000
Email: think AT heartland.org
Web: http://www.heartland.org

Articles and Resources

References

  1. ↑ Joseph L. Bast, "Welcome to The Heartland Institute!", Heartland Institute, April 13, 2007.
  2. ↑ Heartland Institute, "Q: What is the history of The Heartland Institute?", Heartland Institute website, accessed February 2009.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Heartland Institute, "2007 Heartland Institute IRS Return", Guidestar, August 2008, page 1.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Heartland Institute. Heartland Institute 2008 Annual Report, Heartland Institute.(Pdf)
  5. ↑ "Search PolicyBot", accessed March 2008.
  6. ↑ "Heartland Membership", Heartland Institute, accessed March 2008.
  7. ↑ Institute of Public Affairs, "Links", accessed March 2008.
  8. ↑ "Heartland Institute", Guidestar.org, accessed March 2008.
  9. ↑ Untitled, Philip Morris, 1995. Bates Number 2045865162/5175. (This document provides an overview of PM USA's Corporate Contributions budget.)
  10. ↑ 1993 Corporate Contributions Report for PM USA/ NYO, Philip Morris, 1993. Bates Number 2073010046/0047.
  11. ↑ 1995 Public Policy Grants, May 22, 1996. Bates Number 2041273353/3356.
  12. ↑ "Public policy recommendations for (With paid Status", Philip Morris, February 25, 1998. Bates Number 2063351196/1220.
  13. ↑ 1997 Policy payments for Slavitt", Philip Morris, 1997. Bates Number 2078848138/8147.
  14. ↑ D. Nicoli, Public Policy Process 1998", Philip Morris, October 5, 1998. Bates Number 2072783059/3095.
  15. ↑ "1998 Public policy Contributors", December 17, 1998. Bates Number 2065243965/3979.
  16. ↑ "Industry Affairs Portfolio of Organizations Federal Suit", May, 1991. Bates Number 2078212231/2234.
  17. ↑ Craig Fuller, "November/December Monthly Reports", Philip Morris, January 15, 1993. Bates Number 2041424406/4415.
  18. ↑ "Monthly Report, April 1993", April 1993. Bates Number 2078212285/2286.
  19. ↑ Craig Fuller, "monthly Report", September 16, 1993. Bates Number 2041424327/4336.
  20. ↑ REM Monthly Report", February 1994. Bates Number 2078212289/2291.
  21. ↑ "REM Monthly Report", February 1994. Bates Number 078212289/2291.
  22. ↑ R. Marden, "CRS Report Outreach", February 8, 1996. Bates Number 2046669721.
  23. ↑ J.L. Bast, "W9", Heartland Institute, February 26, 1996. Bates Number 2046851411.
  24. ↑ "External Affairs Mobilization Universe for DOJ Lawsuit", Philip Morris, February 25, 1999. Bates Number 2076395791/5798.
  25. ↑ R. Marden, "Fedsuit Actions/Marden", email, Philip Morris, October 26, 1999. Bates Number 2077575920A/5921.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Joseph Bast, Response to "Sock Puppets of Industry", Wi-Fi News, February 2, 2005. (Scroll to the foot of the page for the note that Bast posted in response to the article.)
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 "Reply to Our Critics", Heartland Institute, accessed February 2009.
  28. ↑ "NATO assesses Nov. 7 results, aims to change public opinion about tobacco", NPN MarketPulse, November 15, 2006.
  29. ↑ Heartland Foundation, "Tobacco Policy Experts", Heartland Foundation, accessed February 2009.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Maureen Martin and Joseph L. Bast, "Tobacco and Freedom", Heartland Institute, accessed February 2009.
  31. ↑ The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change, Heartland Institute, accessed March 2008.
  32. ↑ "The 2009 International Conference on Climate Change", Heartland Institute website, accessed January 2009.
  33. ↑ "Meet the sceptics", The Guardian, 12 March 2009.
  34. ↑ "Welcome", Heartland Institute, accessed May 2009.
  35. ↑ "Compact Implementation" Council of Great Lakes Governors website, accessed May 2009.
  36. ↑ Dennis Cauchon "Great Lakes Compact at the Center of Great Debate" USA Today, December 2006.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 "Great Lakes Compact" Heartland Institute Research and Commentary, March 2007.
  38. ↑ "Heartland Institute", Media Transparency, accessed March 2008. Media Transparency provides a year-by-year breakdown on grants and their purpose from these foundations.
  39. ↑ "Factsheet: Heartland Institute, Heartland", ExxonSecrets.org, accessed March 2008.
  40. ↑ Heartland Institute, "Board of Directors", Heartland Institute, accessed February 2009.
  41. ↑ "Staff", Heartland Institute, accessed February 2009.
  42. ↑ Heartland Institute, "Senior Fellows", Heartland Institute website, accessed February 2009.

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