FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 12^th, 2011

Paulsen Leads Effort To Protect Free Speech in Advertising

61 Representatives Join Paulsen in Sending a Letter to HHS, Department of Ag,the CDC and the FTC in Effort to Save Tens of Thousands of American Jobs

WASHINGTON, D.C.- With the Obama Administration pursuing new regulations effectively banning advertising certain food and beverages to children and adolescents, Representative Erik Paulsen (MN-03) is leading an effort to protect free speech. Today Rep. Paulsen sent a letter to the Interagency Working Group on Food Marketing to Children regarding this onerous proposal.  Paulsen was joined by 61 of his colleagues in the House of Representatives in sending a stern message that these restrictions will have a serious impact on the food manufacturing industry, and could negatively affect over 74,000 American jobs in just one year. 

The letterstates, “We believe the rule, as currently drafted, is also too prohibitive.  Many foods that qualify under the Food and Drug Administration’s definition of “healthy” would be precluded by the guidelines.  Even foods that are approved for consumption as part of the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) would not meet the guidelines.”

In April of 2011, four Federal agencies (FTC, FDA, USDA, and CDC) released a set of “voluntary guidelines to industry” imposing nutritional requirements on foods marketed to “children” up to the age of 18. These restrictions are so stringent that most foods in the grocery store would not meet the criteria including 88 of the top 100 foods consumed.  Even though these guidelines are supposedly voluntary, they unconstitutionally restrict free speech.

Read the letter here.

Paulsen, a champion of small business and advocate of free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and innovation currently serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, and is co-chair of the Congressional Korea-U.S. Free Trade Working Group and co-chair of the House Medical Technology Caucus.

For more information on Rep. Paulsen’s work in Congress, please visit www.paulsen.house.gov.

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