Matt Sundquist of the legal affairs blog, Scotusblog, examines two public opinion surveys taken after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which held that incorporated entities—businesses, unions and nonprofit advocacy groups—have a First Amendment right to spend money from their general treasuries to fund independent advertisements urging people to vote for or against candidates for public office.

We had already critiqued one, a Washington Post/ABC survey, for the tendentious phrasing of its questions. The other survey Sunquist writes about was conducted for the self-styled campaign finance reform advocates, Common Cause, Change Congress, and the Public Campaign Action Fund, which seek to limit campaign spending and abridge First Amendment Rights.

[Neither] of the surveys mentions important distinctions between federal laws, which previously banned corporate contributions, and state laws, which in many cases have permitted it for years.  And in all three of the questions, the broad language seems to affirmatively mislead respondents.  Although respondents would assume that the survey used accurate, clear language and provided all of the information needed to form an opinion, the survey did neither.

Although the language of these polls is flawed, it is possible to design an improved poll.  Future Citizens United polls ought to distinguish between state and federal laws and eschew mistaken categorical claims.  Knowing that respondents will apply conversational definitions to words, the polls’ creators should use precise language, clarify what types of corporate and union spending are permitted, and accurately contrast the new scope of campaign laws with previous laws.

As we noted in a Saturday post, a survey conducted by the Center for Competitive Politics — which supported the Citizens United ruling — posed specific questions that elicited more informative responses.

the great successes of the U.S. medical device industry in life-saving innovation have made the device manufacturers a target in Congress’ legislation to expand government control over health care. The revenue raisers have the industry in their sights.

From The Washington Post, “Medical-Device Firms Criticize Tax Proposal“:

Under the bill approved on Tuesday, the medical-device industry would pay a total of $40 billion over 10 years. Players big and small in the industry, which makes items from tongue depressors to artificial hearts, warned that the tax would harm their ability to innovate.

“This is a really devastating proposal for a large number of our membership,” said Stephen J. Ubl, president and chief executive of the Advanced Medical Technology Association, the organization hosting this week’s AdvaMed 2009 conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. “It’s bad for patients, bad for jobs and bad for research and development.”

An amendment to remove the $40 billion tax was defeated last week in the Senate Finance Committee by a partyline vote, 13-10.

At a time when unemployment is still rising even with the nascent recovery, the device tax also represents a tax on job creation. As USA Today reports:

Twenty House members from California, home to heart-valve maker Edwards Lifesciences, signed a letter asking the Senate Finance Committee to reconsider the tax. Senators from Minnesota and Indiana — three Democrats and one Republican, in all — sent a similar letter.

“Minnesota, like many states, has lots of people employed in the medical device industry,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., whose state is home to Medtronic, one of the nation’s largest device manufacturers, said in an interview. “I want to keep jobs in my state.”

Mark Leahy, President and CEO of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, in a statement: “There can be little doubt — the proposed tax will have a cascading effect upon innovation, access to technology and employment in the industry.”

Meanwhile, the only interest group to have escaped the taxers and “reformers” in the health care legislation, the trial lawyers, also has the medical device industry targeted. The Medical Device Safety Act is one of the American Association for Justice’s top lobbying priorities, the goal being to replace a consistent federal regulatory regime with a patchwork of state regulations determined by the courts — that’s a much more lucrative environment in which to sue manufacturers.

In March, when the bill was reintroduced, NAM President John Engler issued a statement, making the central point: “At a time when our country is mired in a severe recession, suffering from rising job losses and a financial system in tatters, Congress is proposing legislation guaranteed to discourage innovation and drive up medical costs even further.” See also the Forbes column by Richard Epstein, “A Sickly Medical Device Safety Act.”

So here’s a test by which one can hold elected officials accountable: If in a speech, a member of Congress claims the future of the U.S. economy involves high-tech jobs, innovation, and the growth of medical sciences, just ask if this member supports the $40 billion tax on medical devices. If the answer is yes, judge the previous statements accordingly.

Commentary and developments worth noting on the issue of health care legislation and medical liability reform…

The Washington Times editorialized today in “Obama’s malpractice lip service,” reacting to President Obama’s health care speech last week.

Reformers in both parties want to curb abusive lawsuits that drive medical costs through the roof. Yet Mr. Obama could not even bring himself to say that any suits are abusive, but merely that doctors are for some reason practicing “defensive medicine [that] may be contributing to unnecessary costs.” To help pacify them, the best he could offer was to “direct” Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sibelius to “authorize demonstration projects in individual states to test these issues.”

That is to say, the President was demanding reforms be included in health care legislation, EXCEPT when it came to medical liability reform, which was going to be left to pilot projects overseen by Sibelius — former executive director of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association. So if a bill actually becomes law, the non-statutory initiatives can fade away.

Even that faint acknowledgement has prompted push back from the trial lawyers. As the Times reports, “Malpractice plan low on support“:

Trial lawyers bristled that a Democratic president had ceded any ground on the issue.

“It has no place in the debate,” said Anthony Tarricone, president of the American Association for Justice (AJJ) [sic], which lobbies for trial lawyers. “Limited accountability will never improve the quality of health care.”

He said malpractice law was a distraction from the real issues of improving quality of care, reducing medical errors and expanding coverage to the millions of uninsured Americans.

The AAJ initially laid low on the issue, figuring that its allies in Congress could keep any prospects for tort reform out of the bill. But business groups, tort reformers and free-market advocates kept up the pressure, and Howard Dean’s frank admission of the trial lawyers’ political power brought much more attention to the issue.

The AAJ has now decided to make a virtue out of necessity, aggressively raising money from its membership to oppose medical liability reform. Yesterday the group sent out a mass email asking for contributions for its Protecting Patients Rights Campaign, a lobbying campaign to oppose medical malpractice provisions in the health care bill. From the website version:

A contribution to the Protecting Patients Rights Campaign is an investment in your practice and in your clients’ future. All the money raised for this campaign will go directly towards educating lawmakers about the dangers of medical malpractice reform, and towards debunking the myths spewed by the other side. We can win, but we need your help today to make a difference in this fight. We need your help today to make a difference in this fight. Please make a contribution via the attached form.

It’s not unusual for trade associations to raise money by pointing to legislative threat, but the AAJ has been politically ascendant since 2008 elections and hence on the offensive. It’s a change to see them return to the defensive posture they were so accustomed to earlier in the decade.

Clearly the AAJ must think the medical malpractice issue has legs. That, or the lawyers’ elected allies on Capitol Hill are asking for some help. (Contributions are non-tax deductible, so they can be used for both partisan and lobbying purposes.) Or warning against catastrophe is a good way to raise money.

Here’s what they’re fighting to preserve (again from the editorial):

A 2006 study by the Harvard School of Public Health found that 40 percent of medical malpractice lawsuits involve either no actual injuries or no medical error — yet of those meritless cases, more than 27 percent resulted in compensation. Meanwhile, the researchers concluded, “The overhead costs of malpractice litigation are exorbitant.”

Similar observations previously made at this Point of Law post.

Health care will dominate the week in Washington, even as one of the most important regulatory deadlines in American history passes: On Tuesday, the comment period closes on the EPA’s proposed endangerment finding that would allow the regulation of carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act. For more information, visit www.nam.org/epa. A House vote is possible, maybe, on the Waxman-Markey command, control, cap and trade program to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

The Senate convenes at 2 p.m. and moves toward a cloture vote on  S.1023, establishing what looks like a government-sponsored enterprise to promote tourism. (Travel Mac? Vegas Mae?)

The House convenes at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Major items of floor consideration for the week are H.R. 2892, the Department of Homeland Security appropriations; H.R. 2647, DOD authorization; and the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies appropriations. For more, see the House Majority Leader’s report.

For the full list of committee hearings, see the Daily Digest starting here.

President Obama signs the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act today. On Tuesday, he meets with the President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet. Wednesday is the White House health care reform event promoted the media outlet that calls itself ABC News. On Thursday, the President celebrates service and meets with members of Congress on immigration reform. Friday he welcomes German Chancellor Merkel to the White House.

Senate Hearings: The Senate HELP Committee continues to mark up the Affordable Health Choices Act at 3 p.m. today and continues its restructuring of U.S. health care throughout the week. A Commerce subcommittee on Tuesday reviews high-speed passenger rail, with Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania testifying. A Banking subcommittee reviews over the counter derivatives. Senate Judiciary on Wednesday holds a hearing on “Promoting Job Creation and Foreign Investment in the United States: An Assessment of the EB-5 Regional Center Program.” A Senate EPW subcommittee on Thursday considers mountaintop removal coal mining and water quality. The full EPW on Thursday ponders the expected Highway Trust Fund insolvency. Senate Judiciary tries yet again Thursday to mark up several bills, including the federal media shield, S. 448.

House Hearings:  House Education and Labor holds a full committee hearing Tuesday on the House Democratic draft proposal for health care reform. Energy and Commerce’s health subcommittee considers its portion of the PLAN on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the full committee also weighs in. Ways & Means looks at health care Wednesday, as well. The Homeland Security Committee continues its mark-up of H.R. 2868, the Chemical Facility Antiterrorism Act. House Oversight on Tuesday considers the future of the V-22 Osprey. House Financial Services on Wednesday, “Regulatory Restructuring: Enhancing Consumer Financial Products Regulation.” A House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Wednesday, a hearing on U.S.-Africa trade relations. On Wednesday, a Small Business subcommittee considers Health IT and small group healthcare practices. The highways and transit subcommittee of House Transportation marks up the surface transportation reauthorization bill on Wednesday; on Thursday, the full committee reviews the stimulus bill’s effect on infrastructure. Science and Technology on Wednesday marks up bills on research and natural gas vehicles; a subcommittee on Thursday considers DHS and NIST cybersecurity efforts. A Ways & Means subcommittee holds a hearing Thursday on highway and transit investment needs. The trade subcommittee reviews the performance of the trade advisory committees. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies Thursday at a House Oversight Committee hearings on Bank of America’ acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

Executive Branch: Cabinet secretaries join the White House and First Lady Michelle Obama today in kicking off the “United We Serve” summertime program to lend a federal government imprimatur to local volunteer efforts. News coverage,

Economic Reports: The National Association of Realtors release the May home price index on Tuesday, and the Federal Reserves Open Market Committee begins a two-day meeting. Commerce releases May figures on new-home sales and durable goods Wednesday. Commerce on Thursday issues a report on first-quarter GDP and Friday releases figures on personal income and May spending. More from CNNMoney.com.

Here in Washington, the Smithsonian’s annual Folklife Festival kicks off Wednesday on the National Mall. Themes are African-American literature, music in the Latino culture, and Wales. For the latter, the schedule of events includes a few items related to Wales’ industrial heritage, including coal and slate mining, but it looks like there’s more promotion of wind turbines.

From The Associated Press, “Assembly Democrats back away from liability change,” reporting that Wisconsin Assembly Democrats have voted to remove Gov. Jim Doyle’s budget proposal to expand joint and several liability, which would encourage deep-pocket lawsuits against businesses and others.

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, an NAM affiliate, has been leading the fight against the provision sought only by trial lawyers and their political beneficiaries and a serious threat to the Wisconsin’s already struggling economy.

“It’s the classic victory for grass roots lobbying,” said James Buchen, vice president of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state’s largest business lobbying group. “If enough people make enough calls and write enough letters, legislators will do what the people want them to do.”

Darn right. WMC is on the mark in terms of policy, but it also has its act together in organization and PR efforts. On the front page of its website, www.wmc.org, is a June 10th column from its president, James Haney, “Defining Moment in Wisconsin State Government.”

In comparison, the latest news release on the website for the trial lawyers, the Wisconsin Association for Justice, is dated April 23. Not very good when you’re trying to plead your case.

There’s more education and persuasion to come. Senate Democrats may have other ideas than their brethren in the other chamber, and the joint and several provision — why is it in the budget? — is far from dead.

The typical inflammatory, fact-challenged, alarm-the-moms news reporting by local TV stations on “dangerous” children’s products hit a slow period this year after news producers around the country realized the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act represented an overreaction. In drafting the legislation, Congress didn’t anticipate that used bookstores and libraries would destroy pre-1985 children’s books because of high lead content (high by CPSIA standards). Destroyed books? Awful! Pretty good story, though.

But now WJLA, Channel 7, the local ABC affiliate in Washington, is returning to the halcyon days of scaring the bejeebers out of people. The station broadcast a report Tuesday on its 5 p.m. news, “Local Library Books Could Contain Toxic Lead Levels“:

WASHINGTON - Lurking on library shelves may be a potentially toxic level of lead contained in the covers of some children’s books. And until recently, no one seemed to know it was there.

“That’s disturbing — very disturbing news,” said Diamond Phifer, a parent.

ABC 7/NewsChannel 8 grabbed an armful of children’s books from public libraries in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. The covers of nearly 30 books were checked using a home lead testing kit.

Tests showed lead, so the station followed up with more sensitive testing at Schneider Labs in Richmond.

Beginning in August, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act prohibits products intended for children 12 and under containing more than 300 parts per million of lead.

That drops to 100 parts per million in 2011 — but sources say even that can be dangerous. “Lead has been shown even at the lowest level we can test to cause harm, to cause significant long lasting harm,” said Dr. Dana Best, a lead expert at Children’s National Medical Center.

The lab determined the cover of one book had 1,793 parts per million, nearly 18 times the 2011 maximum and more than enough to be considered toxic.

The other book barely complies with the 2011 standards, having 86 parts per million on the cover.

A couple of problems with the story. First, you never learn when the books in question were published, which is a key question. Pre-1985 children’s books were printed with ink that contained minutes traces of lead, but the report never states when “The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood,” was published. Amazon lists many, many editions of the book from many different years. (Having loved the Howard Pyle stories as a kid, we’d assert it’s more dangerous not to have read them than to come into contact with their covers.)

The more important question is whether the lead standards required by the CPSIA make any real-world sense.

From The Huntsville Times, “Official praises ‘Dream it, Do it’“:

The state’s director of work force development on Tuesday praised a program called “Dream it, Do it” that’s aimed at improving the image of manufacturing among students, parents and educators.

The Tennessee Valley “Dream it, Do it” initiative, officially launched Tuesday for a 23-county area in North Alabama and southern Tennessee, is the first “Dream it, Do it” campaign in the Southeast and the first two-state effort.

“These are uncertain times - these are uncertain times in our economy,” said Dr. Matthew Hughes, director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development. “It seems like everywhere we turn, we’re faced with troubling news.” The way for the state of Alabama and the country to keep a leadership role in a global economy, he said, is having “a skilled and well-educated work force.”

Earlier story from the Times, “Program pushes manufacturing”

“Dream It, Do It” is a grassroots, locally driven initiative that the Manufacturing Institute has helped spread throughout the country. Here’s the website.

We learn from today’s news conference marking the introduction of the Employee Free Choice Act that the Senate version has 40 cosponsors — that’s compared to 46 in the 110th Congress. The House version now has 223 cosponsors, versus 233 original cosponsors last go around. And, as the EFCA Report blog notes, obstensibly pro-union Democrats made major gains in both the Senate and House in the last election.

Here’s the news release as posted at the website of Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, ”U.S. Senate and House Introduce Employee Free Choice Act”: 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Leading members of the U.S. Senate and House today introduced legislation that would help enable workers to bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions by restoring their rights to form unions.

“The current crisis has shown us the dangers of an economy that leaves working families behind. The people who work in our factories, build our roads, and care for our children are the backbone of this great nation. The Employee Free Choice Act will give these hardworking men and women a greater voice in the decisions that affect their families and their futures. It’s a critical step toward putting our economy back on track, and I hope that we can act quickly to send it to the President’s desk,” said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

“Just as the National Labor Relations Act, the 40 hour week and the minimum wage helped to pull us out of the Great Depression and into a period of unprecedented prosperity, so too will the Employee Free Choice Act help reinvigorate our economy,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.  “Today is one of those defining moments in history as we introduce legislation that puts power back into the hands of the people who are truly the backbone of this economy.”

“Americans’ wages have been stagnating or falling for the past decade. For far too long, we have seen corporate CEOs take care of themselves and shareholders at the expense of workers,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “If we want a fair and sustainable recovery from this economic crisis, we must give workers the ability to stand up for themselves and once again share in the prosperity they help to create.”

Etc.

Senator Kennedy, ill with cancer, was not at the news conference or the Senate committee hearing that preceded the media event.

It’s a trillion-dollar historic week here in Washington as Congress moves to pass H.R. 1, the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and President Obama moves to sign it. Will anybody be moved to read it?

Massive destimulus occurs Tuesday, as lead and phthalate standards go into effect under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

President Obama travels today to Elkhart, Indiana, to sell the stimulus before holding a prime time news conference tonight. Tomorrow it’s Fort Meyers, Florida, stimulatingly. Also tomorrow, Treasury Secretary Geithner unveils the second stage of financial rescue, the TARPII announcement originally scheduled for Monday.

The Senate returns to H.R. 1 at approximately 1 p.m., with a cloture vote scheduled on the Collins-Nelson “compromise” amendment for 5:30 p.m. Leadership hopes to have a final vote Tuesday. (Courtesy of MichelleMalkin.com, here’s the text of the substitute.) For more of the week’s schedule, see the Daily Digest.

The House convenes at 2 p.m. today. The year’s work of hailing commemorative saluting has begun again, and after that and the suspension calendar, the two big bills of the week are S. 22, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, and the stimulus bill, H.R. 1, in whatever form it takes. For the Majority Leader’s floor schedule for the week, go here.

The week’s full schedule of hearings is available in the Congressional Record.

Senate Hearings: The Banking Committee holds an oversight hearing Tuesday on financial rescue legislation, including “a new plan” for TARP. Treasury Secretary Geithner testifies. The Budget Committee examines issues and budget options for health reform Tuesday; on Wednesday, the committee examines “policies to address the crises in financial and housing markets.” On Tuesday, Senate Energy and Natural Resources examines a renewable electricity standards proposal.  On Thursday, the committee reviews the DOE Loan Guarantee Program and clean energy technologies. The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday considers increased fraud enforcement in the wake of the economic downturn.

House Hearings:The full House Education and Labor Committee on Thursday holds a hearing, “Examining Workers’ Rights and Violence Against Labor Union Leaders in Colombia,” signaling something about the U.S.-Colombia FTA. A subcommittee that afternoon holds a hearing, “New Innovations and Best Practices, Under the Workforce Investment Act.” The Energy and Commerce subcommittee on energy and environment holds a hearing, “The Climate Challenge: National Security Threats and Economic Opportunities.” Financial Services on Tuesday examines the “Extraordinary Efforts by the Federal Reserve Bank to Provide Liquidity in the Current Financial Crisis,” with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke testifying. On Wednesday, the committee follows with “TARP Accountability: Use of Federal Assistance by the First TARP Recipients.” The Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday, an oversight hearing, “Offshore Drilling: Environmental and Commercial Perspectives.” Its subcommittee on energy and mineral resources holds a hearing Thursday on H.R. 493, Coal Ash Reclamation, Environment, and Safety Act. The week also sees two House Science and Technology Committee hearings of interest: The full committee on Wednesday on the recycling of electronic waste; on Thursday, it’s a subcommittee overview of transportation R&D.

Executive Branch: It’s a busy week for Treasury Secretary Geithner: On Tuesday he unveils the next financial stability plan and testifies on TARP before Senate Banking; on Wednesday he testifies before Senate Budget; on Saturday, he speaks at the G-7 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in Rome.

Away from all this history — history. The bicentennial of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth is Thursday, February 12.

The Washington Auto Show rolls into town this week, taking over the downtown Convention Center for exhibits, policy discussions, roll-outs and marketing.

The official site of the show is www.WashingtonAutoShow.com.

Today is on Capitol Hill is the “Green Car Summit: Defining the Road Ahead.”

“Vehicles offering dramatically improved environmental performance are crucial to helping us move beyond today’s challenges of oil dependence and growing environmental impacts,” says Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal and editor of GreenCar.com. “While not yet widely available in new car showrooms, these vehicles each inspire in important ways with their advanced power trains, use of cleaner or more sustainable fuels, vastly improved efficiencies, or a combination of these attributes.” The award-winning Green Car Journal has focused on the intersection of automobiles, energy, and environment since its launch in 1992. As part of its mission, the magazine hosts events, produces ride-and-drives of advanced and clean fuel vehicles, and conducts various outreach efforts to educate consumers on better and more environmentally positive vehicle choices. 

The theme is continued throughout the show, highlighted at the Green Car Pavilion.

Vehicles on display achieve their high levels of efficiency with the use of advanced technologies ranging from gasoline-electric hybrid engines, plug-in hybrid powertrains, and hydrogen fuel cells to more conventional clean diesel and advanced gasoline engines. Among the more high-profile vehicles on hand will be the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell, GM’s hydrogen crossover demonstration vehicle that captured last year’s Green Car Vision Award™, and the clean diesel VW Jetta TDI, recently honored as Green Car Journal’s 2009 Green Car of the Year®. Other exciting vehicles at the Pavilion will be ones running on battery electric power, E85 ethanol, compressed natural gas, and other alternative fuels.

Tuesday is Public Policy Day. We’ll be there.

SAE International formerly known as Society of Automotive Engineers and the Washington Auto Show (WAS) will co-locate the 2009 SAE Government/Industry Meeting with the Washington Auto Show. SAE’s plenary session, “Roadmap for the 44th President and 111th Congress,” will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. on Public Policy Day, February 2 and 3, an event unique to the WAS because of the show’s location at the seat of power. Public Policy Day – Open to Credentialed Media, February 3, opens with the Mazda-hosted breakfast and includes a full-day of manufacturer introductions and policy announcements. Additionally, The Green Car Journal will present the Green Car Vision Award. 

Tuesday also feature a salute to Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), the veteran legislator and fierce advocate for a strong domestic auto industry.

The Washington Post had a good, basic review of the political/policy/economic issues on display this week, “Carmakers Drive Their Best Case To the Nation’s Seat of Power.”

As said, we’ll be there and plan to blog.