Autumn in Pennsylvania is traditionally a time of fun festivals and community gatherings. But this year has broken with tradition, and both foreign and domestic factors have impeded the struggle for normalcy. The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a shutdown of our communities and an encroachment on the rights of citizens.
Let me be clear: It is critically important to our nation that our brightest minds provide the best information possible to lawmakers and the public. We can’t make the best decisions without them. But we’re facing a crisis in this country where the informers are now trying to become the nation’s decision-makers.
Our state’s recent Oktoberfest celebrations are a good illustration of the current public health debate issues. Oktoberfest came in full swing, albeit at a more distanced capacity. The festivities allowed thousands to safely engage in community events that, while not literal medicine, provide a substantial boost to our citizens’ mental and emotional health.
There are just some things where the best vaccine is social engagement. For those of German heritage in our state, beer isn’t just a beverage; it’s a connection to their past and a part of their proud culture. That culture is shared with all of us and helps bond our communities together.
Now, however, unelected bureaucrats are taking aim at events like Oktoberfest with various criticisms that, while no doubt come from a place of honest concern, show their shortcomings as decision-makers. The problems officials have with these events don’t stop with gatherings but expand to the little choices people make — the most ludicrous being responsible, moderate alcohol consumption.
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, created to provide dietary guideline recommendations to the federal government, has taken an uncharacteristically aggressive stance against moderate drinking. It went so far as to lower the recommended moderate drinking level for men down to a single drink. Most concerning is that members have made this suggestion with little evidence to justify the move. In fact, they can only point to a single study within the 60 approved for use that even examined the risk differences in men having one or two drinks per day.
I’m no scientist, but I’ve listened to enough to know you don’t make changes to over two decades of precedent because of just one study. Not when by its report’s own admission, nearly half of the analyses approved for review showed net potential benefits to low alcohol intake. The other half showed no relationship.
That a single study can upend decades of precedent shows a deep flaw in the committee’s process and can potentially undermine its credibility — credibility that is desperately needed when creating something as important as federal dietary guidelines.
Government health advisers, including the DGAC, are supposed to make recommendations based on the net totality of the science. It’s an important role, but it also should be their only one. If we continue to allow them to take public policy advocates’ role, the avenues of public accountability will increasingly narrow, and the public’s confidence in our scientific community will continue to erode.
We’re already witnessing this happen.
It is this ceding of authority that has enraged so many during these troubling seven months. No serious person is angered by bureaucrats relaying knowledge and recommendations. It’s their increased involvement in the political process that has caused concern. People want to be informed, but they also want to be treated like adults.
Micromanaging alcohol consumption may seem small during a virus outbreak, but it’s another chip away at the powers vested to those directly accountable to the people.
There is a genuine danger in allowing this precedent to go unchallenged. Along with my colleagues, I must do more to correct the erosion of public authority from legislators and return it under the umbrella of public accountability. That starts with calling out oversteps like the DGAC alcohol recommendation and standing up for sound science. I can only hope my colleagues in the House of Representatives join me.
Pennsylvania state Rep. Greg Rothman, a Cumberland County Republican, is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where he serves as vice chairman of the Liquor Control Committee.
