EDWARD W. BROOKE III - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 04/14/1977 - HFSID 154227

EDWARD W. BROOKE III
Signed 1977 letter as US Senator, expressing sympathy with a constituent's opposition to a proposed FDA ban on saccharin, but hedging on how he will vote
Typed Letter Signed: "Edward W. Brooke" as US Senator, 2 pages, 8x10¾. Washington, D.C., 1977 April 14. On Senate letterhead to A. C. Boxell, Holden, Massachusetts. In full: "I share your concern about the proposed FDA ban on saccharin, and I am deeply sympathetic about the difficulties which this ban will cause for millions of diabetic and overweight Americans. Whatever the outcome of the furious debate on the ban, it is clear that some provision will have to be made so that those who need non-nutritive sweeteners for health reasons will continue to have saccharin available to them. Two alternatives come to mind: either the Congress or the FDA can move to make saccharin a drug available by prescription, which you and I both know will inevitably result in higher costs for the consumer. Or, the Congress can vote to exempt saccharin from the Delaney clause which permits the FDA to ban potentially carcinogenic substances. Nevertheless, I do want you to understand that meaningful and forceful protection of the American consumers is a matter of great concern to me. I also believe that the regulatory process of all agencies and commissions must be basically insulated from Congressional pressure, so that evaluation of various issues before those agencies can be conducted in a dispassionate, fair and impartial manner. It is true that some questions may be raised about the wisdom of basing a total ban on saccharin on tests which fed laboratory rats the equivalent of 800 12-ounce bottles of diet soda for a lifetime. It is also true that the FDA, in advocating a total ban may not have adequately considered the need for development of contingency plans to protect the health of those who truly cannot tolerate sugar. Those issues are now being raised in Congressional hearings, and I will certainly monitor those hearings. Thank you for writing to me on this important subject. And please be assured I will continue to keep you informed as to actions taken by the Congress and by me. Sincerely". Edward W. Brooke III (1919-2015) was Attorney General of Massachusetts for two terms (1963-1967) before being elected to two terms in the US Senate (1967-1979). Brooke, the first African American to serve in the US Senate since Reconstruction, is also the last Republican elected to that office from Massachusetts. Brooke, whose contentious divorce was a factor in his unsuccessful bid for a third term, has declined to comment on recent claims by TV journalist Barbara Walters that she and the Senator had a prolonged affair during the 1970s. A combat veteran of World War II, Brooke received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004. Senators received many letters on the Food and Drug administration's proposed ban on saccharin in 1977. Canada did ban the artificial sweetener, but Congress intervened to halt any restrictions in the US, beyond a (since removed) health warning on the packaging. Mailing fold (not affecting signature). Staple holes at upper left corner. Single stain at center left of page 1. Fine condition.