Milloy's career has been spent denying the results of science that government agencies rely on for protecting the public.[1] His close financial and organizational ties to tobacco and oil companies have been the subject of criticism, as Milloy has consistently disputed the scientific consensus on climate change and the health risks of second-hand smoke.[2][3]
From the 1990s until the end of 2005, Milloy was an adjunct scholar at the libertarian Cato Institute, which hosted the JunkScience.com site. He was an adjunct scholar at the Competitive Enterprise Institute from 2005 to 2009.[4]
He operated The Advancement of Sound Science Center (TASSC)[5] established by Philip Morris Companies Inc. to counter legislation against second-hand smoke.
Since 2020 Milloy has served on the board of the Heartland Institute.[6] As of 2023 Milloy is a Senior Policy Fellow with the Energy & Environment Legal Institute.[7]
Education[edit]
Milloy holds a B.A. in Natural Sciences from Johns Hopkins University, a Master of Health Sciences in Biostatistics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health,[8] a Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore, and a Master of Laws from the Georgetown University Law Center.[9]
Career[edit]
The National Environmental Policy Institute (NEPI) was formed in early 1993 by Congressmen Don Ritter (R-PA) and Dennis Hertel (D-MI).[10]
Most of the initial funding for this 'greenwash' lobby group came from Occidental Petroleum and other oil companies. Milloy styled himself as the National Environmental Policy Institute's Director of Science Policy Studies. NEPI's publication, Science-Based Risk Assessment: A Key to the Superfund Puzzle, says: "Sound science and more accurate risk assessments can significantly reduce the costs of remediation, while reducing real health risks when they are found. ... Milloy of the NEPI suggests that the costs of cleanups would fall by 60 percent if the program focused more directly on risk when identifying the appropriate remedies."[11]
At the same time, Milloy was working through Philip Morris's specialist-science/PR company APCO & Associates, but was relegated to working behind the scenes as a contact for the newly formed TASSC, and on developing a new electronic-mail/computer business venture known as "Issues Watch" for APCO. APCO formally established TASSC on October 1, 1993. The budget for the first full year of operation was $365,411.[12]
By 1994, according to his website, Milloy was project leader of the Regulatory Impact Analysis Project, Inc. for the U.S. Department of Energy. The Cato Institute, where he was listed as an adjunct scholar, published his work from 1995 to 2005. Milloy began his opposition to what he called "junk science" as president of the Environmental Policy Analysis Network in 1996.
Milloy's employment by the EOP Group Inc. (major lobbyists) dates back to before 1995, and it includes a record of lobbying on behalf of the Fort Howard Corporation, the International Food Additives Council, Monsanto Co. and Edison Electrics. The Competitive Enterprise Institute also proposed to Philip Morris that Milloy and his partners Michael Gough and Michael Fumento should be used to attack the FDA through reports to the House and Senate on risk Management reform.[13][14]
In March 1997, Milloy moved from the backroom to become president of The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (TASSC) [Established under Gov. Garrey Carruthers of New Mexico by Philip Morris], which later became The Advancement of Sound Science Center.[15]
He has links through Philip Morris and Fox News to Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation. He was a correspondent for Fox News between 2002 and 2009, and he became a policy director at Murray Energy and a member of Donald Trump's presidential transition team.[16]
Registration as a lobbyist[edit]
The United States Senate Lobby Filing Disclosure Program lists Milloy as a registered lobbyist for the EOP Group for the years 1998–2000.[56] The guidebook Washington Representatives also listed him as a lobbyist for the EOP Group in 1996.[57]
Milloy and former tobacco executive Tom Borelli ran a mutual fund called the Free Enterprise Action Fund (FEAF). The fund criticised companies that voluntarily adopt higher environmental standards. Through the platform of the FEAF, Milloy has criticized a number of other corporations for adopting environmental initiatives:
FEAF was criticized by investment analyst Chuck Jaffe as being "an advocacy group in search of assets." Jaffe concludes, "Strip away the rhetoric, and you're getting a very expensive, underperforming index fund, while Milloy and his partner Thomas Borelli get a platform for raising their pet issues."[61]
Similarly, Daniel Gross, in a Slate magazine article, wrote that FEAF "seems to be a lobbying enterprise masquerading as a mutual fund." He noted that Milloy and Tom Borelli, the former head of corporate scientific affairs for Philip Morris, lack any money management experience, also noting FEAF had badly underperformed the S&P 500 during its first 10 months of existence. Gross concluded that, "... in the short term, it looks like Borelli and Milloy are essentially paying the fund for the privilege of using it as a platform to broadcast their views on corporate governance, global warming, and a host of other issues."[62]