Chaffetz removes Issa portrait and signals new direction for high-profile, hard hitting Oversight panel

Utah GOP Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the new House Oversight Committee chairman, is explaining his decision to remove the portrait of preceding GOP chairman Rep. Darrell Issa from the panel’s hearing room.

Chaffetz said Thursday the move was not personal but suggested it was indeed ideological.

“I really felt strongly that in that committee room we should be inspired by those we serve, not inspired by past committee chairmen,” he said.

Chaffetz has indicated that he will focus more on government reform and committee reports than political scandal and seek fewer headlines.

“Issa didn’t do many reports,” he recently told Roll Call newspaper. He did “big press releases.”

While Issa surrounded his investigations and hearings with political drama and theatrics, his approach brought and sustained national attention to such issues as the Benghazi scandal as well as Fast & Furious, the federal government’s botched gun-tracking program.

Chaffetz will replace the Issa portrait, hung just last month, with photos of American history and life that the committee oversees, including the U.S. postal service, coal mining and civil rights.

Issa’s portrait was reportedly removed with those of other former committee chairmen and will be relocated to a meeting room.

Chaffetz said he first informed Issa and Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the committee’s top Democrat, of his decision.

He said Issa told him: “You’re the new chairman. You can do it as you want.’ He was actually very nice about it.”

Chaffetz is also replacing more than half of the committee’s 60-member staff for the 114th Congress, a move, along with removing the portraits, that has reportedly upset some Issa loyalists.

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Chaffetz removes Issa portrait and signals new direction for high-profile, hard hitting Oversight panel

Mexico"s junk food taxes hitting Pepsi, Coke

NEW YORK, USA (AP) — No wonder Coke and Pepsi are spending millions of dollars to fight proposed taxes on sugary drinks in California.

PepsiCo reported a higher quarterly profit yesterday as global sales rose, but one weak spot was Mexico. The company said snacks sales volume declined by three per cent, hurt by a new tax on junk foods.

Recent declines suffered by Pepsi and Coke in Mexico underscore why the beverage industry is fighting tax proposals on sugary drinks in San Francisco and nearby Berkeley.

PepsiCo — which makes Frito-Lay chips, Gatorade and Tropicana — reported similar declines in its snacks business for the first half of the year, starting when the tax went into effect.

Coca-Cola, which is scheduled to report its third quarter results on October 21, has also reported beverage volume declines in Mexico for the first half of the year, citing a similar tax on drinks. Mexico has the world’s highest per capita consumption of Coca-Cola drinks.

Hugh Johnston, chief financial officer for PepsiCo, said in a phone interview that declines in Mexico were in line with what the company expected. To mitigate the impact of the tax, he said PepsiCo plans to target different package sizes for different outlets.

The taxes in Mexico add one peso, about seven cents, to the cost of a litre of sugary drinks, and five per cent of the price to foods with 275 calories or more per 100 grams.

It’s not yet clear whether the taxes’ impact on consumption will last, or how significant it will be over time. And while PepsiCo monitors such tax initiatives around the world, Johnston said he doesn’t expect them to become more common.

Back in the US, San Francisco and Berkeley are seeking to become the first cities to pass per-ounce taxes on sugary drinks in the upcoming November election. The measures are being closely watched because many say defeats in the Bay Area, which is known for its liberal politics, would be a major blow to advocates of such taxes as a way to improve nutrition. Similar measures in other US cities have failed.

Health advocates have pushed taxes as a tool to cut consumption of calorie-laden junk food, similar to tactics that have successfully been used against cigarettes. Makers of such products say they are being unfairly singled out.

During a conference call with analysts and investors, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi addressed the measures in California and said she believed such “discriminatory taxes” are “wrong”.

“We will make our case and hope the voters are sensible enough to look at the right answer,” Nooyi said.

Since the start of this year, the American Beverage Association contributed US$7.7 million to defeat the proposal in San Francisco alone, according to a filing made this week.

That’s far more than the US$391,000 in contributions reported by supporters of the tax over the same time.

In the meantime, the beverage industry has touted its commitment to reducing the calories people consume from drinks by more aggressively marketing drinks with less sugar. The industry has also stressed the need to raise awareness about balancing the calories people consume with how much physical activity they get.

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Mexico"s junk food taxes hitting Pepsi, Coke