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Hudson Institute
The Hudson Institute is a non-profit think tank headquartered in Washington D.C. Its 2008 IRS form 990 listed $11.8 million in advocacy expenditures. [1]
While describing itself as "non-partisan" and preferring to portray itself as independently "contrarian" rather than as a conservative think tank, the Hudson Institute gains financial support from many of the foundations and corporations that have bankrolled the conservative movement. The Capital Research Center, a conservative group that seeks to rank non-profits and documents their funding, allocates Hudson as a 7 on its ideological spectrum with 8 being "Free Market Right" and 1 "Radical Left." [1]
Hudson has traditionally had a strong focus on U.S. domestic policies such as national defense, education, crime, immigration, welfare, pesticides and biotechnology. However, in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks it has substantially boosted its focus on international issues such as the Middle East, Latin America and Islam.
Contents
1 History
2 Programs
3 Funding
4 Personnel 4.1 Executive Management
4.2 Other Members of the Executive Commitee
4.3 Board of Trustees
4.4 Staff
4.5 Selected other staff and Fellows
4.6 Former personnel
5 Contact details
6 Articles and resources 6.1 Related SourceWatch articles
6.2 External resources
6.3 External articles
7 References
History
The Institute was founded in 1961 by the late Herman Kahn and his colleagues Max Singer and Oscar Ruebhausen from the RAND Corporation. Initially its policy focus, while right-wing, was dictated by Kahn's own interests (such as domestic and military uses of nuclear power, the future of the US workplace, and the science of "futurology"). Following his death in 1983, the Institute expanded its staff and took on a more overtly conservative stance.
Hudson states in its 2002 annual report that its guiding principles continue "Kahn's optimism about the future, his commitment to free markets and individual responsibility, his belief in the connection between the advance of technology and economic progress, a respect for the importance of religion and culture in human affairs, and his understanding that the prosperity and security of the United States are vital to the prosperity and security of the world." [2]
Hudson insists that its policy positions are not influenced by either its funding sources or ideology. "Whether in domestic policy, national security, or international events, the institute guards its intellectual integrity. Neither dollars nor ideology will sway our opinions. At Hudson Institute, we always strive for the betterment of our world," Walter P. Stern and Herb London wrote in an introductory message in the think tanks 2002 annual report. [3]
Programs
The Institute now operates a number of programs - each of which are dubbed as a "center" or "project" - including:
Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal - William A. Schambra, Director
Center for American Common Culture- John Fonte, Director
Center for Employment Policy - Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Director
Center for Future Security Strategies - S. Enders Wimbush, Director
Center for Global Food Issues - Dennis Avery, Director
Center for Islam, Democracy and the Future of the Muslim World - Hillel Fradkin, Director
Center for Latin American Studies - Jaime Daremblum, Director
Center for Middle East Policy - Meyrav Wurmser, Director
Economic Policy Studies (formerly the Regulatory Studies Center) Irwin Stelzer, Director
Islam and Democracy Project - Husain Haqqani, Co-Chair;
Project on Campaign and Election Laws - Amy Kaufman
Center for Religious Freedom - Paul Marshall
The Hudson Institute also works on medicines issues, arguing for positions very close to those of the large patent-holding drug companies. In particular, one of its Senior Fellows, Carol Adelman, has authored a number of articles attacking the World Health Organization, and NGOs, for approving the use of generic versions of antiretroviral AIDS drugs.
Funding
Between 1987 and 2006, the Institute received 273 grants totaling $17,722,643 (unadjusted for inflation) from a range of foundations including:[4]
Castle Rock Foundation
Earhart Foundation
F.M. Kirby Foundation
John M. Olin Foundation, Inc.
JM Foundation
Koch Family Foundations (David H. Koch Foundation)
Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundatio
Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
Scaife Foundations (Scaife Family, Sarah Mellon Scaife, Carthage)
Shelby Cullom Davis Foundation
Smith Richardson Foundation
Walton Family Foundation
William H. Donner Foundation
While many conservative think tanks eschew government funding, Hudson happily takes government contracts. The Capital Research Center (CRC) database lists Hudson as having received six grants between 1996 and 2002 totalling $731,914 (unadjusted for inflation). Five of the six grants were from the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs. (Neither the CRC database or Hudson's annual report for those years provide details on what the grants were specifically for). [5]
In 2002 Hudson received a grant of $173,484 from the Department of Commerce. (Rather bizarrely, CRC assigns the Department of Commerce an "ideological ranking" of 1 - "Radical Left").
The Hudson Institute's IRS Form 990 for the financial year ending on September 30, 2003 showed total revenue of $9.34 million, including over $146,000 in government grants. Other known funders listed in the institute's 2002 annual report include:
Ag Processing Inc
American Crop Protection Association
American Cyanamid
Archer Daniels Midland
Cargill
Ciba-Geigy
ConAgra Foods
Conrad Black
CropLife International
DowElanco
DuPont
Eli Lilly and Company
Exxon Mobil
Fannie Mae
General Electric Fund
Heinz
IBM
Lilly Endowment
McDonald's
Merck
Microsoft
Monsanto
National Agricultural Chemical Association
Nichols-Dezenhall Communications Management Group
Novartis
PayPal
PhRMA
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Procter & Gamble
Sunkist Growers
Syngenta Crop Protection
United Agri Products
Westfield Corporation
After it was revealed that Michael Fumento received funding from Monsanto for his 1999 book Bio-Evolution, company spokesman Chris Horner confirmed that it continues to fund the think tank. "It's our practice, that if we're dealing with an organization like this, that any funds we're giving should be unrestricted," Horner told Businessweek. Hudson's CEO Kenneth R. Weinstein told Businessweek that he was uncertain if the payment should have been disclosed. "That's a good question, period," he said. [6]
Between 2001 and 2010, the Institute received $7 million from the Bradley Foundation[2]
Personnel
In 2006, Scooter Libby, former Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, joined Hudson Institute as a senior advisor. Libby, who was convicted as part of the federal investigation into the Valerie PlameGate affair, became a vice president of the Institute. According to the Hudson Institute's 2008 IRS Form 990, Libby was paid an annual salary of $187,000, plus $10,755 in benefits.[3] [4] Later, in 2009, the Institute advocated for a presidential pardon for Scooter Libby.[5] As at October 2005 key Hudson Institute personnel, with pay data from the 2000-2003 IRS return, include:
Executive Management
Herb London, President ($195,000)
Kenneth R. Weinstein, Chief Executive Officer ($131,005)
Deborah L. Hoopes,Vice President & Chief Financial Officer ($68,961)
John P. Walters, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President
I. Lewis Libby ("Scooter" Libby), Senior Vice President
Other Members of the Executive Commitee
Linden S. Blue
Joseph M. Giglio
Marie-Josee Kravis
Robert H. McKinney
Wallace O. Sellers
Walter P. Stern
Allan R. Tessler
Board of Trustees
The Hudson Institute also has 32 trustees including:
Conrad Black
Roy Innis
Richard Perle
The Hudson Institute also has "Trustee Emeriti" including:
Craig Fuller, who led the PR firm Hill & Knowlton's Gulf War front group, Citizens for a Free Kuwait
Kenneth M. Duberstein, who runs a top DC lobby firm with a host of corporate clients
Alexander M. Haig
Staff
According to the Institute's 2002-2003 IRS return, the five highest paid employees, other than officers, and their total financial compensation, were:
Norman Podhoretz, senior fellow, $163,626
Michael Horowitz, senior fellow, $189,007, directs Hudson's Project for Civil Justice Reform (which promotes tort reform) and Project for International Religious Liberty
Graham Toft $117,350
William Schambra $141,531
Constantine Menges $117,333
Selected other staff and Fellows
Carol Adelman, Senior Fellow
Alex A. Avery, Director of Research and Education, Center for Global Food Issues;
Robert Bork, Distinguished Fellow
Michael Fumento, Senior Fellow
Ron Dworkin, Senior Fellow
Francis Fukuyama Adjunct Fellow
Charles Horner, Senior Fellow
Frank Luntz, Adjunct Fellow
Paul Marshall, Senior Fellow
Joel Schwartz, Senior Adjunct Fellow
Max Singer
Lt. General William Odom, who was director of Hudson's Center for National Security Studies in 2001 is now a Senior Fellow
I. Lewis Scooter Libby (Senior Advisor)
Former personnel
Former board directors include James H. Dowling from the multinational PR firm Burson-Marsteller. Former staff, listed in 2001 IRS return, include include John Curtis Smith, vice president; Patricia Hasselblad, secretary; and Gary Geipel, COO; Betsy Ross, senior fellow; and Edwin S. Rubinstein, senior fellow. Other former staff include: Phyllis Busansky, Welfare Policy Center; David Dodenhoff, Welfare Policy Center; Joshua Kaufmann, Welfare Policy Center; Kay Crawford, restorative justice coordinator of the Crime Control Policy Center; Natalie Hipple, research director at Hudson's Crime Control Policy Center; John Clark, director of Hudson's Center for Central European and Eurasian Studies; Donald K. Jonas, director of Hudson's Center for Workplace Development; Michael Garber, director of Hudson's Education Policy Center; Diana Etindi, director of Hudson's Phoenix Center on Human Relations and Community Affairs; Marshall Wittmann, director of the Project for Conservative Reform; Amy Sherman, director of the Welfare Policy Center.
Contact details
1015 15th Street, N.W. (the Examiner Building (Washington DC), home to numerous conservative organizations)
6th Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 974-2400
Fax: (202) 974-2410
Email: info AT hudson.org
Web: http://www.hudson.org
Articles and resources
Related SourceWatch articles
Hudson Institute's Promotion of Social Security Privatization
Think tanks
Trashing organic foods
Jan Henrik Jebsen - board member
External resources
Hudson RSS feed
External articles
"Hudson Institute, Inc.", Media Transparency, accessed October 2005.
Search of Media Transparency website for Hudson Institute results;
People for the American Way, Buying a Movement: Right-Wing Foundations and American Politics, 1996.
Phil Wilayto, "Don't look to Wisconsin as model for welfare reform", Media Transparency, July 1, 2000.
Bryan G. Pfeifer, "Wisconsin Works doesn't work: Report confirms failure of Wisconsin welfare reform known as W-2", Media Transparency, January 13, 2002.
"Salon.com, Roll Call: Republican pollster canned at MSNBC", Media Matters for America, September 30, 2004.
Bill Berkowitz, "At 60, the United Nations is still taking fire: The Hudson Institute's new 'EYE On The UN' website aims to make sure the UN is transparent, accountable and doing what the US wants", Media Transparency, September 28, 2005.
Eamon Javers, "A Columnist Backed by Monsanto: Michael Fumento's failure to disclose payments to him in 1999 from the agribusiness giant have now caused Scripps Howard to sever its ties to him," BusinessWeek Online, January 13, 2006.
Bill Berkowitz, "Hudson Institute: Home of the indicted and the exposed: After hiring Scooter Libby, "Senior Fellow" Michael Fumento admits taking Monsanto money and not disclosing it, and is fired by Scripps Howard News Service", Media Transparency, January 18, 2006.
Emma Schwartz, "Kazakhstan Pays for Academic Reports: Johns Hopkins Institute Says It Had Complete Independence," ABC News, September 29, 2008.
References
1. PewForum.org All Expendidures Data, chart/lobbying database, accessed January 20, 2012
2. Daniel Bice, Bill Glauber, Ben Poston. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. November 28, 2011
3. Hudson Institute/IRS 2008 Form 990, government reporting form, accessed January 20, 2012
4. Hudson Institute Communications Lewis Libby Joins Hudson Institute, news release, January 6, 2006
5. Diana Furchtgott-Roth Pardon Scooter Libby, January 15, 2009
