HASTERT STICKS GUM MONEY INTO THE BUDGET'S FINE PRINT

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Dennis Hastert's congressional district, which stretches
along the Fox River Valley due west of Chicago, doesn't have factories that
make fighter planes or shipyards with fancy aircraft carriers.

But it does have Amurol Confections Co. in Yorkville, proud manufacturer of
Stay Alert, a new caffeinated chewing gum that is said to pack the power of
a half-cup of coffee in each stick.

And, Cold War or no Cold War, taxpayers don't want American soldiers dozing
off on the job. So, reasons the Illinois Republican and chief deputy whip in
the House, why not have our troops driving trucks or walking guard duty
while chewing Yorkville's own Stay Alert?

Thus, buried deep within the fine print of the $250 billion Defense
Department appropriations bill, one finds a recently added $250,000
expenditure for "pharmacokinetics research."

The provision is typical of the add-ons that members of Congress routinely
slip into federal spending bills during the late-night bargaining sessions
that wind up work on the massive fiscal packages. This, however, is one of
the few that comes in mint, cinnamon and mocha.

By waiting until after the House and Senate each have passed their own
versions of the spending package and negotiators are closed in a room
ironing out final details, lawmakers can assist a favored constituent or
interest without inviting public scrutiny.

The pharmacokinetics research, which amounts to a study of Stay Alert
required before the military can consider it for procurement, made its way
into the Defense Department bill through just such a last-minute step.

Hastert, who maintains the chewing gum would be a useful aid to military
readiness, makes no apologies for facilitating the research study.

"It's not something I'm ashamed of," said Hastert, who was handing out packs
of the chewing gum Tuesday. "That's my job, to represent people in my
district--if there are needs."

"I don't have any defense (projects) in my district. I don't have any C-17s.
I don't have any fighter planes," Hastert said. "It's $250,000, and it will
create 400 jobs," assuming the military would ultimately make the gum a
staple.

But one House member, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), took to the floor and
criticized the gum expenditure, pointedly noting the firm's location in
Hastert's hometown. "One quarter of a million dollars will be spent. But
there is no money for teachers, no money for kids, no money for schools.
Shame," he said.

Hastert said he resorted to working through the last-minute conference
negotiations because representatives of Amurol approached him late in the
appropriations process--in July, after the House already had passed its
version of the bill that funds the Defense Department.

Hastert said Amurol representatives presented an argument that the gum, used
by truckers, is superior to caffeine pills. Because the stimulant in the gum
is absorbed through mucous membranes in the mouth rather than through the
stomach lining, the caffeine works faster--in about three minutes, compared
to 15 or 20 minutes with the pills, Hastert said.

"When it was explained to us, I thought, `That sounds like a good idea,' "
he said.

Hastert, chief deputy whip for House Republicans and an influential member
of the party's leadership, said he took that information and asked for a
favor from Rep, Bill Young (R-Fla.), chairman of the subcommittee that
oversees military appropriations.

"I've never asked for anything (before)" from Young, he said. And so it was
done.

According to Marvin Rogul, public affairs officer for the Walter Reed Army
Institute of Research, Col. Gregory Belanky, who runs the institute's
division of neural psychiatry sleep-deprivation program, talked with
representatives of Amurol, a division of chewing gum giant William Wrigley
Jr. Co., at a recent industry conference.

Belanky learned about the firm's product, saw possibilities for the Army and
suggested Amurol officials contact him when they had something in hand. Next
thing the institute knew, Amurol had gone to Hastert and the $250,000
appropriation, disclosed Tuesday by The Washington Post, was inserted in the
Defense spending bill.

Rogul said the sleep-deprivation program has been an ongoing effort, given
the potential hazards of sleep-deprived aircraft pilots, artillery spotters
and the like. Personnel are tested for such things as reaction time and
mental acuity after being deprived of sleep for 24-hour, 48-hour and 72-hour
periods, he said.

He said people deprived of sleep can fire weapons just as accurately as
those with a good night's sleep, but their judgment is impaired or slowed
and they may have difficulty detecting targets or firing in time.

Rogul said the program is experimenting with measures and substances to
counteract lack of sleep. They do not use amphetamines, which are addictive,
or substances like Ritalin, which has side effects.

"Basically we work with caffeine products," he said. In general, he added,
"We find that the best answer to sleep deprivation is to get more sleep."

That is a sentiment shared by Darrel Drobnich, director of government and
transportation affairs at the National Sleep Foundation. He said he was
familiar with the chewing gum and what he conceded was "the Army's
interesting research into sleep."

"We do promote the use of caffeine as a short-term alertness tool but always
advise moderation," Drobnich said. "But if you are on the road, the best
thing is to drive to the side and take a 10- to 20-minute nap."

Checked-by: Don Beck