FCA Lobbyist Paul Lambert Gives Misleading Testimony to Florida House Health Sub-Commitee
Paul Lambert, the highly paid, long term lobbyist for the Florida Chiropractic Association (FCA) certainly looked the part. But looking dapper and distinguished in his signature bow tie during his testimony before the Florida House Health Sub-committee on the topic of removing the monopolistic "CCE Only" language from the statute did not hide his desperate sounding attempts to keep the status quo.
Unfortunately for him and the FCA, looking the part isn't the same as being the part.
In what has turned out to be a complete dis-information campaign on the part of the FCA, the Palmer Colleges, and the Keiser and National Chiropractic Medicine programs, Lambert added his flavor of fear, mis-information, re-direction and sleight of hand during his testimony.
Lambert started his testimony by attacking graduates of foreign chiropractic schools who he claims have a "substandard education" and he insulted the Board of Chiropractic Medicine basically saying they aren't smart enough to determine whether or not a school should be recognized by the state - even though many state boards do exactly that.
No, according to Lambert ". . . in essence, what the bill does is rearrange the furniture in the room but doesn't accomplish anything more."
That was step one in his dis-information campaign. Make believe that removing "CCE Only" language doesn't do anything.
Of course the obvious question to Lambert and the FCA is: "Then why are you spending so much time, effort and energy trying to stop something that doesn't do anything"?
We are beginning to understand why he needs the bow tie - to help distract from the actual issues since he has little to support his fear mongering.
Lambert goes on in his testimony to try and explain the difference between being accredited by the CCE, the United States Department of Education and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
Referring to the Bill to remove CCE Only language Lambert states:
"Now it deletes the name of the accrediting agency for chiropractic education, that's the Council on Chiropractic Education and substitutes that with an agency that's approved or recognized by the US office or the US Department of Education or the Council on Higher Education Accreditation."
Now, keeping in mind that the FCA, Keiser's Chiropractic Medical program and the Palmer schools are all ranting and raving about how the CCE ensures "quality" in chiropractic education, Lambert basically states that the CCE just allows schools to get grants and loans but for "even higher quality of education" then CHEA would do that.
Well, Paul - that's why the Bill you are trying to stop has CHEA in it.
"Now, the Council on Chiropractic Education happens to be approved or recognized by both of those organizations. The US Department of Education approves accreditors for the purposes of federal law. If a school wants to have student loans or federal grants they have to be approved, the accrediting agency has to be approved by the US Office of Education. The private one is for schools that want to achieve even higher quality of education."
Bless his heart. At least the bow tie kind of makes you excuse his cognitive lapses.
But the real fun starts when Lambert tries his hand at misdirection. His attempts would work if one did not actually know any facts about what he was asserting and how he was using it to hide an ugly truth.
That the language in the statute to get a medical license is exactly what the proposed chiropractic bill is asking:
"Be a graduate of a school recognized and approved by the US Office of Education"
The State of Florida does not require medical schools to be recognized by anyone other than the US Department of Education - here is what their statute says:
"Be a graduate of an Allopathic US Medical School of a school recognized and approved by the US Office of Education"
Odd that Lambert does not mention that isn't it?
Instead, he manipulates the lawmakers by re-directing their attention to a few other professions that name an accrediting agency hoping they are distracted by his bow tie and don't know or care what he is really hiding from them.
Making this behavior even worse is how obvious it is that the FCA, Palmer, National and Keiser coordinated their dis-information campaign since they all attempted this same sleight of hand.
The truth is that the language in HB 873 simply allows for acceptance by other accrediting agencies recognized by the USDE. So any agency would still have to have USDE approval.
Just no monopoly.
Plus, all schools would still have accreditation through regional accreditors.
Besides all of that no one can get licensed unless they pass all parts of National Board exams. So unless Lambert, Miller, Wiles, the FCA, Palmer, National and Keiser are concerned that the NBCE is worthless, that regional accreditors are worthless and that the USDE is worthless - the concern is unfounded and reveals the true motive: CONTROL.
According to the NBCE for example, their exams:
". . . offer assurance to the general public that, regardless of where a chiropractor went to school or was licensed, he or she has demonstrated a baseline of knowledge as well as ability in diagnosis, diagnostic imaging, principles of chiropractic, associated clinical sciences and chiropractic practice."
So in order to get licensed to practice chiropractic one must graduate from a regionally accredited institution and in some cases one with a chiropractic accreditor recognized by the USDE and take and pass all parts of the NBCE Exams.
So even without CCE Only language no one is getting a Florida license without having been deemed competent many times over. In fact, the Florida Board of Chiropractic Medicine feels so strongly about the NBCE that they turned over Florida's jurisprudence exam to the NBCE despite the State of Florida telling them to do away with the exam completely. But Lambert is hoping no one remembers that debacle.
Lambert closes his testimony in a panicked confusion:
"So the question is why, why is this amendment, why is a bill needed?"
Its very simple Paul - Unlike you, the FCA, Palmer, Keiser and National, no one likes a Cartel that has a monopoly.
CLICK HERE for a video of Lambert's Testimony
CLICK HERE for the text of Lambert's testimony
