Senate Kills Re-Importation of Drugs....BIG PHARMA wins again

[Robson]

What's new? Sadly big money apparently always wins regardless of the party.

Free market principles only apply if you are a member of the order of big business. The lowly consumers are bound by the restrictions placed by big business.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18530709/


WASHINGTON - In a triumph for the pharmaceutical industry, the Senate on Monday killed a drive to allow consumers to buy prescription drugs from abroad at a significant savings over domestic prices.

On a 49-40 vote, the Senate required the administration to certify the safety and effectiveness of imported drugs before they can be imported, a requirement that officials have said they cannot meet.

“Well, once again the big drug companies have proved that they are the most powerful and best financed lobby in Washington,” said Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican.

The vote neutralized a second amendment, later passed on a voice vote, that would legalize the importation of prescription drugs manufactured in Canada, Australia, Europe, Japan and New Zealand.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called the certification amendment, introduced by Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., a “poison pill” for the drug-imports legislation. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., acknowledged it nullified his bid to allow the purchase of drugs abroad.

(continued under link)

[aquart]

1. Do we have the ayes and nays?

[Freddie Stubbs]

5. Here you go:

YEAs ---49
Alexander (R-TN)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carper (D-DE)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Isakson (R-GA)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McConnell (R-KY)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-NE)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Thomas (R-WY)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)

NAYs ---40
Akaka (D-HI)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cardin (D-MD)
Casey (D-PA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Craig (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Grassley (R-IA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lott (R-MS)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Nelson (D-FL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reid (D-NV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

Not Voting - 11
Allard (R-CO)
Biden (D-DE)
Brownback (R-KS)
Dodd (D-CT)
Ensign (R-NV)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Johnson (D-SD)
McCain (R-AZ)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Tester (D-MT)

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00151

[madfloridian]

9. Are those the votes for the actual importation?

?

[Freddie Stubbs]

13. This vote would require the Department of Health and Human Services

to certify the safety of drugs brought in from abroad.

The Senate Monday approved language designed to permit the importation of less expensive medications from abroad, but not before attaching language opposed by supporters of “reimportation.”
Sen. Byron Dorgan’s (D-N.D.) amendment to a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bill passed by voice vote Monday, following a 63–28 cloture vote on the language last Thursday. Dorgan’s legislation would allow individuals and wholesalers to import drugs from other countries for sale in the United States.


But Dorgan and his allies were unable to beat back legislation sponsored by Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), which was favored by the Senate Republican leadership and the drug industry. Cochran’s measure would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to certify the safety of drugs brought in from abroad. The Cochran amendment passed 49–40.

The White House indicated last week that President Bush would veto any bill that contained reimportation provisions. The addition of the Cochran language, however, may free the president from rejecting the entire FDA bill. During both the current and Clinton administrations, HHS refused to guarantee that it could certify the safety of drugs imported from other countries


more: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/drug-imports-amendment-passes-with-strings-attached-2007-05-07.html

[Robson]

16. Isn't it odd that drug and supplement companies can import ingredients at will

I agree that it is complicated and the waters muddy, because that's how policians of both stripes finnagle and deflect accountability from voters. Bottom line though is it is the continuation of status quo.

Consumers are forced to pay US big pharma prices supposedly to protect us from the wiley and unsavory international business community. Meanwhile the supplement and big drug companies import ingredients from all over the world and with minimal inspection by regulators. This is nothing but a boondoggle for big pharma to continue selling US consumer subsidized drugs to foreign countries, while gouging US consumers on the same drugs.

I don't give a blanket exemption of trust to either party on this. They are all in bed with big pharma to some degree.

[Selatius]

2. I'm a Mississippian, but I'm proud that I didn't vote for that dumbfuck Cockroach.

When your state elects people like Lott and Cochran to represent the state in the US Senate, you are living in a very ill-informed state indeed.

[Deja Q]

3. As long as they don't allow imports from other countries, fine by me.

We don't need China or India making drugs with glycol (antifreeze) instead of glycerine just to be cheap and then porting them here...

[Robson]

4. Only first world countries

Only drugs manufactured in Canada, Australia, Europe, Japan and New Zealand according to article.

[Initech]

6. If there's one lobby I hate above the others, it's the pharmaceutical lobby.

:argh:

[Faygo Kid]

7. This is scary - Kerry, Mikulski voted to poison importation - PhRMA never loses.

God help us, Byron Dorgan tried. But check it out: PhRMA never loses. Don't listen to the excuses by Kerry et al. Not a single bill to reduce prices for Americans will ever get through. PhRMA always wins.

[madfloridian]

8. The NO votes and NO SHOWS.....why? What reason.

I bolded the ones who especially disappointed me and surprised me. Help me out here...are these the votes to allow the importing or some amendment.

NAYs ---40
Akaka (D-HI)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cardin (D-MD)
Casey (D-PA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Craig (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Grassley (R-IA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lott (R-MS)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Nelson (D-FL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reid (D-NV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

Not Voting - 11
Allard (R-CO)
Biden (D-DE)
Brownback (R-KS)
Dodd (D-CT)
Ensign (R-NV)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Johnson (D-SD)
McCain (R-AZ)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Tester (D-MT)

[Freddie Stubbs]

14. The issue is a little more complex than the article in the OP

This appears to be a pretty good explanation:

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/drug-imports-amendment-passes-with-strings-attached-2007-05-07.html

[Telly Savalas]

18. Unless I'm mistaken a NAY vote is a vote in support of unfettered reimportation

So Senators Boxer and Clinton and the gang are saying that we should let drugs be reimported from Canada without a big hassle -- a pretty reasonable position in my mind.

5 of the 11 "Not Votings" are people running for president and might be out campaigning. Even if all 6 of the Democratic non-voters had been there and voted nay, it still would have required an additional 4 GOP Senators to join them to kill the amendment. Additionally, without this amendment Bush would have vetoed the bill. (Not that this justifies missing a vote, but it's enough that none of them deserve the standard DU crucifixion that's often received for wrong votes or non-votes.)

[Freddie Stubbs]

22. Considering that the parties were pretty split on this

it is possible, but not likely, that if all of the absent Senators had voted, this amendment would not have passed.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

30. Both my senators, Murray and Cantwell, just went down a couple of notches.

And, they will hear from me. Tho' writing to Cantwell is the equivalent of pissing in the wind.

[Jax]

31. Your description of writing Cantwell

is on the mark. Senator Murray generally responds back to me in writing but Cantwell, never.

They will hear from me as well.

Alyce

[rockymountaindem]

10. Given the shit that just went down with Chinese pet food, I'm not surprised

I think this would only work if there were some kind of reimportation bloc where everybody agreed to set and enforce the same standards. If we import pharmaceuticals from some country we think is safe, but that country imports them from some other unsafe place, that's not good for us. If the US, Canada, the EU and Japan were all to get on board in some kind of bloc for pharma reimportation, maybe that would allay some of the concerns.

That said, I think the two-tiered pricing system is a crock. Tackling that would require price control legislation, however, and that's not all too popular with anybody.

[Imagevision]

11. Those responsible for the votes should be posted and blogged 24/7...

[Freddie Stubbs]

12. Post and blog away:

YEAs ---49
Alexander (R-TN)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carper (D-DE)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Isakson (R-GA)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McConnell (R-KY)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-NE)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Thomas (R-WY)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)

NAYs ---40
Akaka (D-HI)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cardin (D-MD)
Casey (D-PA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Craig (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Grassley (R-IA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lott (R-MS)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Nelson (D-FL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reid (D-NV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

Not Voting - 11
Allard (R-CO)
Biden (D-DE)
Brownback (R-KS)
Dodd (D-CT)
Ensign (R-NV)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Johnson (D-SD)
McCain (R-AZ)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Tester (D-MT)

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00151

[WA98296]

15. Doesn't Hillary now receive the MOST pharma-lobby money now of anyone?

She was second, a bit over a year ago, to Frist wasn't it?

[Telly Savalas]

19. And she voted against the Republicans on this.

[SnoopDog]

17. Obviously, 49 Senators get alot of 'contributions' from the drug companies

49 Senators selling out our seniors... Rather disgusting. This is why America is failing.

And alot of Democrats are in that 49 vote count.

I recommend 'recommending' this thread - we all need to pressure our Dem Senators as well. It is our job...

(repost from LBN)

[NI4NI]

20. Lautenberg, Mennedez, and Carper

Merck headquarters is in New Jersey.

Astra Zeneca North American headquarters is in Delaware.

Surprise! Surprise!

[Freddie Stubbs]

21. Kennedy and Kerry also voted for it

Are there any big pharmacutical companies with headquarters in MA?

[NI4NI]

23. Phizer has a R&D plant in Mass.

I forgot to mention that Wyeth is also hq'd in New Jersey, and that DuPont in Delaware is also listed as a pharma corporation.

Proctor and Gamble is also listed as a pharma corporation hd'q in Ohio. Curious that Voinavich voted Yay. but Sherrod Browm voted no.

Eli Lily is hq'd in New York, but Clinton voted no.

I'm curious to know how my other Senator Joe Biden would have voted, but I'm quessing "yay"

[ProSense]

24. It wasn't a vote in favor of Pharma:

here.

[formercia]

25. We were suckers too

Big Pharma probably posted the old story about the di ethylene glycol in the syrup stories knowing we would pick it up and run with it.

We need to be more careful about what legislation is pending and how the stories in the news will affect our views and the views of those in Congress.

I don't like being an unwitting corporate tool. I had enough of that in the CIA.

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. Some inside baseball is in order

the Senate killed it since one of our more radical cons, I think brownback, put it in the ammendment that would require the FSA to certiy them safe

And we all know they would not certify them safe

[endarkenment]

28. The point is that his amendment passed.

That is what sucks.

[havocmom]

27. Imported drugs bad. Imported UNINSPECTED FOOD good. WTF?

If anybody has doubts the nation is ruled by corporations, this should convince them.

[Robson]

29. Congress is shrewd enough to make us believe a vote against reimportation is a vote for the people

Agreed.

Congress-people are certainly one shrewd bunch. They put an amendment to the reimportation bill that would seem logically and politically to require approval, yet this amendment requires certification actions that can't be done. So the approval of the amendment ( by default) kills the reimportation bill. In the end pharma corporations win with continued subsidies and price fixing, and American citizens lose the right to buy on the free market.

They are magicians in appearances and making what seems to be, the opposite of what is fact. That's why they name bills like the Patriot Act and Clean Skies Initiative....exactly the opposite of what they are.