On Intercepted today, there was an interview with Jerry Corbin. Now he is what
Sanders should have been, absolutely terrific on every issue he discussed. But
Sanders did a wonderful thing. He became a symbol for a great many people who
are now continuing to organize around numerous progressive issues. He provided
a glimmer of hope that perhaps, someday, they can have a successful national
progressive movement.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2017 10:08 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Bernie Sanders' Bill to Allow Import of
Prescription Drugs From Canada Would Save US Government $6 Billion
Although I have voted for Senator Patty Murray each time she has been up for
election, I have never believed that she was more than a moderate Democrat.
Because of the DNC's underhanded treatment of Bernie Sanders, whom I also voted
for in our primary, but never believed he was the raving radical the "In Crowd"
claimed him to be, I informed Senators Murray and Cantwell that I no longer
considered myself to be a Democrat, but would continue supporting the two of
them. Naturally I vote for the two democratic senators. If you all lived
here, you would run screaming when confronted by some of the strange men being
put up against them. But I feel that as a citizen, I have a responsibility to
let them know my views. Oddly enough, only Maria Cantwell has had a staff
person contact me regarding a disagreement I expressed.
And don't forget our Lieutenant Governor, Cirus Habib. A rather progressive
blind man with a brilliant mind. Still, he doesn't always agree with me. But
at least he discusses his reasons. And since he is a mere lad, compared to me,
I cut him some slack.
Carl Jarvis
On 8/2/17, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
So much for your lovely Sen. Murray in Washington State.
Miriam
Sanders at a November rally on Capitol Hill for economic and social
justice.
(photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Bernie Sanders' Bill to Allow Import of Prescription Drugs From Canada
Would Save US Government $6 Billion
By David Sirota and Alex Kotch, International Business Times
01 August 17
Alowing Americans to purchase lower-priced medicines from other
countries would save the federal government alone more than $6
billion, according to a new analysis from the Congressional Budget
Office. The report comes as the pharmaceutical industry has ramped up
its lobbying - including against a legislative initiative that would
let Americans purchase lower-priced medicines from countries such as
Canada.
Under existing law, drugmakers are permitted to produce
pharmaceuticals abroad and then import them into the United States,
where on average they charge Americans the highest prices for
medicines in the world. However, while drugmakers themselves are
allowed to import medicines, current law prohibits U.S. consumers and
pharmaceutical wholesalers from doing so, even when the same medicines are
sold at much lower prices abroad.
Spending millions on campaign donations and lobbying, the
pharmaceutical industry has for years successfully fought off
legislation to end the prohibition. This year - nearly 17 years after
President Bill Clinton's administration killed Democrats' drug
importation legislation - the importation initiative has once again
been renewed. Looking to take advantage of President Donald Trump's
promise to lower drug prices, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, along with
21 Democratic lawmakers, introduced the Affordable and Safe
Prescription Drug Importation Act on Feb. 28. The bill was referred to
the Senate's Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
CBO estimates that the change would in total reduce federal
government drug spending by more than $6.8 billion over ten years,
including a reduction of
$5.1 billion in direct spending and roughly $1.7 billion in increased
revenue.
Before introducing the new legislation, Sanders and Democratic Sen.
Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota in January introduced a budget amendment
allowing Americans to purchase drugs from Canada. In contrast to
typical party-line votes, 13 Republicans voted with the Democrats in
supporting the amendment, while 13 Democrats joined the remaining
Republicans in voting it down. The tally was 52-46 against the amendment.
Among the Democrats who voted against the cost-saving measure was
potential
2020 presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, a state
that is home to several major pharmaceutical companies including Bayer
USA, Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co. As The Intercept reported,
Booker's argument for voting against the measure was the same as that
of the primary pharmaceutical trade organization, the Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). Both Booker and
pharmaceutical representatives argue that drugs from Canada have
insufficient safety standards.
"Any plan to allow the importation of prescription medications should
also include consumer protections that ensure foreign drugs meet
American safety standards," said Booker in a statement to Jezebel. In
the 2014 election, when Booker ran for Senate, he had the highest
total - over $220,000 - in campaign donations from the pharmaceutical
manufacturing industry of any member of Congress.
Like Booker, the drug industry's lobbying group, PhRMA, warns that
Canada can't properly regulate the medicine that is shipped through its
borders.
However, Canada does not suffer from problems with poor quality or
counterfeit drugs.
"My first response to that is, show me the dead Canadians. Where are
the dead Canadians?" said Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty in
2003 as he unsuccessfully asked the federal government to allow his
state to import cheaper drugs from the the United States' northern neighbor.
Some drugs sold in the United States are in fact "fully manufactured
overseas, or made in the United States but have some foreign ingredients,"
according to the Food and Drug Administration, which for this reason
already has in place a robust mechanism for inspecting drugs across
the globe.
Critics, including writers at conservative think tanks such as the
Cato Institute, argue that importing drugs would also import foreign
price controls that, they claim, would drastically cut the drug
companies' funds for research and development of future drugs.
After intense pressure from progressives, Booker reversed course and
teamed up with Sanders and other Democrats to sponsor the Affordable
and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act in February. That, however,
did not eliminate all Democratic Party opposition to the initiative.
During May deliberations over an FDA authorization bill, Sanders, and
Democratic Sens. Bob Casey and Elizabeth Warren proposed an amendment
allowing for the importation of drugs from FDA-approved facilities in
Canada. The amendment was "laden with protections," according to Casey.
But
Democrats Patty Murray (WA) and Michael Bennet (CO), two big
beneficiaries of pharma campaign cash, voted against it in committee,
and it failed 13-10.
Overall, campaign spending by the pharmaceutical industry is skyrocketing.
Congressional donations from pharmaceutical PACs are up 11 percent as
compared with a similar time frame in 2015, and donations to ranking
members of health-related committees have risen by 80 percent from two
years ago.
Lobbying is also on the rise, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis.
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