(From TWD)
It has been well documented the deal the White House struck with big Pharma in order to preserve Pharma power in the drug market by keeping foreign pharmaceuticals out of the country in early August.
Somehow, that deal hasn't deterred Byron Dorgan from his amendment to...........allow drugs to cross the boarder:
Under bipartisan legislation that U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) is pushing to include in the health reform bill, North Dakotans would save an estimated $200 million on prescription drug costs, and the federal budget deficit would be cut by nearly $20 billion over the next ten years. The Senate is expected to vote this week on Dorgan’s amendment.
Dorgan’s legislation, called the Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act, would allow American consumers to safely import lower-priced, Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs from other countries. Dorgan said the legislation will bring consumers in North Dakota and across the country immediate relief from the world’s highest prescription medication costs, and will ultimately force the pharmaceutical industry to lower drug prices in the United States.
And the CBO showed how very cost-effective it would be:
Dorgan’s bipartisan amendment has been scored by the CBO as saving the federal government $19.4 billion, and American consumers roughly $100 billion over the next decade. (Personally I think the CBO has dramatically underestimated the potential savings from this amendment. I would not be surprised if eventually it saved the American people four to six times as much, but that is a story for another day.)
But despite all those encouraging numbers, and the "government helping the little guy" image that projects from this move by the North Dakota Senator not named Kent Conrad, the brutal and corrupt politics of our time is keeping it from being voted on the floor.
And that true culprit in that happening is the Senate Majority Leader. It is truly comedy and ridiculousness with how he is putting all the stops for this bill to not be on the floor:
The Senate has been debating the amendment, sponsored by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), since Tuesday but has not held a vote, which is contributing to a stall in the floor action on healthcare reform.
Dorgan’s measure, which would permit bulk exports of medicines from countries such as Canada, enjoys broad and bipartisan support and likely has the backing of more than 60 senators, which would guarantee its adoption on the healthcare reform bill.
Tension between the White House and Democratic supporters of the so-called drug reimportation amendment is primarily behind the delay, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Thursday.
The Obama Administration is clearly valuing its deal with Pharma more than providing more affordable drugs from other nations for the American people here. They are nervous of breaking their August promise for PHARMA support on health care reform, which as it stands hasn't exactly helped out matters now, has it?
The White House has leaned on Reid and the specific Pharma supported Democrats to stop this amendment, which as you see in the Hill report, has the 60 vote threshold to be in the final bill. It has clear bipartisan support, with it being co-sponsored by Presidents Snowe and McCain of all people.
Joining Reid in their sneaky assailment of taking down Dorgan's Amendment are Tom Carper and New Jersey Senators Bob Menedez and Frank Lautenberg, who I have barely heard or seen a thing he has done all year that has gotten public attention.
But by having a lengthly amendment out of nowhere, Lautenberg thrush himself into the hot seat of this issue. And what he did is potentially as much of a paradigm of how low our politics has taken the nation right in its capital:
What’s this Lautenberg amendment? It was introduced last night, it’s 100 pages long, and was probably written by PhRMa. With one hour’s notice, Harry Reid tried to drop it onto the floor for a vote. There is no language for it at Thomas. The LA Times reports that Lautenberg’s measure is a poison pill.
Their only public excuse for stopping the Dorgan amendment is this : It's a safety issue crossing the border. Which leads to this appropriate response from DDay:
This is just horseshit, pardon my French. The safety issue is a red herring; in fact, the recent settlement of Vioxx and other drugs show that we have a safety issue NOW with the current system. Under reimportation, the exact same drugs bottled at the exact same factories will be allowed for sale in this country, with actually higher safety standards.
I have no idea when both of these amendments will come up for a vote, and that's if both of them even make it that far (and you know which one the White House, Reid and PHARMA Senators want).
There is still no language online on the Lautenberg amendment yet from what I have seen, furthering how that 100 page thing is filled with landminds that will warm the heart of PHARMA at the threat it is being placed under by Dorgan and broad bipartisan support for his bill.
It is indeed something to behold when backroom deals somehow come to the front door when they are exposed. But even when they come to light, the powers that be will try to stop at nothing to make sure they aren't held accountable for their actions.
Let's hope Dorgan doesn't capitulate on this, even with the barrage of anger he is probably facing right now hoping he does. While most (especially our media) focus on the situation of the public option being gone and Medicare plans being debated, this issue goes right under the radar to just the rational websites, making Dorgan's ability to withstanding his amendment possibly a little harder.
Because apparently for the White House, Reid, Carper, Menedez, and Lautenberg, keeping the promise with PHARMA is more important than keeping a promise with the people.
(From TWD Friday, take care all.)
Update: Just to let the folks known, I'm just here to report on an issue that isn't given that much coverage her, and looking at how the White House, Reid, and those Dem Senators don't want to anger PHARMA. I am not an Obama hater, I support the President, especially if things are done right. Heck, I kind of questioned even Matt Taibbi on his article a little bit, and it seems those questions are possibly justified.
I'm just putting light on an issue here, that's all.