AER Dietary Supplement Legislation

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AER Dietary Supplement Legislation Dear rachelle ward, There has been a lot of buzz from activists in the past few days that Congress was going to be acting very fast on the AER bill. AAHF feels that there is a (small) possibility that this bill could be acted on before the 109th Congress ends but it is difficult to tell definitely at this time. Congress will recess at the end of the week (December 8th) and while the bill doesn’t have strong “legs” – the sponsors are working hard to drum up support. The bill was introduced by Sen. Hatch and currently has 5 co-sponsors (Senators Harkin, Durbin, Kennedy, Cornyn, and Enzi). The Senate bill has

strong support from Democrats and from members of the health committee. Senator Hatch came back early last week (Congress didn’t reconvene until Dec. 4th) possibly to work on getting support for the AER bill. The House bill is not as strong, and currently there are only two sponsors and there appears to be not the same level of interest in moving the bill forward (and the usual suspects are not on the bill – Waxman, Davis, Dingell, etc.). There is concern that with Democrats gaining control of Congress that they will introduce an even worse bill. AAHF doesn’t agree with the philosophy of supporting a bad bill so an even worse bill won’t be introduced. Work hard, then work harder to stop them both. AAHF is meeting currently with lobbyists in order to hire the best candidate to handle health freedom issues with the new Congress and we have already discussed some ideas to handle this bill in the 110th Congress. We agree

with many other health freedom organizations that a Congressional hearing needs to take place on this issue and bill. In the meantime, please make your voice heard on this bill to your representatives in the House & Senate. This is a new alert (so even if you’ve taken action before, please do so again) and we have cc:d the bill lead sponsors to ensure that they know about your position. Our supporters have already sent 12,000 letters – let’s double that this time! Please help spread the word. Sincerely, Brenna HillExecutive DirectorHealth Freedom Foundation and American Association for Health Freedom4620 Lee Highway, Suite 210 Arlington, VA 222071.800.230.2762Fax: 703.294.6380www.healthfreedom.net Send a letter to the following decision maker(s): Your Congressperson Your Senators Below is the sample

letter: Stop the AER bill (S. 3546/HR 6168) Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here], As your constituent, voter, and dietary supplement consumer, I urge you to not vote for the Dietary Supplement and Non-Prescription Drug Consumer Protection Act (S.3546/HR 6168). At the very least this bill needs hearings in the 110th Congress. The Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) acknowledged that millions of consumers are using dietary supplements to help augment daily diets and provide health benefits. Any legislation that treats dietary supplements more like pharmaceuticals instead of food is one step closer to dismantling DSHEA.I appreciate the dietary supplement industry wanting to show that they are a responsible industry but feel that this bill is 1) Unnecessary - as there are so few serious adverse events to

begin with,2) Confusing - by definition of "serious adverse event" ALL reports should be directed to a healthcare professional who is already trained to handle AERs and determine the actual cause, 3) Wasteful - the FDA's recent faltering and systematic setbacks show that it cannot manage such a bill. The FDA's enforcement reports for drug products show it to be an agency under increasing pressure to do more with less. The number of warning letters issued to pharmaceutical companies has dropped over the past 10 years even as product recalls have increased. In other words, the agency is allowing more manufacturer product mistakes to reach the market. Adding supplements would further reduce enforcement efficiency for both drugs and supplements. I support American Association for Health Freedom in joining other health freedom groups to oppose this bill. I would however support a mandatory AER for over-the-counter drugs. I hope that you will agree with my views

and will vote no for S.3546/HR 6168 as it currently stands and encourage a hearing in the 110th Congress. I would like to know what your position is on this legislation.Thank you. Sincerely,rachelle wardcc:Representative Chris Cannon Senator Orrin Hatch "Get off your ass and take your government back." ~Rocky Ward

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