Update on S1082 amendments & Sample letter to email

[Guest guest]

Senator Byron Dorgan:

Amendment to Allow Importation of Rx Drugs from Canada to US Could Help Kill

S.1082!!

IAHF List: Please read Byron Richard's latest update from Capital Hill on

S.1082 and utilize his latest form letter which pertains to the NEW situation

we have now! A floor battle erupted today between Senators Durgan and Hatch

over an amendment Durgan wants included in the bill which would help people on

fixed incomes get more affordable Rx drugs from Canada and other countries.

The supposed " safety concerns " expressed by Hatch during this floor battle we

re PHONY just as the entire bill is! The Rx drugs people are buying off the

web from Canada are the EXACT SAME products people get in American pharmacies.

Hatch is a true WHORE.

Durgan has the votes behind him to make his amendment stick- and Bush has

vowed to VETO the bill if the Durgan amendment is included, so we MUST support

the Durgan amendment- and Byron's new form letter (below) helps us DO this!!

We MUST keep the pressure on! I'd also like to add a couple more news items:

today I received an email from one of Senator Harkin's Iowa constituents in

which one of Harkin's aides had responded to him by email stating that S.1082

" poses no threat to DSHEA " . That is FALSE as Byron correctly states below.

I quoted the exact language of the bill back to Harkin's aide showing him

where the terms FOODS and FOOD Additives are listed. Never trust ANY

congressional aide, they ALL LIE, and they DON'T read the bills! Shaklee

vitamin

company is ALSO misleading its distributors on this issue. I was forwarded a

false

statement from their legal counsel which I easily refuted, again, she hadn't

even read the bill- the statement Shaklee's legal counsel is circulating on

S.1082 is a direct regurgitation of the false statements being disseminated

on the issue by Harkin's staff who haven't read the bill.

S1082 Update – Tuesday’s Activity

Fight Erupts on Senate floor:

Senators Bribed by Big Pharma vs. Senators not Bought Off

By Byron Richards, CCN

May 2, 2007

NewsWithViews.com

As the Senate continues to debate the Big Pharma-friendly sweeping reform of

the FDA a new problem for Big Pharma’s prize Senators has erupted and

quickly turned into confrontation on the floor of the Senate. At stake is at

least

10 billion dollars per year in exorbitant Big Pharma profits. In one corner

is Big Pharma-puppet Orrin Hatch (R-UT), representing the Kennedy/Enzi drug

cartel. In the other corner is a majority of Senators lead by Byron Dorgan

(D-ND).

At issue is an amendment that Dorgan has added to S1082, one that is

vehemently opposed by the authors of the bill and by the White House.

Dorgan’s

amendment calls for Americans to be able to purchase prescription drugs from

other countries. This would bring to an end the Big Pharma price-fixing scam

that has Americans paying at least twice as much for the same drugs. Hatch

unsuccessfully pleaded with Dorgan (while attacking him) to withdraw the

amendment. Bush is threatening to veto the entire bill if the Dorgan amendment

is

part of the legislation.

The Safety Scam

The Kennedy/Enzi/Hatch/Clinton drug-cartel Senators are now in a real jam.

Dorgan has the votes to make his amendment stick. Hatch and company have

argued unconvincingly that the Dorgan amendment would expose Americans to

adulterated drug imports. This is just another fake safety argument that holds

no

water and is being made solely to protect the excessive profits of Big Pharma

(as is the entire bill).

It should now be crystal clear to the American public that those behind this

legislation have been completely purchased by the Big Pharma lobby. It is a

complete joke that they are trying to pawn off this legislation as “safety

legislation.†This legislation is designed to protect Big Pharma profits for

the next 50 years, and include new FDA regulatory powers that can be used to

stamp out Big Pharma competition – including dietary supplements. Let your

Senators know that you support the Dorgan amendment.

A Vote is Likely on Thursday

Word from the hill is that all amendments and changes to this legislation

will be finalized by Thursday and a vote will take place. In addition to the

Dorgan amendment several other amendments are expected to come up – one very

good and one very bad. The good amendment will be proposed by Senator Grassley

(R-IA) and will seek to create an independent office within the FDA to

monitor the safety of drugs already on the market (this would be another big

blow

to this legislation). The bad amendment will come from the vitamin-hating

Dick Durbin (D-IL) who will try to place food safety legislation into this drug

safety bill. Not only is his amendment completely irrelevant to this

legislation, he will, as always, figure some way to attack dietary supplements.

I’

ll keep you posted.

We must also get our amendment, THE PEOPLE’S AMMENDMENT, into this

legislation (see action letter at following this article).

The People are Now Being Heard

We have word that the offices of Hatch, Harkin, Enzi, Kennedy, and many

other Senators are being flooded by your concerns regarding what this bill can

do

to undermine health freedom and your access to dietary supplements. Their

offices are seeking to tell those who get through that we are confused and

that the legislation is not about dietary supplements.

Don’t buy this for a second. We are not confused. The language in the bill

is crystal clear. It is a sneaky and devious wording buried in the bill.

The Senate drug cartel hoped we wouldn’t notice. On pages 106-107 it states:

“The purpose of the Foundation is to advance the mission of the Food and

Drug Administration to modernize medical, veterinary, food, food ingredient,

and

cosmetic product development, accelerate innovation, and enhance product

safety….The Foundation shall [take] into consideration the Critical Path

reports

and priorities published by the Food and Drug Administration, identify unmet

needs in the development, manufacture, and evaluation of the safety and

effectiveness, including post approval, of devices, including diagnostics,

biologics, and drugs, and the safety of food, food ingredients, and

cosmetics.â€

This language has been evaluated by Jonathan Emord, our nation’s leading

attorney that defends health freedom, the man who has beaten the FDA in court

more than any other lawyer. He states that this language gives the FDA,

through this foundation, broad new regulatory power that it currently does not

possess, including the authority to attack any dietary supplement (which are

food

ingredients). A simple amendment to correct this problem has been prepared

by Emord and is in the action letter that follows. WE ARE BEING HEARD. KEEP

SENDING IN YOUR MESSAGES. There are two days to go. We can win this!

_http://www.newswithviews.com/Richards/byron24.htm_

(http://www.newswithviews.com/Richards/byron24.htm)

_http://www.newswithviews.com/Richards/byron23.htm_

(http://www.newswithviews.com/Richards/byron23.htm)

(Place links to my two recent articles)

 

Anti S.1082 Food and Drug Revitalization Act

 

May 2, 2007

 

The Honorable (Senator First and Last Name)

Address

Address

 

Dear Senator Last Name;

 

The issue of drug safety and access to drugs at a fair price is of the

utmost importance to myself and all Americans. In general, I am opposed to

Senate

bill S1082: Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act, as it does not

go far enough to protect myself and my family from the dangers of drugs. As

one of the 150 million Americans that rely on dietary supplements to keep

myself and my family well, I am especially concerned that this legislation

broadens FDA regulatory power to harass functional foods and dietary

supplements –

which has nothing whatsoever to do with drug safety.

 

It is vital that the terms “food†and “food ingredients†be removed

from

this legislation. There must be no confusing the safety of drugs and the

safety of food and food ingredients – which are governed by different laws.

This bill authorizes, on pages 106-107, the creation of a new regulatory

category that enables the FDA and the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA to

attack

dietary supplements and functional foods. This problem in the wording can be

corrected with this simple amendment – so as to be sure this legislation is

about drugs and drug safety only.

Amendment to Bill S1082

Purpose of the amendment:

The bill, S1082: The Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act, is

hereby amended to eliminate any reference to the terms food or food

ingredients,

such that food and food ingredients will not be subject to any jurisdiction

or control by the Regan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug

Administration.

Intent of amendment:

To eliminate from the bill any possibility that food or food ingredients

would be treated like drugs either for safety review purposes or for assessment

of their efficacy. It is a fundamental tenet of food and drug law that foods

and food ingredients are presumed to be safe and have to be established to

be adulterated only if they present a significant or unreasonable risk of

illness or injury

I am in favor of the Dorgan amendment that enables Americans to get a fair

price on prescription medication.

I am in favor of any Grassley amendment that offers an independent office

within the FDA to monitor the safety of drugs already on the market.

I am opposed to the amendment being prepared by Durbin, as food safety is a

completely different issue and must be kept out of drug safety legislation so

that there can be no confusion between drug safety and food safety laws –

which are quite different.

Sincerely,

For Health Freedom, John C. Hammell, President International Advocates for

Health Freedom 556 Boundary Bay Road Point Roberts, WA 98281-8702 USA

http://www.iahf.com jham 800-333-2553 N.America 360-945-0352 World

 

 

 

 

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