FDA Revitalization Act renamed, amended and still hotly debated; floor vote is i

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FDA Revitalization Act renamed, amended and still hotly debated; floor vote

is imminent

http://www.newstarget.com/021825.html

 

The hotly-debated S.1082 legislation sponsored by Sen. Kennedy has now been

renamed the Enhancing Drug Safety and Innovation Act of 2007, reports Brenna

Hill of the Health Freedom Foundation and American Association (

www.HealthFreedom.net). The bill is being hotly debated and has been delayed by

two days due

to the introduction of various amendments. The health freedom community is

continuing its grassroots efforts to rally public support for defeating the

bill,

even while some lawmakers such as Sen. Byron Dorgan are proposing much-needed

amendments that would vastly improve it.

 

Health freedom author and nutritional supplement formulator Byron Richards

has spearheaded much of the commentary on this bill, and support for defeating

the bill has come from many camps in the health freedom movement, including the

Life Extension Foundation (www.LEF.org), raw foods pioneer Dr. Gabriel

Cousens (www.TreeofLife.nu), John Hammel's International Advocate for Health

Freedom

(www.nocodexgenocide.com), the National Health Federation (www.TheNFH.com)

and many others. Even Freedom to Fascism producer Aaron Russo (

www.freedomtofascism.com) is closely monitoring this situation and sending

health freedom email

updates to his rs.

 

Hundreds of thousands of comments and complaints have already been received

by U.S. lawmakers concerning this bill. The latest update of legislative

maneuvers is provided by Byron Richards in an article reprinted here with

permission

from www.NewsWithViews.com

 

Of special interest is the development of a new amendment that would end the

U.S. pharmaceutical monopoly and allow Americans to purchase prescription

drugs from other countries. This single amendment, which would bring free trade

to

medications and save American citizens, corporations, cities and states

billions of dollars in reduced pricing for prescription drugs, has Big Pharma

and

their legislative lapdogs circling the wagons, hoping to pass this bill quickly

before any other " bright ideas " threaten Big Pharma's stanglehold on

organized medicine.

 

What's at stake here is nothing less than the future of our nation. Because

if we cannot end this medical monopoly and radically reform the FDA, Big Pharma

will bankrupt our national economy and leave America broke, diseased and

medicated from the cradle to the grave.

 

Here's the update as reported by Richards:

 

Fight Erupts on Senate floor: Senators Bribed by Big Pharma vs. Senators not

Bought Off

 

By Byron Richards, CCN

 

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 includes 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 AMENDMENT, 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. "

 

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!

 

See recent updates at:

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

 

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

 

 

 

Sample letter

 

Anti S.1082 Food and Drug Revitalization Act

May 2, 2007

The Honorable (Senator First and Last Name)

(List their address here)

 

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,

 

 

 

About Byron Richards: Richards is the founder of Wellness Resource (

www.WellnessResources.com) and author of Fight For Your Health! The FDA's

Betrayal of

America

 

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About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and technology

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