60 minutes ....... Drug companies wrote the bill

[Spider]

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/04/02/under-the-influence-how-lobbyists-wrote-and-bought-the-rx-drug-bill/

[Spider]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/29/60minutes/main2625305.shtml
Under The Influence
60 Minutes' Steve Kroft Reports On Drug Lobbyists' Role in Passing Bill That Keeps Drug Prices High

60 Minutes Main Page 60 Minutes Main Page
60 Minutes Video 60 Minutes Video
Program Facts Program Facts
Bios Bios
Andy Rooney Andy Rooney
Contact Info Contact Info
Up Next Up Next
Tapes and Transcripts Tapes and Transcripts
DVDs from Amazon.com DVDs from Amazon.com

Sponsor

Wireless Alerts
E-Mail Alerts
Podcasts
RSS Feeds

Interactive

110th Congress 110th Congress
The balance of power shifts and new leadership takes control as the latest session convenes.
Under+The+Influence

Interactive

The 109th Congress The 109th Congress
Meet the leaders and follow the action in the House and Senate.
Under+The+Influence





(Page 1 of 4)
NEW YORK, April 1, 2007
glimpse behind the scenes of Congress. Jones calls the lobbyist-induced frenzy to pass the Medicare prescription drug bill in the U.S. House of Representatives two years ago the “ugliest night” he has ever seen in politics. Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), left, and Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) offer a rare glimpse behind the scenes of Congress. Jones calls the lobbyist-induced frenzy to pass the Medicare prescription drug bill in the U.S. House of Representatives two years ago the "ugliest night" he has ever seen in politics. (CBS)

Quote

"I've been in politics for 22 years, and it was the ugliest night I have ever seen in 22 years."
Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C.


(CBS) If you have ever wondered why the cost of prescription drugs in the United States are the highest in the world or why it's illegal to import cheaper drugs from Canada or Mexico, you need look no further than the pharmaceutical lobby and its influence in Washington, D.C.

According to a new report by the Center for Public Integrity, congressmen are outnumbered two to one by lobbyists for an industry that spends roughly a $100 million a year in campaign contributions and lobbying expenses to protect its profits.

One reason those profits have exceeded Wall Street expectations is the Medicare prescription drug bill. It was passed three-and-a-half years ago, but as 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft reports, its effects are still reverberating through the halls of Congress, providing a window into how the lobby works.


The unorthodox roll call on one of the most expensive bills ever placed before the House of Representatives began in the middle of the night, long after most people in Washington had switched off C-SPAN and gone to sleep.

The only witnesses were congressional staffers, hundreds of lobbyists, and U.S. Representatives like Dan Burton, R-Ill., and Walter Jones, R-N.C.

"The pharmaceutical lobbyists wrote the bill," says Jones. "The bill was over 1,000 pages. And it got to the members of the House that morning, and we voted for it at about 3 a.m. in the morning."

Why did the vote finally take place at 3 a.m.?

"Well, I think a lot of the shenanigans that were going on that night, they didn't want on national television in primetime," according to Burton.

"I've been in politics for 22 years," says Jones, "and it was the ugliest night I have ever seen in 22 years."

The legislation was the cornerstone of Republican's domestic agenda and would extend limited prescription drugs coverage under Medicare to 41 million Americans, including 13 million who had never been covered before.

At an estimated cost of just under $400 billion over 10 years, it was the largest entitlement program in more than 40 years, and the debate broke down along party lines.

But when it came time cast ballots, the Republican leadership discovered that a number of key Republican congressmen had defected and joined the Democrats, arguing that the bill was too expensive and a sellout to the drug companies. Burton and Jones were among them.

"They're suppose to have 15 minutes to leave the voting machines open and it was open for almost three hours," Burton explains. "The votes were there to defeat the bill for two hours and 45 minutes and we had leaders going around and gathering around individuals, trying to twist their arms to get them to change their votes."

Jones says the arm-twisting was horrible.

"We had a good friend from Michigan, Nick Smith, and they threatened to work against his son who wanted to run for his seat when he retired," he recalls. "I saw a woman, a member of the House, a lady, crying when they came around her, trying to get her to change her votes. It was —it was ugly."

When the prescription drug bill finally passed shortly before dawn, in the longest roll call in the history of the House of Representatives, much of the credit went to former Congressman Billy Tauzin, R-La., who steered it through the house.

"It's just a messy process," Tauzin says. "I mean, the old adage about if you like sausage or laws, you should not watch either one of them being made is true. It's a messy process."

Tauzin says that the voting machines were open for three hours "because the vote wasn't finished."

As for arms being twisted? "People were being talked to," he says.

And of Walter Jones' comment that it was the "ugliest night" he had "ever seen in politics in 22 years?"

"Well, he's a young member," counters Tauzin with a laugh. "Had he been around for 25 years, he'd have seen some uglier nights."

[Spider]

and any attempts to over turn this bill will be vetoed by Bush .........

[Stormontheplains]

Nice to know that all of our rep's are weak people, I guess they all used drugs and jumped off bridges when other peope did.

[Spider]

Nice to know that all of our rep's are weak people, I guess they all used drugs and jumped off bridges when other peope did.

very weak .......

[TheDave]

Nice to know that all of our rep's are weak people,

100% agree... Absolutely pathetic

[Spider]

I think the only thing stopping me from becoming an Independent ( if I even spelled ìt right ;D ) is my love for the unions

[Rascal]

ugh...I hope that isn't true, but I think it is. That's just disgusting.

[Rascal]

Spider you should use Firefox as it has a built in spell checker :)

[Spider]

Spider you should use Firefox as it has a built in spell checker :)

LOL I do use firefox , but spell checker is for sissys and people who cant spell ;D