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Monday, March 04, 2019

Cory Booker at a Judiciary Committee hearing. AND as a participant in an important bill rollout press session.

A video has been posted on YouTube, and voters should view it.

Sen. Booker was a noteworthy participant in this press conference, which related to reform of prescription drug pricing and availability in our nation. The background on the bill under discussion, noting original bill sponsors in the House and Senate is online here; linking to the actual bill text; online here.

Sen. Booker's opportunity to explain his existing policy beliefs about the bill and the underlying issue begins at the 15 min position of the YouTube item. He retakes the podium at just prior to the 24 minute mark, in the Q and A part of the session.

Watching the entire item is recommended; given how it presents an important unified effort of the speakers and other bill sponsors not present to speak, but unified in a will to take up the issue with the passion and intent to confront an incredibly strong lobby.

The Sanders Senate website posting notes:

In Canada and other major countries, the same medications, manufactured by the same companies, in the same factories are available for a fraction of the price compared to the United States. In 2014, Americans spent $1,112 per person on prescription drugs while Canadians spent $772 and Danes spent $325.

While five major drug manufacturers made more than $50 billion in profits in 2015, nearly 1 in 5 American adults could not afford the medicine they were prescribed.

“I am very proud to join with Sens. Booker and Casey and Reps. Cummings and Doggett and many, many others in the Senate and the House to introduce this critical legislation to lower the outrageous cost of prescription drugs,” Sanders said. “I say to President Trump: Talk is cheap. If you really have the guts to take on the pharmaceutical industry, tell your Republican friends in the House and the Senate to pass this legislation. Do it tonight in your address to Congress. Or admit to the American people that you were lying to them during the campaign.”

“After he was elected, President Trump said he would bring down drug prices. He also warned that the pharmaceutical industry is ‘getting away with murder,’ and he was absolutely right,” Cummings said. “So, if the President really means what he says, he will support our efforts, and he will encourage his Republican colleagues to do the same.”

“This is common-sense legislation that will allow middle class families and seniors access to safe, affordable prescription drugs through importation,” Casey said. “No family should lack access to prescription drugs simply because of the cost; this legislation will increase competition and help more patients access life-saving drugs.”

Booker said, “Life-saving medications will only save lives if people can afford them. Our common-sense legislation is a step forward, allowing for the importation of prescription drugs under a set of strong and effective standards necessary to ensure consumer safety. Since my days as Newark's mayor, I’ve been working to find ways to help more people afford prescription drugs, and this bill will do just that.”

Sen. Klobuchar is a cosponsor of the bill who did not speak at the rollout conference for this bill. Klobuchar earlier had worked with Bernie on introducing a pharma reform amendment, as reported by KOS. WaPo has reported upon the drug industry kneejerk position that importation at lower prices would raise safety concerns; while Sanders has noted we import food without any such problems as the drug industry lobbyists imagine and fear-monger. FDA warning letters have been issued to Pfizer, Bayer and Teva, among others; and Canada has its standards. No nation has a monopoly on safe or unsafe pharmaceuticals. Drugs marketed in Canada seem to not have been proven inferior in any quality or dosage integrity manner than those marketed for inflated prices here.

UPDATE: The above cited WaPo item stated in part:

In an afternoon news conference unveiling the bill, Democratic and independent lawmakers threw down the gauntlet, calling on President Trump — who has repeatedly said that he will do something to rein in rising drug prices — to support their effort.

“I want to finally say about our president, who has said a lot of talk about health care and has recently confessed how 'complicated’ he thinks it is. He has made promises to the American people about prescription drug prices; he has made promises to the American people, and now it's time for him to put up or shut up,” said Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who joined as a co-sponsor after voting against drug importation when it was an amendment. “It’s time for him to join with us, or, in my opinion, to confess his lies to the American people.”

Big news; the man presently in the oval office lies big-time to the American people. Some of us voted him there. Many of us can make a 2020 correction, should the Democratic Party opt to present a stronger and more appealing candidate than it ran in 2016.

Joe Biden? Don't make me laugh.

FURTHER UPDATE: On the topic of pharmaceutical safety, one study was found online analyzing patterns in FDA warning letters; see, e.g., the ResearchGate page, and this study image page. The understanding here is that warning letters are issued only for firms in the U.S. or other nations presently authorized to market pharma products in the United States; so that the pie-chart is relevant to drugs we might have prescribed and take. No particular expertise or knowledge of the warning letter process is held here; but the links given can be a start for interested readers to learn more. The cited study has been downloaded here, but not yet read.

FURTHER UPDATE: Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin deserve ongoing attention. Readers should research how Bernie did in those states last cycle, but carefully, in case some caucus/primary rigging happened such as a requirement of registration as a Democrat for a length of time before the election in order to be able to vote in that party's activities or primary. Rules were rigged, and reform there is expected; Dems not wanting to lose the federal spoils for another four years. The DNC will require ongoing voter scrutiny, based on its history.