Senator Tom Harkin explains why 30 Democratic Senators voted against drug importation amendment

[Better Believe It]

'The Ed Show' for Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
From the transcript to the Wednesday show.

ED SCHULTZ, HOST:
SEN. TOM HARKIN (D), CHAIRMAN, HELP COMMITTEE:


HARKIN: Well, as you know, I support Senator Dorgan‘s measure on that. And I think I‘m just, again, disappointed that we didn‘t do better on that amendment.

SCHULTZ: Well, why didn‘t 30 Democrats do that last night?

HARKIN: Well, Ed, you‘ve got to talk to them. I don‘t know. There‘s a lot of different reasons floating around out there. We‘ll be back.

SCHULTZ: Well, I have to say, I don‘t mean to corner you in this interview, but I‘m shocked that Chris Dodd did this. John Kerry. I mean, we‘ve got some good progressives that voted against what would be absolutely direct help financially to hard-working families in this country.

HARKIN: Well, I think, Ed, that some of the reasons, I don‘t say people voted this way—because there was some talk last night on the floor that if we voted for Dorgan, if Dorgan carried, it would kill the bill because the pharmaceutical companies would walk away from their agreement with the president that they were going to put in $80 billion over the next 10 years to help close a little bit of that doughnut hole. Quite frankly, Ed, between you and me, I don‘t buy that argument.

SCHULTZ: OK. So, you‘re telling us tonight that the deal that the White House cut with big pharma, Dorgan‘s amendment, flat-out got in the way of that?

HARKIN: Well, that‘s what people were saying last night. I don‘t know that for a fact.

But I will say this—the $80 billion that the pharmaceutical companies agreed to put up with this agreement represents less than two percent—less than two percent of their earnings over the next 10 years. That‘s nothing to them. Nothing at all to them.

SCHULTZ: Yes. Well...

HARKIN: They got a sweetheart deal on that one, I‘ll tell you.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34464800/ns/msnbc_tv-the_ed_show/

[DJ13]

1. The drug companies have already increased prices beyond

that mythical $80 billion "savings" they promised Obama.

As far as Im concerned they are already in violation of the agreement, so by capitulating (yet again...) the Democrats are being played for fools.

[ProSense]

2. So $80 billion PharMa agreement is chump change

but replacing it with a plan that could save $80 billion over 10 year is better?

The drug-importation bill was proposed by Sen. Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat who allied with some Republicans. Mr. Dorgan and Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) said the measure could save consumers some $80 billion over 10 years if they could buy their drugs from other countries directly via the Internet or mail order.

link

Here's the question: If the Lautenberg bill would have preserve the PharMa and allowed safer re-importation, wouldn't that be additional savings?

[slipslidingaway]

12. Reportedly the deal included not negotiating for Medicare drug prices...

Could we save another 220 billion in addition to the 80 billion using VA prices...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8667526&mesg_id=8667647

"...Allow Medicare to negotiate for cheaper drug prices. The 2003 Medicare Prescription Drug
Improvement and Modernization Act bans the government from negotiating down the prices of
prescription drugs, even though the Department of Veterans Affairs’ negotiation of prescription drug
prices with drug companies has garnered significant savings for taxpayers.32 Barack Obama and Joe
Biden will repeal the ban on direct negotiation with drug companies and use the resulting savings, which
could be as high as $30 billion,33 to further invest in improving health care coverage and quality..."


BARACK OBAMA AND JOE BIDEN’S PLAN TO LOWER HEALTH CARE COSTS
AND ENSURE AFFORDABLE, ACCESSIBLE HEALTH COVERAGE FOR ALL

page 5
http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/HealthCareFullPlan.pdf

[Laelth]

3. k&r for the truth, however depressing. n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

4. so, in a nutshell , they capitulated to blackmail from Pharma.

Who "threatened" to walk -out on their "sweetheart deal".

Seems pretty clear. Unless they threw in the towel and gave up MORE, Pharma would walk away from their already insanely one-sided deal. Yep. These are just the folks you want "representing" you. Some real sharp deal cutters there.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

5. Now that's just a big bowl of wrong. nt

[Mimosa]

6. Corngood, you might as well put Obama's pic up there with Lieberman's

It wasn't mainly Lieberman who's screwed us over. He didn't write the bills, did he?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

7. Obama didn't write any bills either. But he just seems to be perfectly OK with sitting back

and letting these write wingers go to town on legislature that might somewhat remotely offend a corporation.

[jgraz]

8. How many possible ways can we get screwed on this bill?

This is an embarrassment. I hope Rahm is happy with the mess he's delivered here.

[TheKentuckian]

9. That was pretty sad to watch and a tell tale that this whole thing is bullshit (nt)

[slipslidingaway]

10. Video and text - Senator Carper Publicly Defends Secret PhRMA Deal In Exchange For Support Ads

Details and links...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6622945&mesg_id=6622945

"In a stunning moment during the Senate Finance Committee markup Sen. Tom Carper defended a secret deal that the White House, Baucus, and PhRMA had reached. The White House has long denied the deal. Carper publicly acknowledges that part of the deal was that PhRMA would run millions of dollars worth of campaign ads in support of health care reform."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJa_kTXad1Q

[ProSense]

11. How some conspiracy theories fail

here

[Hieronymus]

13. That's the problem right there, Obama sold out to Big Pharma, and

the insurance companies. They made out like gangbusters.

[classysassy]

14. The drug makers and their pushers

Have they no shame,those honorable senators are acting like dishonorable drug pushers.?

[Garam_Masala]

15. Is that why drug prices were raised 9% year over year? eom