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Sanders Amendement - Text, Debate and Vote



  The following is an excerpt from the July 11, 1996 Congressional Record.  
  It is the text of the Sanders Amendment on restoring the reasonable 
  pricing clause, followed by the debate, and the vote.  As noted earlier, 
  the amendment was defeated 180 to 242, but the 180 ayes were up from the 
  previous 141, last august.  An example of the increasing support for the 
  amendment is found in the comments by Rep. ROHRABACHER, a conservative 
  republican from California.  jamie
  
  
  [[Page H7335]]
  Amendment Offered by Mr. SANDERS
  
    Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
    The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
    The text of the amendment is as follows:
  
         Amendment offered by Mr. Sanders: At the end of the bill, 
       insert after the last section (preceding the short title) the 
       following new section:
         Sec.  . (a) Limitation on Use of Funds for Agreements for 
       Department of Drugs.--None of the funds made available in 
       this Act may be used by the Secretary of Health and Human 
       Services to enter into--
         (1) an agreement on the conveyance or licensing of a patent 
       for a drug, or another exclusive right to a drug;
         (2) an agreement on the use of information derived from 
       animal tests or human clinical trials conducted by the 
       Department of Health and Human Services on a drug, including 
       an agreement under which such information is provided by the 
       Department of Health and Human Services to another on an 
       exclusive basis; or
         (3) a cooperative research and development agreement under 
       section 12 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act 
       of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710a) pertaining to a drug.
         (b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) shall not apply when it is 
       made known to the Federal official having authority to 
       obligate or expend the funds involved that--
         (1) the sale of the drug involved is subject to a 
       reasonable price agreement; or
         (2) a reasonable price agreement regarding the sale of such 
       drug is not required by the public interest.
  
    The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the order of the House of today, the 
  gentleman from Vermont [Mr. Sanders] and a Member opposed each will 
  control 5 minutes.
    The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Vermont [Mr. Sanders].
    Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
    Mr. Chairman, as many Members know, the U.S. taxpayer is the single 
  largest supporter of biomedical research in the world, spending $33 
  billion in 1994 alone for biomedical and related health research. 
  Unfortunately, our taxpayers are unwittingly being forced to pay twice 
  for drugs because this Congress is deeply beholden to the very 
  profitable giant drug companies.
    Members heard it right, our constituents are not getting a fair 
  return on the investment of their hard-earned money, paying twice for 
  pharmaceutical breakthroughs, first as taxpayers and second as 
  consumers. This harms consumers, and it is a form of corporate welfare 
  to many of the world's largest corporations.
    The bottom line of this amendment is that when taxpayers spend 
  billions and billions of dollars in developing a new drug, the taxpayer 
  as a consumer should get a break and we should not be giving all of 
  this research over to the private industry who then sells the product 
  to our consumers at outrageous profits.
    Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
    Mr. SANDERS. I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.
    Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, let me simply say on this side of the aisle I 
  will be willing to accept the gentleman's amendment. I think it is a 
  good public interest amendment.
  
  [[Page H7336]]
  
    Mr. PORTER. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.
    The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Porter] is recognized 
  for 5 minutes.
    Mr. PORTER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
    Mr. Chairman, the gentleman is repeating his amendment that was 
  defeated last year on a 141-284 vote. It relates to the reasonable 
  pricing clause that was in effect for NIH cooperative research and 
  development agreements, CRADA's, and license agreements until April 
  1995.
    This provision was originally put in place in response to public 
  concern about the pricing of the AIDS drug AZT, even though AZT had not 
  been developed through a CRADA or exclusive license. It was 
  controversial from the start, and NIH decided to conduct an extensive 
  review of the policy. They held public hearings, consulted with 
  scientists, patient and consumer advocates, and representatives of 
  academia and industry.
    The director of NIH, Dr. Varmus, concluded after this review that, 
  and I quote. ``The pricing clause has driven industry away from 
  potentially beneficial scientific collaborations with Public Health 
  Service scientists without providing an offsetting benefit to the 
  public.''
    The review also indicated that NIH research was adversely affected by 
  an inability of NIH scientists to obtain compounds from industry for 
  basic research purposes. No other Federal agency has a reasonable 
  pricing clause. No law or regulation expressly requires or permits NIH 
  to enforce such a provision. No comparable provision exists for NIH 
  extramural grantees like universities to impose price controls on the 
  licensees of products they develop with NIH funds.
    Contrary to the impression some may have, the principal function of 
  NIH research is not to develop drugs. NIH supports the basic research 
  that is the foundation for the applied research that the drug companies 
  do. NIH focuses on research that is critical for eventual application, 
  but which is not specific enough to meet the profitability test that 
  private industry requires.
    The drug companies focus their research on bringing products to 
  market and their investment is considerable. In 1994, the industry 
  supported almost $14 billion in health research and development, which 
  is more than half the entire U.S. public and private investment.
    While it is appealing to think that reimposing the reasonable pricing 
  clause may lower health care costs and benefits to consumers, we must 
  face the possibility that it will drive drug companies out of their 
  collaborative ventures with NIH and ultimately deny patients access to 
  important lifesaving drugs.
    I doubt that anyone in this Chamber has a detailed understanding of 
  the impact of this complex issue. I would like to rely on Dr. Varmus' 
  judgment in this matter and the decision of the Clinton administration. 
  I might add, I would hope that Congress does not try to intervene, and 
  for these reasons I must strongly oppose the amendment.
    Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
    Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
  Florida [Mrs. Thurman].
    Mrs. THURMAN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Sanders 
  amendment. Consider the case of levamisole. Eleven million dollars in 
  N.I.H. research lead to the discovery that this drug to prevent worms 
  in sheep could also prevent some 7,000 cancer deaths each year. No 
  pharmaceutical company paid for this research, the American taxpayer 
  did. But, what happened when a pharmaceutical company entered the 
  picture? A drug that costs 6 cents a dose for sheep skyrocketed to $6 a 
  dose for colon cancer patients.
    A few years ago, the television program ``Primetime Live'' 
  highlighted the problem of levamisole costs in the State of Florida. In 
  Florida, some people were so desperate for levamisole they turned to 
  the black market, where sheep pills are ground up into human-sized 
  doses.
    Asked about that price differential between the sheep and human 
  products, the pharmaceutical executives simply said, ``A sheep farmer 
  probably would not pay $6 a pill,'' but, ``someone dying of cancer that 
  pays $1,200 for a treatment regimen, whose life is saved, is getting 
  one of the most cost-effective treatments they can ever get.''
    Well, I resent paying for the development of a drug and then paying 
  100 times what a sheep farmer pays for it.
    This is an outrageous abuse of public funds. Let's make sure we get 
  our money's worth on our investment. Support the Sanders amendment.
    Mr. PORTER. Mr. Chairman, how much time is remaining?
    The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Porter] has 2 minutes 
  remaining, and the gentleman from Vermont [Mr. Sanders] has 2\1/2\ 
  minutes remaining.
    Mr. PORTER. I have the right to close, am I correct?
    The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman is correct.
    Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
  from California [Mr. Rohrabacher].
    Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the 
  Sanders amendment to restore a reasonable pricing clause for drugs that 
  are developed at taxpayer expense. Let me make it clear, this affects, 
  this amendment only affects those drugs that are developed at 
  taxpayers' expense. It does not affect any drugs that are developed 
  solely by the private sector and by the pharmaceutical companies 
  themselves.
    Mr. Chairman, I am a strong supporter of taxpayer accountability. 
  Taxpayers who fund this biomedical research to the tune of billions of 
  dollars should not be forced to pay excessive prices for the drugs that 
  they themselves have helped develop, but that is exactly what is 
  happening.
    Mr. Chairman, the drug companies are now free, after getting 
  taxpayers' money to develop their product, to gouge those very same 
  people 10, 20 times the cost of their own product. They charge that to 
  the American people who are paying for their research. The American 
  people end up paying twice.
    Now, is that not nice? This is a corporate form of welfare, and it 
  has got to stop. Drug companies are making fortunes off the backs of 
  working people. If they developed the product themselves at their own 
  expense, the Government should not step in. But we have continually 
  said in this Congress that we want to cut down the expenses of 
  Government, cut down welfare. This is welfare for the rich, for the 
  corporations. The American people should not be insulted by being 
  forced to pay for the research of a company who then turns around and 
  gouges them for the price of the product that has been developed.
    Mr. Chairman, I support the Sanders amendment.
    Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
  Rhode Island [Mr. Kennedy].
    Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from 
  Vermont for yielding me the time.
     Mr. Chairman, this amendment is about simply fairness. It says that 
  when taxpayers foot the bill for research, they should not have to pay 
  again for it at the drug counter. We invest millions of dollars in 
  pharmaceutical research. More than 40 percent of all U.S. health care 
  research and development comes from the U.S. taxpayer.
    This amendment, the Sanders amendment, says that drugs developed with 
  taxpayer dollars cannot be sold back to the taxpayers at excessive 
  prices. Without a reasonable pricing clause, the taxpayers pay to 
  develop the drug, only to get their pockets picked when they go to the 
  pharmacy.
    In the 1990's, the drug industry was the Nation's most profitable, 
  with an annual profit of 13.6 percent, more than triple the average of 
  the Fortune 500 companies. So while the argument goes that they invest 
  a great deal in R&D, there is plenty left over for them to give back to 
  the taxpayer, and that is what this amendment calls for.
    Mr. PORTER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
    Mr. Chairman, in closing, I just want to repeat that we have already 
  voted on this. It lost by a margin of better than two-to-one the last 
  time it was voted on.
    There are times when we simply have to trust the officials that we 
  have chosen. The Clinton administration has chosen Dr. Varmus to head 
  the NIH. He
  
  [[Page H7337]]
  
  has looked into this extensively. He believes very strongly that this 
  amendment is ill-advised. He believes that it is counterproductive to 
  achieving the purpose for which it is intended, and I would simply urge 
  Members to listen to his professional and scientific judgment and to 
  reject the amendment.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
    The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the 
  gentleman from Vermont [Mr. Sanders].
    The question was taken; and the Chairman announced that the ayes 
  appeared to have it.
    Mr. PORTER. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
    The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to House Resolution 472, further proceedings 
  on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Vermont [Mr. Sanders] 
  will be postponed.
  
  	[snip, snip, snip]  
  	[[Page H7363]]
  
  amendment no. 12 offered by mr. sanders
  
    The CHAIRMAN. The pending business is the demand for a recorded vote 
  on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Vermont [Mr. Sanders] on 
  which further proceedings were postponed on which the ayes prevailed by 
  voice vote.
    The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
    The Clerk redesignated the amendment.
  
  
                               recorded vote
  
    The CHAIRMAN. A recorded vote has been demanded.
    A recorded vote was ordered.
    The CHAIRMAN. This is a 5-minute vote.
    The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 180, 
  noes 242, not voting 11, as follows:
  
                               [Roll No. 306]
  
                                 AYES--180
  
       Abercrombie
       Ackerman
       Andrews
       Bachus
       Baesler
       Baker (LA)
       Baldacci
       Barcia
       Barrett (WI)
       Becerra
       Beilenson
       Bereuter
       Berman
       Bevill
       Bishop
       Blumenauer
       Bonior
       Borski
       Boucher
       Browder
       Brown (CA)
       Brown (FL)
       Brown (OH)
       Bryant (TX)
       Campbell
       Cardin
       Chabot
       Chrysler
       Clay
       Clayton
       Clement
       Clyburn
       Coleman
       Collins (MI)
       Condit
       Conyers
       Costello
       Coyne
       Cramer
       Cummings
       de la Garza
       Deal
       DeFazio
       Dellums
       Dicks
       Dingell
       Dixon
       Doggett
       Doyle
       Duncan
       Durbin
       Edwards
       Engel
       Ensign
       Evans
       Farr
       Fattah
       Fazio
       Fields (LA)
       Filner
       Flake
       Foglietta
       Foley
       Ford
       Frost
       Furse
       Gephardt
       Gordon
       Green (TX)
       Gutierrez
       Gutknecht
       Hamilton
       Hastings (FL)
       Hefner
       Hilleary
       Hilliard
       Hinchey
       Hoke
       Holden
       Jackson (IL)
       Jackson-Lee (TX)
       Jacobs
       Jefferson
       Johnson (SD)
       Johnson, E. B.
       Johnston
       Kanjorski
       Kaptur
       Kennedy (RI)
       Kildee
       Kleczka
       Klink
       LaFalce
       Lantos
       Levin
       Lewis (GA)
       Lipinski
       Lofgren
       Longley
       Lowey
       Luther
       Maloney
       Manton
       Martinez
       Mascara
       Matsui
       McCrery
       McDermott
       McHale
       McKinney
       Meek
       Menendez
       Metcalf
       Millender-McDonald
       Miller (CA)
       Minge
       Mink
       Mollohan
       Nadler
       Oberstar
       Obey
       Olver
       Ortiz
       Owens
       Pallone
       Pastor
       Payne (NJ)
       Pelosi
       Peterson (FL)
       Peterson (MN)
       Poshard
       Rahall
       Ramstad
       Rangel
       Reed
       Rivers
       Roemer
       Rohrabacher
       Rose
       Roybal-Allard
       Royce
       Rush
       Sabo
       Sanders
       Sawyer
       Schroeder
       Schumer
       Scott
       Serrano
       Shays
       Skaggs
       Slaughter
       Smith (WA)
       Spratt
       Stark
       Stokes
       Stupak
       Tanner
       Tate
       Tauzin
       Taylor (MS)
       Tejeda
       Thompson
       Thurman
       Torres
       Torricelli
       Towns
       Velazquez
       Vento
       Visclosky
       Volkmer
       Ward
       Waters
       Watt (NC)
       Waxman
       Williams
       Wilson
       Wise
       Woolsey
       Wynn
  
                                 NOES--242
  
       Allard
       Archer
       Armey
       Baker (CA)
       Ballenger
       Barr
       Barrett (NE)
       Bartlett
       Barton
       Bass
       Bateman
       Bentsen
       Bilbray
       Bilirakis
       Bliley
       Blute
       Boehlert
       Boehner
       Bonilla
       Bono
       Brewster
       Brownback
       Bryant (TN)
       Bunn
       Bunning
       Burr
       Burton
       Buyer
       Callahan
       Calvert
       Camp
       Canady
       Castle
       Chambliss
       Chapman
       Chenoweth
       Christensen
       Clinger
       Coble
       Coburn
       Collins (GA)
       Combest
       Cooley
       Cox
       Crane
       Crapo
       Cremeans
       Cubin
       Cunningham
       Danner
       Davis
       DeLauro
       DeLay
       Deutsch
       Diaz-Balart
       Dickey
       Dooley
       Doolittle
       Dornan
       Dreier
       Ehlers
       Ehrlich
       English
       Eshoo
       Everett
       Ewing
       Fawell
       Fields (TX)
       Flanagan
       Forbes
       Fowler
       Fox
       Frank (MA)
       Franks (CT)
       Franks (NJ)
       Frelinghuysen
       Frisa
       Funderburk
       Gallegly
       Ganske
       Gejdenson
       Gekas
       Geren
       Gilchrest
       Gillmor
       Gonzalez
       Goodlatte
       Goodling
       Goss
       Graham
       Greene (UT)
       Greenwood
       Gunderson
       Hall (TX)
       Hancock
       Hansen
       Harman
       Hastert
       Hastings (WA)
       Hayworth
       Hefley
       Heineman
       Herger
       Hobson
       Hoekstra
       Horn
       Hostettler
       Houghton
       Hoyer
       Hunter
       Hutchinson
       Hyde
       Inglis
       Istook
       Johnson (CT)
       Johnson, Sam
       Jones
       Kasich
       Kelly
       Kennedy (MA)
       Kennelly
       Kim
       King
       Kingston
       Klug
       Knollenberg
       Kolbe
       LaHood
       Largent
       Latham
       LaTourette
       Laughlin
       Lazio
       Leach
       Lewis (CA)
       Lewis (KY)
       Lightfoot
       Linder
       Livingston
       LoBiondo
       Lucas
       Manzullo
       Markey
       Martini
       McCarthy
       McCollum
       McHugh
       McInnis
       McIntosh
       McKeon
       McNulty
       Meehan
       Meyers
       Mica
       Miller (FL)
       Moakley
       Molinari
       Montgomery
       Moorhead
       Moran
       Morella
       Murtha
       Myers
       Myrick
       Neal
       Nethercutt
       Neumann
       Ney
       Norwood
       Nussle
       Orton
       Oxley
       Packard
       Parker
       Paxon
       Payne (VA)
       Pickett
       Pombo
       Pomeroy
       Porter
       Portman
       Pryce
       Quillen
       Quinn
       Radanovich
       Regula
       Richardson
       Riggs
       Roberts
       Rogers
       Ros-Lehtinen
       Roth
       Roukema
       Salmon
       Sanford
       Saxton
       Scarborough
       Schaefer
       Schiff
       Seastrand
       Sensenbrenner
       Shadegg
       Shaw
       Shuster
       Sisisky
       Skeen
       Skelton
       Smith (MI)
       Smith (NJ)
       Smith (TX)
       Solomon
       Souder
       Spence
       Stearns
       Stenholm
       Stockman
  
  [[Page H7364]]
  
  
       Studds
       Stump
       Talent
       Taylor (NC)
       Thomas
       Thornberry
       Thornton
       Tiahrt
       Torkildsen
       Traficant
       Upton
       Vucanovich
       Walker
       Walsh
       Wamp
       Watts (OK)
       Weldon (FL)
       Weldon (PA)
       Weller
       White
       Whitfield
       Wicker
       Wolf
       Young (AK)
       Zeliff
       Zimmer
  
                               NOT VOTING--11
  
       Collins (IL)
       Dunn
       Gibbons
       Gilman
       Hall (OH)
       Hayes
       Lincoln
       McDade
       Petri
       Yates
       Young (FL)
  
                                {time}  2381
  
    Mr. de la GARZA changed his vote from ``no'' to ``aye.''
    Messrs. EHRLICH, MEEHAN, and PETE GEREN of Texas changed their vote 
  from ``aye'' to ``no.''
    So the amendment was rejected.
    The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  
  
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  James Love / love@tap.org / P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036
  Voice: 202/387-8030; Fax 202/234-5176
  Center for Study of Responsive Law
     Consumer Project on Technology; http://www.essential.org/cpt
     Taxpayer Assets Project; http://www.tap.org
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