[Ip-health] Travis Sherer blog on Rep. Wilson's letter to USTR

[Mike Palmedo]

http://www.travissherer.com/

Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Travis Sherer

A disturbing letter from Congressman Joe Wilson, (Republican-South
Carolina) has just come to my attention. Wilson's letter states that
Brazil's declaration of a national emergency in response to its
inability to pay through the nose for medicines to treat Brazilians with
HIV/AIDS "will undermine American pharmaceutical companies."

Huh?

He goes on to state his adamant opposition to Brazil's efforts at
negotiating with American pharmaceutical companies for discounts on
their medicines.

Why is he so opposed to a country working legally and sincerely with a
drug manufacturer to allow an equitable solution for both parties? By
negotiating for a fair, discounted price, pharmaceutical comanies will
still make a healthy profit on their products while enabling the
Brazilian government to afford these life saving medicines. It is
unconscionable that anyone, let alone a US congressman, would intervene
in such a manner-putting human lives below massive greed.

It seemed fishy to me that a not-so-well-known congressman from South
Carolina would express such an interest in this issue. So I decided to
do a little checking and things suddenly began to become clear. In 2003,
Wilson was extensively lobbied with phone calls and letters from
pharmaceutical company supporters to vote against lowering prescription
drug costs. A bill that would allow Americans to import prescription
medicines from abroad, such as Canada, was met with a massive lobbying
effort by big pharmaceutical companies against it. An article in the
July 23, 2003 issue of South Carolina's The State reported that their
Congressmen were "feeling the full effects of the pharmaceutical
industry's wrath." In fact, pharmaceutical companies spent massive
amounts of money in the state to sway citizens' potential votes for
Congressman, including Wilson, in order to get them to quash the bill.

Along with this massive attack from drug makers came another attack-this
time in the form of cold, hard cash. According to the non-partisan
Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks how and where politicians
receive money, Wilson's second largest contributer was from the Health
industry. The American Medical Association, Eli Lilly, and a slew of
others who have a vested interest in seeing Brazil denied an ability to
afford medicines even at the expense of innocent lives have contributed
to Wilson.

It seems that economics have once again driven the poor and impoverished
to die so that others can make billions.