[Ip-health] NYT Editorial: Puppets in Congress

[Sarah Rimmington]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/17/opinion/17tue3.html?src=3Dtwt&twt=3Dnytim=
esopinion
The New York Times
November 17, 2009
Editorial
Puppets in Congress

For a depressing example of how members of Congress can be spoon-fed the
views and even the exact words of high-powered lobbying firms, consider
remarks inserted into the Congressional Record after the debate and vote
on health care reform in the House.

As Robert Pear reported in The Times on Sunday, statements inserted into
the official record by more than a dozen lawmakers were ghostwritten, in
whole or in part, by lobbyists working for Genentech, a large
biotechnology company that expects to prosper under some of the
provisions in the reform legislation. The company estimates that 22
Republicans and 20 Democrats picked up some of its talking points.

The comforting news is that none of the ghostwritten material sought to
change the contents of the bill, which was not open to much revision
during the debate. Rather, the statements were inserted into the
Congressional Record as revisions and extensions of briefer remarks made
by legislators on the House floor. Still, there they are in the official
record for historians to read, or perhaps a judge trying to determine
the lawmakers=92 intent in passing this bill.

The apparent goal was to show that, even though there were sharp
divisions between the parties on the overall reform bill (only one
Republican voted for it), there was bipartisan support for provisions
relating to drugs produced by the biotechnology industry. One provision,
for example, would allow generic competition to expensive biological
drugs but only after the original manufacturer had enjoyed 12 years of
exclusive use, a generous period by anyone=92s standards.

An e-mail message from one top lobbyist urged his colleagues to conduct
=93aggressive outreach=94 to Congressional staff members to secure as many
supportive statements from their bosses =93as humanly possible.=94 Sure
enough, Republicans who denounced the overall bill, said in their
industry-fed statements that the biological drug provisions struck =93the
appropriate balance.=94

It is disturbing that the industry was able to so easily shape the
official record to its liking. It is even more disturbing that so many
members of Congress were willing to parrot the industry talking points.

--
Sarah Rimmington
Attorney
Essential Action, Access to Medicines Project
Washington, DC
Tel: +1 (202) 387-8030
Cell: +1 (202) 422-2687
www.essentialaction.org/access/

Follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/sarahrimmington