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Consumers expecting a miracle in the Senate that would end Big Pharma's monopoly and the FDA-enforced drug racket now operating in the United States will be sorely disappointed by yesterday's events. Fifteen Democratic senators (led by Sen. Edward Kennedy) abandoned consumer interests and joined a Republican-organized amendment that would protect Big Pharma's stranglehold over U.S. consumers by blocking the importation of prescription drugs from other countries.

The amendment in question is Senate Amendment 1010: "To protect the health and safety of the public," sponsored by Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) as an amendment to S.1082, the FDA reauthorization bill. The short text of the amendment requires that the Secretary of Health and Human Services block all importations of medications unless HHS can certify to Congress that such imports, "pose no additional risk to the public's health and safety." HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt, of course, has no interest in allowing free market conditions to threaten Big Pharma profits, thus the outcome of this amendment is obvious: It effectively overturns the Dorgan amendment that would have allowed Americans to save billions of dollars on prescription drugs by purchasing them from outside the United States under "free market" conditions.

Fifteen Democratic senators voted in favor of this amendment to defend Big Pharma's monopoly. Those senators are are: Max Baucus, Evan Bayh, Maria Cantwell, Thomas Carper, Edward Kennedy, John Kerry, Mary Landrieu, Frank Lautenberg, Blanche Lincoln, Robert Menéndez, Barbara Mikulski, Patty Murray, Ben Nelson, Jay Rockefeller, and Kenneth Salazar.

Thirty-three Republicans also supported the bill, which passed 49-40 (11 not voting). The Republican senators who voted for this amendment are: Lamar Alexander, Robert Bennett, Kit Bond, Jim Bunning, Richard Burr, Saxby Chambliss, Tom Coburn, Thad Cochran, Norm Coleman, Bob Corker, John Cornyn, Michael Crapo, Elizabeth Dole, Pete Domenici, Michael Enzi, Lindsey Graham, Judd Gregg, Chuck Hagel, Orrin Hatch, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Johnny Isakson, Jon Kyl, Richard Lugar, Mel Martinez, Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski, Pat Roberts, Arlen Specter, Ted Stevens, John Sununu, Craig Thomas, George Voinovich, and John Warner.

Big Pharma owns the U.S. Senate

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