[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 145 (Friday, October 7, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 7, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              DIETARY SUPPLEMENT HEALTH AND EDUCATION ACT

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I am very pleased that today the Senate 
gave final approval to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. 
This is an important moment for American consumers and for preventive 
health care. And it has been a long time coming. My colleague from 
Utah, Senator Hatch, and I have been working for months to bring about 
this bipartisan compromise which promotes consumer protection and 
education and freedom of choice.
  The compromise before us is the result of many months of discussions 
and alterations. It guarantees the American people access to 
supplements to their diets that promote improved health and well-being. 
It also takes steps to assure that consumers will receive truth and 
nonmisleading information about these products without excessive, 
biased regulation by the Federal government.
  Mr. President, there is an overwhelming irony in a government that 
subsidizes to the tune of a billion dollars a year the advertising and 
promotion of tobacco, which kills over 450,000 Americans a year, while 
running roughshod over the promotion of products that aim to promote 
health and save lives.
  Taxpayers are being asked to subsidize activities that are designed 
to hook our kids on a habit that we know robs health. At the same time 
the FDA seems to want to deny people access to information they can use 
to take charge of their own health. Something's out of whack here. And 
the legislation before us changes that.
  As with any compromise, no one is going to be 100 percent pleased 
with every detail of our efforts. Certainly, if I were able to draft 
the bill by myself, it would have been different. But given our system, 
the bill before us is as good as it could be. It responds to the 
concerns of millions of Americans who want to see our health care 
system opened up and consumers armed with better information.
  I have been a long-time advocate of preventive health care. And this 
proposal is an important part of that. We don't have a health care 
system in this Nation. We have a sick care system. We spend billions 
patching and mending. But we flunk when it comes to helping people stay 
healthy in the first place. If all we do is change how we pay the 
bills, we're just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. We're 
going down. The only way we'll really get costs under control is to 
emphasize prevention and giving people the wherewithal to stay healthy.
  Mr. President, I want to commend my colleague from Utah, Senator 
Hatch, for his tireless and skillful efforts on this legislation. As 
the author of S. 784, he successfully fought a tough, uphill battle and 
should be proud of his success in moving the bill forward. I also want 
to commend my House colleagues for the critical role they played in 
making passage of this legislation possible. Congressman Bill 
Richardson authored the original bill in the House and was vital to 
this successful effort. In addition, this legislation clearly would not 
have been possible without the cooperation and work of Congressman 
Henry Waxman and the distinguished Chairman of the House Energy and 
Commerce Committee, Congressman John Dingell. These two individuals 
have been in the middle of virtually every important piece of health 
legislation over the past two decades.
  Again, Mr. President, I am very pleased that the Senate is taking 
final action on the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. This 
bill is an important step forward in health care policy. I hope the 
President signs it and makes it the law of the land promptly as 
possible.

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