[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2230-E2231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONTINUING HEALTH CARE ACTIVITIES OF THE GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE

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                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 15, 2000

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, as we close out the 106th 
Congress, the Government Reform Committee, which I am proud to serve as 
Chairman, is continuing several health care oversight activities.
  Last year we began a review of this nation's vaccine immunization 
program. While childhood immunizations have been lauded as one of the 
greatest advances in public health of the twentieth century, we have 
learned that there is a paucity of research evaluating the long term 
safety of these vaccines, particularly as they are currently given to 
babies, six shots in one day. We also have learned that the epidemic 
rise in pervasive developmental delays including autism may be 
unrecognized adverse effect of vaccines. Research conducted in England 
discovered that autistic children, who also suffer with chronic 
diarrhea and bowel disorders, have the measles virus in their bowel. We 
also learned that many of these vaccines are made with the preservative 
thimerosal. Thimerosal is a derivative of mercury, which is a known 
neurotoxin. We learned that mercury toxicity has very similar symptoms 
to autism. Many children who are treated for mercury toxicity show an 
improvement in the autistic symptoms.
  I have asked the Department of Health and Human Services to recall 
vaccines that contain thimerosal since most of the vaccines on the 
childhood immunization schedule are now available without thimerosal. 
However, thus far, they are satisfied with allowing companies to 
continue to sell these vaccines and putting 8,000 children in the 
United States at risk for mercury toxicity. As part of this 
investigation we looked at the advisory committees at the Centers for 
Disease Control and at the Food and Drug Administration and found that 
many of the individuals appointed as advisory council members had 
significant financial ties to the pharmaceutical companies that 
manufacture the vaccines under consideration. The report of our 
findings is on the Committee website.
  As part of our vaccine investigation, we looked at the Defense 
Department's Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program. We found that this 
well-intentioned program had many problems and I have supported 
legislation that would halt the program. The existing anthrax vaccine 
manufactured by Bioport Inc. in Lansing, Michigan was licensed in 1970 
to protect against cutaneous exposure to the anthrax. It was not 
originally licensed to protect against inhalation anthrax. While the 
label states that less than one percent of individuals who receive the 
vaccine will suffer an adverse events, each of the prospective studies 
that have been done have shown that in excess of twenty percent of 
those who receive the vaccine suffer an adverse event. Many of these 
events have proven difficult to treat and are very similar to those 
seen in Gulf War Syndrome. An investigation conducted by the General 
Accounting Office indicates that the mandatory AVIP program has 
resulted in a significant morale and retention problem.
  There are some that think that because I have dared to initiate an 
oversight investigation into vaccines, that I am anti-vaccine. Nothing 
could be further from the truth. I believe that safe and effective 
vaccines should be made available to everyone with full declaration of 
the benefits and the risks involved. I also believe that we need to do 
more research to determine who will be at risk for adverse events and 
that just because a vaccine is licensed does not mean it needs to be 
added to the children's immunization schedule to be mandated at the 
state level. We saw with the rotashield vaccine investigation that the 
move to put this vaccine on the schedule took place before the vaccine 
was even licensed. There is concern we have gone too far in our desire 
to protect the public at large from infectious diseases by mandating 
every vaccine that is licensed instead of only those that are truly 
significant health concerns in this country. There is a tremendous 
difference between the consequences of polio and those of chicken pox.
  Also during the 106th Congress, we have conducted an investigation 
into the role of complementary and alternative medicine in our health 
care system. Americans are increasingly turning to therapies such as 
acupuncture, massage therapy, chiropractics, naturopathy, touch and 
energy therapies, herbal medicine, traditional healing systems such as 
Ayurveda, Tibetan Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Native 
American medicine, mind-body techniques, aromatherapy, nutrition, and 
music therapy to improve their health. We have conducted numerous 
hearings looking at ways to improve cancer care through the integration 
of complementary and alternative medicine in oncology.
  I was pleased to introduced H.R. 3677 the Thomas Navarro FDA Patients 
Rights act this past spring. Four year old Thomas, who was shown to the 
world by Ambassador Alan Keyes during the Republican debates, was 
diagnosed with medulloblastoma, was denied access to a non-toxic cancer 
treatment by the FDA because he had not first gone through and failed 
chemotherapy and radiation. After his initial surgery, Thomas' parents, 
Jim and Donna Navarro, looked at the benefits and risks of these two 
treatments and found that the success rates had been overestimated and 
that the risks were too much to ask of them without first trying 
something less risky. We learned that of the three chemotherapy drugs 
which are routinely recommended to treat this cancer, two of them 
clearly state on their label that they have not been proven to be safe 
and effective in the pediatric population. In other words, the drug had 
not gone through the rigors of an FDA approval process for treating 
medulloblastoma or for use in children. I am very concerned that the 
FDA will force cancer patients into treatments they as an agency have 
not evaluated while denying them access to a clinical trial that the 
FDA is monitoring. I was pleased that many of my

[[Page E2231]]

colleagues joined me in support of this legislation. This issue points 
to something that we are lacking in this country--medical freedom. In 
the United States, a country based on freedom, we are not guaranteed 
the freedom to make our own health care choices. Americans are tired of 
this and I will continue working to change this.
  We also looked at the role of improving care at the end of life. We 
learned that 38,000 World War II veterans die each month. Many of them 
die alone and in pain. Our veterans deserve better from us and I will 
continue to work to improve this.
  We learned that the hospice approach to care, which many of us know 
from personal family experience has great benefit, that has been 
underutilized. We also learned that many complementary therapies such 
as music therapy, touch therapy, aromatherapy, massage, whole life 
review, and acupuncture offer a great benefit to the terminally ill. 
The importance of the hospice team approach was stressed as well. That 
is a team of patient, and care givers, doctor, nurse, chaplain, home 
health aid, social worker, and the tireless hospice volunteer working 
to offer care to the terminally ill and their family. Comfort rather 
than curative care is offered and oftentimes when spiritual, 
relationship, and personal healing can take place.
  We will continue working on these issues as well as working with the 
White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy 
and improving our health care system with the integration of 
complementary and alternative therapies.

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