[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 163 (Saturday, December 17, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H12054]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   LIABILITY IMMUNITY FOR BIG PHARMA

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. Wake up, America. In addition to giving away the Alaska 
National Wildlife Refuge to the oil companies, the Defense 
appropriations bill is rumored to contain a massive holiday gift to the 
pharmaceutical industry in the form of liability immunity for pandemic 
vaccines. The liability is not the reason for vaccine shortages, 
especially in the case of avian flu.
  This giveaway will not result in increased vaccine production. Why 
does Big Pharma want these liability exemptions? Because there is 
reason to doubt the safety of at least one of these vaccines. Chiron, 
the same company which allowed contamination of half of last year's flu 
vaccine supply, is hoping to use MF59 in an avian flu vaccine. MF59 is 
a compound that contains squalene, which is on the short list of 
potential causes for the chronic debilitating illnesses experienced by 
our veterans of the first Persian Gulf war.
  At a minimum, this issue must be debated in front of the American 
people, not slipped in behind closed doors into this large bill. I urge 
my colleagues to reject this liability immunity.

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