[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17907]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES INFLUENCING RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, for 21 years I have been in the 
Congress, and for 21 years I have supported the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the people 
who were fighting for the lives of the unborn, the pro-life 
organizations. And for 21 years I received accolades from religious 
organizations all over this country. In fact, the Traditional Values 
Coalition last year asked me to be a member of their board of 
directors.
  Well, I do not know if my colleagues can see this on television or 
not, but this was mailed out into my district this past week. It is a 
picture of a little baby sucking on a pacifier or something, and 
underneath it is a mother with a package of pills that are supposed to 
be the RU-486, the abortion pill that would cause an abortion 24 hours 
after conception, or after conception sometime. It says on the front of 
it next to this little baby, ``Will Congressman Dan Burton miss an 
opportunity to protect the sanctity of human life?''
  I do not understand that, how a religious organization can be 
manipulated by the pharmaceutical industry to do this sort of thing. 
They are supposed to be moral people; and yet I am confident, in fact I 
am dead sure, that the Traditional Values Coalition did not have the 
money to mail this kind of trash out to congressional districts all 
across this country and also do television ads and radio ads going 
after Congressmen because they believe that seniors ought to be able to 
get reimported drugs from Canada or Germany or some place else that 
cost one-sixth or one-tenth of what they cost in the United States.
  And the reason the pharmaceutical industry is dead on the 
reimportation is because they are loading all of their profits on the 
backs of the American people while they are giving these 
pharmaceuticals for a much lower price in other parts of the country. 
Why should Americans pay six times as much money for Tamoxifen as they 
do in Germany? That is a cancer-fighting drug that women use to save 
their lives. In Canada and in Germany it costs $60 for a 30- or 60-day 
supply. In the United States it costs $360. Why should Americans pay 
that much more than other countries?
  It is because the pharmaceutical companies are making so much money; 
and because they are afraid we are going to pass a reimportation bill, 
they are going after the people in the Congress who believe that people 
ought to pay the same prices here as they do other places.
  How are they going after us? They are going after us with a meat 
cleaver, and they are trying to do it under a facade, under a tent so 
that they do not look like they are the bad guys. I am telling you, the 
Traditional Values Coalition and the other religious organizations that 
are putting out this kind of garbage, when they know it is not true, 
are being funded by the pharmaceutical industries. Now, they might say, 
oh, no, we are not.
  Well, I tell you, tonight on the floor of the U.S. House, I am 
challenging every one of the religious organizations in this country 
who have endorsed me year after year after year for reelection, I am 
challenging them tonight to let us see their financial records because 
I want to see what the pharmaceutical companies are giving them in 
order for them to put this kind of stuff out. The gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith), who is the leading advocate for pro-life in this 
Congress, is a co-sponsor with me and others for the reimportation of 
pharmaceuticals to make sure Americans pay a fair price for 
pharmaceuticals. But the pharmaceutical companies are scared to death 
of that, and so what they are doing is loading up all of these 
organizations to come after us and to make us look like we are people 
that we are not.
  So I say once again, Traditional Values Coalition who wanted me to be 
on your board last year because I am such a great guy, I want to see 
your financial records. Please show me your financial records and let 
me know that the pharmaceutical companies are not paying for this trash 
because I believe they are. And I say the same thing to all the other 
organizations. Jerry Falwell put an editorial in the paper not long ago 
about this very same issue, and I think it is a bogus issue, Mr. 
Falwell; and I would like to see your financial records and Mr. 
Robertson's and all other religious organizations' financial records 
who are criticizing us for wanting to reimport pharmaceuticals so 
Americans pay a fair price.
  So please, all of you religious organizations who are concerned about 
this, as you say you are, let us see your financial records and let us 
know that you are not taking large amounts of money from the 
pharmaceutical companies to put out this kind of tripe.


                Announcement By The Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will remind the Member to address 
his remarks to the Chair.

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