Posted on 11/27/2002 9:36:14 AM PST by Libloather
Sen. Daschle, Rep. Pelosi Vow to Repeal Homeland Security Provision Shielding Drug Makers From Liability
Press Release Source: Safe Minds
Wednesday November 27, 10:05 am ET
Claims That Congress can 'Fix' the Problem Are Misleading
WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Safe Minds and the Mercury Policy Project are hailing a statement by the US House and Senate leadership that they will work to repeal a corporate special-interest provision in the Homeland Security Bill. The provision wipes out all legal remedies for thousands of autistic children harmed by mercury in infant vaccines and must be eliminated, the two groups working to prevent mercury-related injuries said today.
"We strongly support Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and House Democratic Leader-Elect Nancy Pelosi's vow to remove egregious special interest provisions, including the thimerosal liability shield for Eli Lilly," said Michael Bender, Director of the Mercury Policy Project.
As passed, the Homeland bill allows the families to re-file their claims in a special administrative court for vaccine-related injury cases where it takes years for cases to be heard and 87% of the claims filed are denied. And claims can only be made by parents if their child's first symptom of neurological damage occurred within the last three years, which effectively bars many families from going to court to hold Lilly accountable for their children's injuries, the groups said.
"It is a sad state of affairs when the Congress and the White House conspire to benefit a pharmaceutical giant at the expense of injured children and families whose lives have been shattered by corporate wrongdoing," said Lyn Redwood, RN, president of Safe Minds and the parent of a child who developed multiple disabilities after receiving 125 times the government-recommended exposure to mercury. "Eli Lilly has been allowed to exploit a national threat to America to further their own agenda."
The provision to benefit Lilly -- which was added to the unrelated Homeland Security Bill at the last minute -- affects lawsuits against the drug maker for injuries caused by its product thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that was used in infant vaccines until a few years ago.
"Claims by Republican congressional leaders that they will "fix" the provision next year are empty promises because it will be too late," said Michael Bender, Director of the Mercury Policy Project. "Once President Bush signs the bill -- which will happen any day -- Eli Lilly can go to court and have all the mercury vaccine-related lawsuits against it dismissed immediately."
According to Redwood, after conversations with senate staff, the "fix" will do little if anything to right this wrong. "Our children have been silenced once by autism and now the votes of Congress have silenced them again," said Redwood. "The right thing to do would be to pass legislation as soon as possible to strike the thimerosal provisions."
The lawsuits were filed by the families of children who developed autism, learning disabilities and other neurological problems after multiple mercury exposures. It takes hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to care for a severely autistic child and millions over the victim's lifetime.
I'll bet you would like to get rid of Lott and every Senator that votes for him as majority leader. That would be 100 percent of the Republicans.
Lott gets 100% support from his caucus because 100% of the Republicans in the senate approve of the job he does. The only people in the Senate who oppose Trent lott are Democrats. And not even all Democrats oppose him all the time.. In the special session Lott got 16 Democrats to vote with 49 Republicans to pass what Bush wanted passed.
Awww, give the guy a break. You know it hurts him so much that come the 108th, Daschle gets demoted. So don't make him actually ADMIT that his party was thrown out by the American voters. Let him keep at least some last lingering and fading glory.
[said with the most evil grin possible]
A move in the right direction. If the vaccine was FDA approved, then establish some guidelines e.g. since problems will occur, protect the families, have all medical costs covered. No law suits allowed unless unapproved vaccines were used. Trials should be avoided, establish 'baggage claim' type conventions.
There we are again back to this "Two-Party Cartel" thing. Like one, hate the other. No sir, I hate the same old pols that spoon feed you theirs & theirs only. I sort of like strawberry, butter brickle, etc. If 31 Flavors was our government I would only get chocolate & vanilla. (For your knowledge I do not like one democrate nor have I ever in my many votings ever voted for one.) Have a good holiday.
So, over the holdays, if you see a trial lawyer or a union officer or a democrat who lost in the election standing by the street with a tin cup and a sign that says, "Will Screw The Wealthy For Food," do what I would do, spit in his cup.
Exactly! Would it not be extremely educational to the American public just how much "product liability" insurance costs add to the price of products or equipment?
How much more does a wheelchair cost because of product liability?
How much more does a doctor's bill cost? Or added cost to a hospital stay or operation because of added product liability costs to equipment and devices?
Does product liability add to the price of drugs? New drugs and older drugs that were sued?
How much more is your car, car-seat, washer & dryer, diswasher, and strollers and the list goes on and on...?
You don't want to be pregnant in Mississippi and you don't want to need a trauma center if you're injured in Nevada. Thank you trial lawyers and unlimited punitive damages for adding to the cost of everything we need to buy and causing everything we need to move or close down.
I don't post to you Digger. I post so others won't think you are a typical freeper.
There are two things learned people should never try. They are teaching calculus to an artichoke, and politics to you.
If you favor proportional representation, you'd love France. Or Germany. Or Italy. Or any other unstable and ineffectual parliamentary system of representation.
The two-party system wasn't a creation of the founders. But their creation, the Constitution, seems to have fostered it. By its nature, the two-party system tends to inexorably funnel the political fireworks and instability on the fringe into the bland, stable and consensual middle.
It's an ugly beast. But it's our ugly beast.
But the president outwitted them once when he got the laws straigtened out which would bring the Generic drugs unto the market much sooner than business as usual and for EVERYONE, not just senior citizens.
Tired of rotten lawyers and rotten politicians.
I chatted with my doc yesterday and he said the very same thing.
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