Comments on: Under The Influence

60 Minutes' Steve Kroft Reports On Drug Lobbyists' Role in Passing Bill That Keeps Drug Prices High

[l8c6]

opusmagnus, I think you have just given us the rehash of the right wing fascist multinational corporate mantra. "get big government of our backs" That's what Reagan said but the ideology behind it was deceptive. What was really being pushed was what Grover Nordquist wanted to do, shrink representative government to a size small enough to be drowned in a bathtub and replace it with business anarchy that picks fruit from the societal at large and returns to private multinational corporate traitors. You have submitted another deception. The right wing always talking about shrinking government yet behind the scenes plotting to merge Canada, Mexico and the U.S. into one union to stand up to the European union. The right wing underpinning is to weaken advocacy for the masses of working folks so that more can funnel into the mob rule that Billy boy in this story has bent over for. Someone will rule...it's a myth to think government can be abolished.

[swid3]

I think it is a shame the power the lobbyist has on changing our lives. I think we need to kick out the lobbyist and start over with our Representatives and maybe we could get some ethical people to represent us. If this passes in the Senate, President Bush says he will veto it. I won't be voting Republican next election. I don't understand how Bush can be a traitor to our seniors. Democrate this is your time to take this and run with with. Billy Tauzin is scum and nothing can justify what he has done.

[rbenkovic]

Steve Croft introduced Dan Burton as being a congressman from Illinois. This is not correct. Dan Burton is a congressman from Indiana.

Steve seemed determined not to report that since the passage of the Medicare Drug bill that the price of drugs for Medicare patients has fallen dramatically.

Steve was determined to report that the "Big Pharmaceutical Companies" were making a huge profit and to not report the benefits that Medicare patients are receiving due to falling drug prices. The "Big Pharmaceutical Companies" are competing for the business of Medicare patients with competing drugs and the beneficiaries are Medicare patients. Steve wanted to keep telling about the Veterans Administration being able to secure drugs for less than Medicare. He neglected to interview Medicare patients to hear how happy we are that our drug prices have fallen dramatically.

RBenkovic

[DocD--2008]

Agreed, end lobbying period, no exceptions.

And in addition, people like Scully and Tuzin need to spend many "ugly nights" in prison.

[recoveringlawyer]

You people want the federal government to fix this mess. This is where you show your ignorance, naiveti, hypocrisy, and lack of historical perspective. The problem of government interference in what is essentially a private affair is not another government program. You will never learn. The lure of power is as pernicious as it is pervasive. The founding fathers understood this well, and therefore created a form of government in which power was spread out among many entities, but primarily rested with the states, believing that less mischief would ensue. Since the Great Depression, this chief founding principle has been turned on its head, with ever more power being concentrated within the confines of Washington, D.C., which, in the process, has become one of the greatest cesspools and brothels in the history of the world. The only solution is a return to the principles of self-reliance and economic freedom upon which this country was founded. Without that, we are nothing more than 300 million squawking crows and vultures pecking on the corpse of a nation that was once the light of world. Bon appetite!

[bill1fj]

Throw out the whole bunch and lets start over with some people that have integrity and that will be decent and honest lawmakers.
Put an end to lobbyist.
Period.
No exceptions.
No loopholes.

[francesheck]

60 minutes just proved to America how corrupt our government really is. Why is there nobody screaming about this? Why is this just now coming out? Every news reporter in this country should be ashamed of themselves for not bringing this to the attention of the American people. Or were they paid off to look the other way too. And now if it is rectified and passes and becomes the way that it should be, President Bush says he will veto it! Why aren't the Democratic candidates taking this ball and running with it? That story alone was enough to make me vote completely different than I usually do. I promise you, I won't be voting Republican in the next election. If the Democrats hammered this story home and had Mickey Mouse running for president, he would win hands down. There must have been several laws that Billy Tauzin and his crew broke. If not, there should be. Oh, I forgot. This is the same group that makes up our laws. Martha Stewart's crime was nothing compared to what these elected officials did. Rosie O'Donnell, we need your beautiful megaphone mouth to sound off. Run with this girl, because we all know that Bill O'Reilly will not and would want to sweep this quietly under the rug. Does Billy Tauzin and his crew really think that they did America right? They can't be that stupid. Greed just won out, plain and simple. This crew just set America back a long way when it comes to trusting our government.

[droberts71]

Centralized power at the cost of those in need. Increasing cost of health care, increasing profit for Pharmaceutical Companies, Health Insurance Companies, CEO's, advertizing, $19 billion to Doctors, $100 million to Congress. It will never stop, unless we, the voters stop, and get over our fear. We could pass the bill that would cost Medicare 50% less and the American People 50% less with single payer health insurance. Wouldn't it be nice if the corporations shook with fear and anger, while the little people voted in their own interests. The little people could be powerful if they voted for education, health care, living wage, and income stability for the elderly. Health Care should be taken out of the hands of employers and the Insurance and Pharmaceutical companies. We are too scared to do it, but things will get worse until we do.

[lzsfca]

When John Edwards said last week that if he becomes president he will work to provide health care to every American. I heard the conservatives in the room collectively yell, "How are we going to pay for that?!" I think having the Pharm & Health Care industries foot the the bill with all the surplus profits they've made since this bill was passed--would more than cover it. Great point ahaggard1 perhaps if Americans could see what a struggle it is for Seniors to pay for medications & food we would stop blaming the victims and start holding these freeloading Corporations accountable.

[kjunkid2000]

What a shameless, selfish, pathetic, crew! After 25 yrs slushing at the trough in congress, Mr Tauzin can still only think of himself! What a MAGGOT!

[homespunlady]

The people must rise and loudly oppose lobbying. Police cannot legally be bribed nor should our democratically elected poliiticians.
Posted by l8c6 at 03:22 PM : Apr 02, 2007

It's a double standard.
Somewhere as they rise up the ladder the rules have changed. Benefits, pay raises, priviledge and even corrupt "Lobby Negotiation" are all accepted as good.
Meanwhile, a safety net for the poor so they don't starve, grow ill and die in the street, a decent minimum wage which is due to inflation lower than ever, a decent safe education outside private schools and freedom itself is being advertised as evil when it is aimed at the rest of us.

[l8c6]

forthepeaple, the people who have discredited the traditional concept of U.S. government, the belittlement of U.S government by poster boy Ronald Reagan while ironically a government official at the same time is plausibly where it all started taking root. The mob rule have put themselves in the position of the government while at the same time putting it down.

The push for privatization. Let he who has an ear hear with it. The true efficiency of the private sector is to provide the least amount of service (overhead) for the greatest amount of profit (privatized wealth in the hands of a few) A poor representative government means a wealthy powerful privatized government.

Reagan lied when he spoke against "big government". He would have spoken honestly to express his disdain for government that represents the interests of the common good instead of the wealth building entities targeting the abolishment of the U.S. constitution.

[ahaggard1]

I thought your program "Under The Influence" was excellent. I work as a Medicare Outreach Specialist for the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging. We help over 100 seniors a month dealing with the complexity and confusion surrounding the Medicare Drug Benefit. While I really did enjoy the story I felt like it could have gone one step further to show what impact this has had on our seniors. For us, working out here on the street level, that's what it's really all about. I think it is important for the public to understand what a huge financial benefit the law has been to the drug industry and how some members of congress also profited from it. But I also think they need to know that as the pharmaceutical industry continues to rake it in, seniors are still making critical life choices about buying groceries or needed medications..and that's not just a cliche!

Thanks for your time,

Andrew Haggard, MSW, LSW
Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging

[l8c6]

The mob is ruling. Amazing how a few million dollars waved under the nose of a few prostitutes can get them to spin on their own conscience and understanding of ethical conduct.

The people must rise and loudly oppose lobbying. Police cannot legally be bribed nor should our democratically elected poliiticians.

Washington D.C. has been reduced to a brothel under the influence of a mafia value system. This country needs to get back to its founding roots and purge the old european world corruption that has been introduced by those who have themselves convinced they are americans.

Billy Tauzin has justified in his mind that he is there to support the industry that helped him beat cancer. That industry benefits from a university system supported by a collective body of americans. The privatized drug companies are picking the fruits from the garden and returning water and fertilizer to private interests instead of the society that made much of the research possible. This is high treason against the citizens. If Billy Tauzin really wants to help those who helped him beat cancer he would help the scientists who developed the drugs who make very little compared to the predatory executives and lobbyists like Billy Tauzin. Hypocrits and traitors they are. Their sociopathy runs deep. When Billy Tauzin gets cancer the second time he can try to deceive his maker with his motives all he wishes.

[Zingy1]

I agree that this report seems to be way too little too late. Have we Americans sold our collective soul to the highest bidder? The news media should be on this story relentlessly, but, alas, would it sell? That's the bottomline for media, the drug companies, and our president. He may claim to be a Christian, but it's obvious what he worships.

[lzsfca]

Great story, AWESOME Story!!! Too bad CBS & 60 minutes waited over 3 YEARS after President Bush Jr. signed the bill into law to report on this. Perhaps if we the American people had heard this story back in early 2004, we would have made different choices when the 2004 presidential election came around. There was little in this story that I hadn't already heard on Air America Radio, Buzzflash, Salon.com and the like, WAY back in 2003 as this was all happening. What I didn't hear back then, (the House Reps now working for the Pharma lobby) was no surprise. SHAME ON CBS & 60 minutes for completely missing the game on this one!!!

[dogband]

Billy Tauzin is a piece of ***. So is the entire Bush administration that engineered this money making scheme.

How do these folks and the people that voted for them sleep at night? Unbelieveable.

[rlandersen7]

What they did should be against the law - gov. officials are suppose to do what is right for the American citizens - not what is right for themselves. If nothing happens to these people then Enron, Worldcom and Tyco should be set free because it is the same situation!

[homespunlady]

"I got a call from a doctor in Bethesda who said, 'You got cancer. And it's extremely rare. And it could kill ya.' And then everything changed," Tauzin says.

Tauzin had a cancerous tumor removed from his intestines and was treated with a new medicine, called Avastin, that had never been used before on that form of cancer.

The treatment was successful, and as a result Tauzin says he felt he owed his life to the drug industry.

From the article above - Kinda reminds me of an episode of some spy series I caught part of.
The premise was that potential leaders were infected with some rare disease and when it came favor time they either cooperated and received the rare treatment to "cure" their illness or they died and the next infected guy got the job.
Either way the group that set it up won.

[paralegal9]

I watched, along with millions of other Americans, the CBS special report on 60 Minutes concerning rampant conflict of interest between Members of Congress and the pharmaceutical industry, represented by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers
Association. Having covered government for many years, I understand that there is a temptation for public servants to seek private employment after they leave Congress.

But I can%u2019t believe the rampant pay-offs from your association to some fifteen staff members of the House and Senate Committees responsible for getting the Medicare Bill through Congress.

As to your association president, I wouldn%u2019t be so cynical as to suggest that his being selected to run PhRMA at a reported salary of $2 Million a year was a political thank-you.

But I suppose if you%u2019re going to be a ***, you might as well get paid for it.



Philip W. Henry
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