Campaign Action
It was a Democratic amendment sponsored by Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Bernie Sanders. It was pro-working class and anti-Big Pharma. It even enticed "Yes" votes from 12 GOP senators. And yet 13 Democrats, including Sen. Cory Booker, helped kill a measure aimed at making prescription drugs more affordable. It failed 46-52. Ellie Shechet writes:
Last night, Senate Republicans took their first leap towards repealing Obamacare by approving a budget procedure that would allow them to avoid a Democratic filibuster. The 13 Democrats who subsequently voted against making drugs cheaper for people deeply undercut the ability of that party to speak with credibility on behalf of the working class.
The measure, which would have allowed drugs to be imported from Canada, was expected to fail. But Democrats helped drive the nail into the coffin.
A Kaiser Health tracking poll last year found that 72 percent of Americans favor allowing drugs to be imported from Canada. Ya know who doesn’t favor that: pharmaceutical companies. And 13 Democrats. Booker, who has gotten more money from the pharmaceutical industry over the past six years than any other Democratic senator ($267,338), did issue an explanation. The Intercept gives it some context.
In a statement to the media after the vote, Booker’s office said he supports the importation of prescription drugs but that “any plan to allow the importation of prescription medications should also include consumer protections that ensure foreign drugs meet American safety standards. I opposed an amendment put forward last night that didn’t meet this test.”
This argument is the same one offered by the pharmaceutical industry. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), which lobbies against importation, maintains that it opposes importation because “foreign governments will not ensure that prescription drugs entering the U.S. from abroad are safe and effective.” [...]
The safety excuse is mostly a chimera, as most of the drugs that would be imported from Canada were originally manufactured in the United States; they’re just cheaper there, because the Canadian government uses a review board and price negotiation to make drugs more affordable.
“My first response to that is show me the dead Canadians. Where are the dead Canadians?” former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, once asked during his own push to allow for importation.
Bernie Sanders was still tweeting about it Thursday afternoon.
Here’s the “Yeas” and “Nays.”
Do you live in one of the states represented by these 13 Senators? Pick up the phone and call their field offices.