Providing for Consideration of HR 4759, United States - Austrailia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4759, UNITED STATES-AUSTRALIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACT -- (House of Representatives - July 14, 2004)

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 712 and ask for its immediate consideration.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule and in opposition to the bill.
The drug industry has had a pretty darn good year in this Congress. The drug industry and the Bush administration, which is kind of hard to tell them apart when you look at what the drug industry and the Bush administration fight for in this Congress, have had it their way on every single issue in front of this Congress. The drug industry comes to the Congress, goes to the administration. The administration comes to the Congress asking for whatever the drug industry asks the administration to do.

The Medicare bill, we all know by now, was, line and verse, written by the drug industry. That is why seniors are so generally unhappy with that prescription drug bill. That legislation, if you recall, had provisions to prohibit our government from negotiating lower prices for prescription drugs. That is what the drug industry wanted.

The Food and Drug Administration, once one of the best agencies of our Federal Government, has become almost an arm of the drug industry. It debates for the drug industry. It tries to educate the public on behalf of the drug industry. We see it over and over again.

Now the drug industry has its fingers in the U.S. Trade Rep's Office. You can look at what my Republican friend, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht), and Democratic friend, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel), sent a letter out to Members of Congress saying 15 of the 25 panel members on the industry sector advisory committee for this trade agreement, appointed by the United States Trade Rep, are from the drug industry. Fifteen of the 25 panel members are from the drug industry. Not one senior group or reimportation advocate was included in the panel. The drug industry has its tentacles in the Medicare bill, in the FTA, and in the U.S. Trade Rep's office.
Now, the question is why.

First of all, I think the obvious answer is the tens of millions of dollars that the drug industry gives to my friends on the Republican side of the aisle, especially the Republican leadership and to President Bush's reelection, the millions of dollars in campaign money. So we have really should not be surprised.

But I ask my friends on the Democratic side of the aisle, do we trust President Bush and the Republican leadership to do the right thing ever on an issue that affects the drug industry?

What this legislation has, the Australian Free Trade Agreement has, is provisions written by the drug industry, for the drug industry, which ultimately could potentially handcuff the U.S. to get our drug prices down. That is what the drug industry wants. That is what President Bush wants. I do not think my friends on the Democratic side of the aisle would want that.

Mr. Speaker, it is pretty clear. I know this Australia Free Trade Agreement is going to pass this Congress, but what is important is that we send a strong message that we do not like the drug industry influence in this Australia Free Trade Agreement bill. I am asking my friends who support reimportation, who support lower prescription drug prices, and there are many of them on both sides of the aisle, certainly not the Republican leadership, but many rank and file Republicans, almost all of the Democrats who support lower prescription drugs prices, it is important to vote no on this, to send that message that we will not allow the drug industry to infiltrate every part of our lawmaking process.