While the Republican Party is
publicly dismantling millions of Americans’ health safety net, more
than a dozen Democrats late Wednesday quietly threw their weight
behind Big Pharma and voted down an amendment that would have allowed
pharmacists to import identical—but much less expensive—drugs
from Canada and other countries.
The “power and wealth of the
pharmaceutical industry and their 1,300 lobbyists and unlimited sums
of money have bought the United States Congress,” Sen. Bernie
Sanders (I-Vt.) declared in a speech on the Senate floor while
introducing the amendment, co-sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar
(D-Minn.), which would have been attached to the chamber’s budget
resolution. It came amid a flurry of legislative activity during
Wednesday evening’s “vote-a-rama.”
“Year after year the same old
takes place: the pharmaceutical industry makes more and more money
and the American people pay higher ad higher prices,” Sanders
continued, asking his colleagues if they “have the guts finally
to stand up to the pharmaceutical industry and their lobbyists and
their campaign contributions and fight for the American consumer?”
It turns out, no.
In fact, 13 Democrats voted
against the measure, siding with the Republican majority and drawing
sharp rebuke from observers, who pointed out that many who voted “no”
receive substantial contributions from the pharmaceutical industry.
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