Contact:
Rita Shreffler, NAA (Nixa, MO) 417-818-9030
Wendy Fournier, NAA (Portsmouth, RI) 401-632-7523

BURR-ENZI BILL GIVES PHARMA GREENLIGHT TO IGNORE PRODUCT SAFETY

IN JULY, SENATOR RICHARD BURR DEFENDED VIOXX, CLAIMING MEDIA BLEW ASSOCIATIVE HEALTH RISKS OUT OF PROPORTION; HIS NEWEST LEGISLATION SLAMS DOOR ON VACCINE SAFETY

Washington, DC – New legislation is said to go into mark-up today. Much like legislation introduced by Senator Bill Frist in the past, the Biodefense Bill gives immunity to vaccine-makers and softens guidelines for product safety. The bill also grants profitable incentives to the pharmaceutical industry, and permission to suppress safety data.

In a statement today issued by advocates for children’s rights and safety, parents say that Burr and Enzi are capitalizing on fear and intimidation, and that drug companies are using generous campaign donations to seduce Congress into awarding the pharmaceutical industry unprecedented liability protection, thereby removing any financial incentive for manufacturers to produce safe vaccines.

“We’ve seen this before,” says parent Lori McIlwain (Cary, NC). “Whenever a health scare arises, certain political figures use it as an opportunity to provide immunity to drug companies. What’s ironic is that by cushioning safety standards, they are creating an equally detrimental health scare,” she says. McIlwain and other North Carolina parents met with Burr in July. “He was gracious enough to meet with us in person and we were grateful; however, his stance on Vioxx struck us as odd. He defended the drug and blamed the media for its demise,” says McIlwain. “He seemed to side more with compromises on human health, than pushing for optimum health by way of safe medical products. Now he’s using the media’s coverage of the bird flu to his advantage.”

The "Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act of 2005", influenced by drug industry lobbyists, abandons children and citizens of this country. It also rewards a pattern of bad behavior by an industry recognized for  suppressing safety data on medical products.

Similar to past legislation, this bill will once again spawn opposition. Parents are willing to go back to Washington and launch a media campaign. Back in 2002, a campaign that targeted Senator Bill Frist for his liability–protection legislation raised enough awareness to gather more parents for the current fight. “We have an army now,” says NAA Executive Director Jo Pike. “There will be no dollar-figure placed on the health of children.”

The bill creates a new agency called the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency (BARDA) and specifically states that FOIA will not apply to their duties, activities and advisory boards. According to the legislation, states will lose rights their rights to hear vaccine-related court cases and documents will be unavailable to the public.

Click here to read the bill in its entirety.  http://www.nationalautismassociation.org/pdf/biodefenseact.pdf.

For more information on autism, visit www.nationalautism.org.

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