More help needed from USA space members - message via THINCS

[xrn]

Hello all,
I have received this message via THINCS. It is neccesary to make a noise so that the FDA is unable to wave the conflict of interests of scientists who serve on the advisory panels.

Please write your own Senator and the senators listed, especially Teddy Kennedy. Thank you.

Kind regards,
xrn

message begins...

Dear colleagues,

We've worked together in the past. I'm asking you to take a few moments out of your busy day today to take action on a measure that would reduce the impact of financial conflicts of interest at the Food and Drug Administration.

Later today, Senators Durban (D-IL) and Bingaman (D-NM) will offer an amendment to the FDA prescription drug user fee reauthorization bill today that places restrictions on the FDA's ability to waive financial conflicts of interest of scientists who serve on its 30-plus advisory committees. While this amendment does not go as far as we'd hoped, it does represent a step forward and would set the stage for a better bill to come out of conference committee later this year.

Contacting Senator Ted Kennedy would be especially helpful. His office has been very reluctant to consider changes in the status quo when it comes to eliminating conflicts of interest from FDA advisory committees.

I know many of you have real problems with the overall thrust of the bill. It does not scrap user fees in favor of general revenue funding. It does not go far enough in enhancing the safety monitoring capacities at FDA. It does not restrict direct-to-consumer advertising.

Still, if any of you have time today, it would be helpful if you could email your senators and Sen. Kennedy asking them to support the Durbin-Bingaman amendment that would reduce conflicts of interest on FDA advisory committees. The Durbin-Bingaman amendment would:


a.. Limit the number of waivers to one per Advisory Committee meeting.
a.. Spells out a process to allow experts with a financial conflict to present information to the Advisory Committee but not deliberate or vote with the committee.
a.. Enhances FDA’s outreach activities for identifying non-conflicted experts to participate in Advisory Committees.

To reach your senator, you can their email addresses and a form on this page:
*http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

You should also send an email to several key staff for key senators, including Sen. Kennedy and Sen. Dodd on the Democratic side and Sen. Enzi and Sen. Hatch on the Republican side.

Those aides are:

Sen. Kennedy (David_Bowen@help.senate.gov and (David_Dorsey@help.senate.gov)
Sen. Dodd (Tamar_Magarik@help.senate.gov)
Sen. Enzi (Amy_Muhlberg@help.senate.gov)
Sen. Hatch (Patricia_Deloatsche@help.senate.gov)

Thanks as always for your help on these issues. And forgive me for any doubleposting. There's crossover on several of my lists.

Sincerely,

Merrill Goozner
Director, Integrity in Science
Center for Science in the Public Interest
tel: 202-777-8374

[cjbrooksjc]

xrn: Done. Pro vote request and comments sent to Kay Bailey Hutchison, (R) Texas.

Brooks

[xrn]

Brilliant! Thank you very much, Brooks. You are a gentleman of the very highest order.

Here is a decoration that is reserved for only the very coolest people... and it is for you, Brooks --> :cool: :cool: :cool:

;)

Kind regards,
xrn

[cjbrooksjc]

xrn: Hmmm. Looks familiar; I think that makes me a Star Fleet commander!

Many Thanks,

Brooks

[xrn]

Warp 8 Mr Sulu... ;)

[Brian C.]

Och, we're giving all we've got Cap'n but this damned Statin Zone just won't let us go

Brian

[xrn]

Is it a new species of Klingon? :)

[poohhel]

:lol: :lol: All I can do is laugh at the previous exchanges between xrn, brooks, and brian c :lol: :lol: :lol:

Thanks a bunch, I needed that :!:

[cjbrooksjc]

Poohhel: At the risk of repeating myself: Thanks, we'll be here all week!

As long as we have friends and our sense of humor, we can sufffer through. I don't remember now who said it, Ogden Nash, or someone akin... but, on his death bed and shortly before passing he looked around the room, turned to his friends and said: "Either this wallpaper goes or I do!"

Now, I'm not offering that anectdote as a follow-on scenario for any one of US. I just think it's the best example for a resilient sense of humor I can think of. May we all keep ours intact!

Brooks

[poohhel]

Brooks: I know it! If it wasn't for the advice, friends, and humor ... I would probably have gone insane already.