Why did Cory Booker vote against Bernie Sanders Amendment to allow drugs to be imported from Canada?

[still_one]

Amy Klobacher and others supported it because it would help Americans with the high price of drugs

[shanny]

1. an excellent question

[still_one]

9. He wasn't the only Democrat either who voted against that. On this we agree Shanny, drug pricees

are too darn high, and the American people, especially those who can least afford it are being hurt by it

I will say this, Bernie was ahead of everyone else on this issue

[shanny]

13. +1

[lapucelle]

23. Those Democrats voted for a different amendment to accomplish the same goal

on the very same day that they voted against the poorly worded BS amendment.

This anti-Democratic Party talking point was debunked back in January 2017. It was largely being shilled by this group:

Analysis / Bias

In review, the Other 98% has very strong left wing bias through story selection and political affiliation that favors the left. There is significant use of loaded language such as this: If you want Trump to deport DACA kids, you’re not a patriotic Christian, you’re an asshole. When it comes to sourcing of information there is very little hyperlinking, therefore it is difficult to determine the credibility and if their reporting is factual. In short, this is a propaganda source that tends to mislead, especially via social media through the sharing of inaccurate memes.

Overall, we rate the Other 98% Questionable based on strong left wing bias and a very poor fact check record. (11/18/2016) Updated (D. Van Zandt 11/12/2018)

[Turin_C3PO]

2. That's one of the reasons Booker's not a top choice for me.

Plus his criticism of Obama over Bain Capital and now his piling on of Joe Biden. Too many strikes against him.

[LakeArenal]

20. Not to mention his part in the Franken Railroad.

[sop]

3. Follow the money

(STAT, Boston Globe Media Partners, Feb, 2019) "For a senator from pharma-centric New Jersey, it was no small decision. In his most recent election cycle, in 2014, Booker received $223,350 in contributions from the pharmaceutical industry and its employees. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the haul was the largest of any lawmaker, and among Democrats, almost twice the total of the lawmaker with the next-highest funding."

https://www.statnews.com/2019/02/12/cory-booker-presidential-run-pharmaceutical-industry-ties/

[marybourg]

6. That's the reason. And probably any Senator

from N.J would have a hard time voting against the economic interest of his constituents, even apart from the money.

[Zoonart]

10. The NJ corridor is home to many of the major Pharma companies who

BTW are his constituencies as they are major employers in NJ. Sometimes you have to vote for your constituants and not for the constiruants in other states. You will find many similar votes by Senators in states where their personal beliefs and th best interests of the entire country do not align.

[sop]

36. Booker also receives more money from Wall Street interests than even Mitch McConnell

"Sen. Cory Booker received $1.87 million from the securities and investment industry, making him the top recipient of Wall Street money this election cycle, according to federal election donations analyzed by the Center for Responsive Politics...Republican Mitch McConnell got the second highest draw from Wall Street – $1.26 million...Booker also received more money from real estate groups than any other member, as well as more from the entertainment and tech industries, accountants, and groups considered to be pro-Israel."

https://www.wnyc.org/story/booker-gets-more-wall-street-any-house-senate-member/

Harris and Gillibrand are also up there along with Booker.

http://inthesetimes.com/article/21849/booker-harris-wall-street-banks-private-equity-2020-campaign-donations

Recent articles state Booker has dialed back his Wall Strret fundraising, anticipating a run for the presidency I would assume.

[customerserviceguy]

43. Yep

Big Pharma owns NJ politicians, the same way Boeing owned WA politicians when I was living there.

[AlexSFCA]

4. it's called corruption

[nycbos]

5. For the same reason Bernie sometimes supports pork barrel DOD projects.

Most pharmacy companies are headquartered in NJ. Vermont manufactures have some DOD contracts.

[karynnj]

17. Please name a few of Vermont's DOD manufacturers

Vermont really is not a big manufacturing state.

[lapucelle]

35. Why would the pork have to be for manufacturing? N/T

[nycbos]

40. I believe there is a General Dynamics plant.

I believe the F-35 the plane that cost $1 trillion and doesn't work has parts made in 46 states including Vermont.

[karynnj]

42. My point is that the sum of all defense manufacturing - and manufacturing of anything represents a

small percent of Vermont's economy. What was said is MORE true of almost all states.

As ro the F35, the issue is NOT manufacturing, but that the entire delegation, over protests of people in the area, worked to get the South Burlington Vermont National Guard on the list of NG bases using the F17s to have those planes replaced with the F35s. The reason given is that otherwise they could be left with no mission and closed down.

[George II]

7. The biggest reason articulated by many of the Senators who voted against the bill was that...

....Canadian drugs aren't manufactured, inspected, and packaged under strict FDA guidelines.

[HerbChestnut]

8. And yet the Canadians seem perfectly happy with their prescription drugs.

Those crazy Canadians...

[lapucelle]

11. The drugs and pharmaceuticals are inspected and subject to strict regulation GOING IN to Canada.

They are not inspected or subject to the same regulations leaving Canada for export.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/C.R.C.,_c._870/page-2.html#h-567800

Booker responded to misleading spin shortly after the vote:

"I support the importation of prescription drugs as a key part of a strategy to help control the skyrocketing cost of medications. 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."

On the same day (Jan. 11, 2017) Booker voted for a second amendment that would have accomplished the same goal.

https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=115&session=1&vote=00021

https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2017/01/11/senate-section/article/S260-1

[HerbChestnut]

15. It would make sense that they aren't inspected leaving Canada

Because, and I'm just guessing here, they would have already been inspected on the way in or during the manufacturing process if they were made there?

[lapucelle]

19. A certificate signed by the exporter is all that is required for the export of drugs.

There is no guarantee that the drug has not been adulterated in the interim between its manufacturing and its exportation.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/C.R.C.,_c._870/page-2.html#h-567800

[HerbChestnut]

24. There's no guarantee an employee of a pharmacy hasn't adulterated prescription drugs

sitting on a shelf before somebody buys it. At some point you have to call it good and trust people. If prescription drugs sitting in a warehouse in Canada are good enough for the Canadians, then those same drugs from that same warehouse are good enough for anybody.

Edit: Grammar

[lapucelle]

28. Who says that the drugs would still be "good enough for Canadians"

once they're on their way to export?

https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/criminal-investigations/april-13-2018-canadian-drug-firm-admits-selling-counterfeit-and-misbranded-prescription-drugs

[emmaverybo]

29. THAT should put this matter to rest. Your answer certainly explains this vote to me.

[lapucelle]

30. The matter was put to rest in January 2017. I wonder why it was suddenly revived.

[emmaverybo]

33. Ah. I see. NT

[George II]

37. "F.D.A. Says Canadian Company, CanaRx, Sells Unsafe Medicines to U.S. Buyers"

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/health/canada-prescription-drugs-fda.html

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said a major Canadian drug distributor was selling unapproved and mislabeled medicines to unsuspecting Americans looking to save money on prescriptions, and warned it to stop.

Some very interesting reading. The prescription drugs being exported to the US aren't always the same being sold to "those crazy Canadians".

https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/canarx-services-inc-554740-02262019

[HerbChestnut]

41. Very interesting indeed.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/03/06/700374420/u-s-cities-skeptical-of-fda-warnings-against-medicine-imports-from-canadian-firm

Seems in this case not everyone is confident of the FDA's sincerity and are generally ignoring their "warning" in favor of buying cheaper prescription drugs. It's also interesting, in your words, that the FDA sat on this "information" for 10 years before saying anything about it and that they had no reports of anyone who bought drugs from CanaRx having come to harm. Then again, Trump has publicly said he would be open to the U.S importing drugs from Canada, a stance that probably doesn't sit well with drug manufacturers. Could be a coincidence. But then that would mean that some people in the FDA might be influenced by pharmaceutical company lobbyists, which of course could never happen...

"Sometimes a bargain is too expensive," says Peter Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner (from 2000 to 2004)who is now president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, a New York-based nonprofit that receives some of its funding from drugmakers.

Pitts, who applauds the FDA action, says it's difficult for consumers to know when their pills from foreign pharmacies don't have the correct potency or ingredients. He says doctors may also not realize a patient's problem stems from issues with the medicine. Instead, the physicians may just change the medication's dosage. He says it is not safe for Americans to buy drugs that are imported through foreign pharmacies.

Oh, oops. Welp...

[customerserviceguy]

44. And people like me

who buy from Canadian pharmacies, too.

[tishaLA]

12. Sen Booker (an Sens Casey and Coons) say it was because

the bill didn't have a protection to ensure the safety of the medications. But I don't really see Canadians dying from taking dangerous, Ottawa-manufactured meds, TBH

[lapucelle]

21. That's because the Canadian government protects Canadian consumers.

It does not offer the same protections when drugs are exported.

That's why Booker, Casey, and Coons all voted for a different amendment to accomplish the same goals on the very day that they voted against the poorly worded BS amendment.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/C.R.C.,_c._870/page-2.html#h-567800

[tishaLA]

22. Ah, thank you for that information, lapucelle nt

[lapucelle]

25. You're welcome.

This whole "controversy" was debunked in January 2017, shortly after the vote.

[George II]

38. Exactly. The Canadian government doesn't control exported drugs as closely as exported drugs.

[George II]

39. The drugs consumed by Canadians aren't necessarily the same being exported to other countries....

Please see post #37 above.

[Bradshaw3]

14. Obviously it's "get Booker" day here

Third post from the same poster attacking Booker and I'm only halfway through the first page. Revenge posting for criticizing Biden?

[still_one]

26. Its called vetting the candidates. The bulk of the criticisms I see against candidates here are

against Biden and Sanders. I see very little vetting on the other candidates. Yes, there has been some on Kamala Harris, who was actually my initial choice, then I choose Biden, and now I am undecided, with a bias toward Warren, but I am waiting until the debates

The NY Times had a series of excellent questions for the Democratic candidates. All choose to participate except Joe Biden, which I don't think is a very good thing

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/politics/2020-candidate-interviews.html

If you don't subscribe to the NY Times, as I don't, they allow 10 free reads per month

[karynnj]

16. He represents NJ, which has several big drug companies

Same as Biden voting for the terrible bankruptcy bills.

[still_one]

27. You are right, and the among other things one problem with that bankrupcy bill was it would not

allow student loans to be included

[lark]

18. Yeah this is recent and pretty much unforgivable to me.

Of course he is better than drumpf, and I would vote for him in the General if he's our candidate - which I sincerely doubt because he has always been more on the side of big pharma than he is the working class.

[bornsunny]

34. Unlike Joe Biden...

who was on the side of big credit card companies instead of the working class, not to mention that he likes cozying up to billionaire donors and promising the rich that nothing will fundamentally change. Maybe he won't be the nominee because of this, but he's still better than drumpf I guess.

[Hoyt]

31. Well, Senator Warren voted against the medical device tax that helped fund ACA. Why?

Just so happens Massachusetts is filled with medical device manufacturers who called her up, and she suddenly was against the tax.

The medical device tax was relatively small (2.3% of device value); but, the idea of making those who profit from our so-called health care system help pay for it is huge. Point is, Warren is not so different from other politicians.


As to Booker and drugs -- I'm relatively satisfied by what he has done recently to lower drug prices:

1/1/2019

"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today joined U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and more than a dozen colleagues in the House and Senate to introduce sweeping reforms that would reduce prescription drug prices in the United States.

"The plan to reduce the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs includes three bills:

"1. The Prescription Drug Price Relief Act, which would peg the price of prescription drugs in the United States to the median price in five major countries: Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan;

"2. The Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act, which would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs under Medicare Part D;

"3. The Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act, which would allow patients, pharmacists and wholesalers to import safe, affordable medicine from Canada and other major countries. This bill was originally introduced by Senators Booker, Sanders, and Bob Casey (D-PA) in 2017. . . . . ."

https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=882


Apparently, #3 above is the Bill he is being criticized for opposing with consumer protections.

[still_one]

32. Excellent points