Consumers expect the retailer to collect the sales tax. They don't even think about the sales tax as an obligation of their own.

Mr. President, there has been a lot of talk about the dangers of raising taxes during a recession. President Obama famously said in 2009: ``You don't raise taxes in a recession.'' Our economy is certainly worse now than it was then. But…

If we expect to meet the growing healthcare needs of every American, we need choices.

We can address this problem and we should.

Regulations that crowd out smaller actors eliminate choices.

Have we lost a significant barter/able asset that perhaps will diminish the amount of research that we will be able to accomplish in the next 8 or 10 years?

I'm glad that you mentioned that story, because that highlights the terrible problem that we've got and the problem that you face.

We appreciate the community pharmacies so much. In places like West Virginia and Arkansas and much of the country, that is the source of healthcare in very small communities.

So you feel like the alternative wholesalers are stocking the drug to the extent that it's causing a shortage.

Senator Rockefeller described them as despicable and things like that. We would all agree.

Let's not forget that secondary distributors and intermediary drug markets serve a critical role.