Richard Blumenthal

I think that you will find a very high degree of support for any programs that provide job opportunities, training, counseling, education.

I share the concerns that have been raised about helicopters sold by the Russians to the Afghanistan forces.

I have introduced a bill. It has bipartisan support here and in the House to try to impose stronger criminal penalties on contractors who engage in this practice.

I wish to join in acknowledging Senator Kirk's contribution to this amendment. The reason I have offered it is very simply to send a message and have the effect that no corrupt elected official, no official convicted of a felony in…

I worry that sometimes what is simpler for corporate purposes is not better for consumers.

A one-time check-off that has the effect of an all-time surrender of privacy does not seem like the best course for consumers.

I am hearing from many privacy advocates who have expressed concern about the privacy implications of the House-passed proposal.

We cannot let our democracy be undermined by those who seek to suppress votes.

It isn't as if there's a short supply, there's a manufacturing problem, the FDA comes in, offers friendly advice, the problem is fixed, no problem again. These are chronic, repeated shortages.

So there really is a need for some kind of fact-finding here on a broader basis than just an individual finding of a particular drug being in shortage.

I would welcome that cooperation as we move forward.

I would like to have an opportunity for my staff to contact you and verify those numbers.

There has been no real investigation. That's the very simple answer to a doctor, talking to you as a former attorney general.

I just want to suggest, and you should feel free to disagree, that at the very minimum there ought to be a ban on any secondary sales.

Don't you think that there is a need for an investigation here by the FTC or the Department of Justice in light of these absolutely astonishing and appalling markups as part of the gray market?

Is that as a matter of regulation?

The shortages are creating a public health menace, and the anti-consumer practices clearly promote a gray market.

We ought to have zero tolerance for this kind of profiteering and price gouging, and we ought to do whatever is necessary to assure supplies, adequate supplies of these drugs.

This market is simply not working. It cannot be allowed to continue in the dysfunctional fashion that it is right now.

I think that much more drastic and far-reaching and aggressive measures are necessary than have been proposed.

Well, I would take that as a yes, unless you disagree.

Thank you both for your work and for your testimony today.

I have worked with the Chairman--and I thank Senator Leahy for his support--to try to target and criminalize the human trafficking of persons working for contractors abroad.

I proposed a bill called the Internet Abuse Act, which would be a companion to the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

I am delighted to hear that you would consider supporting that kind of measure.