Tom Harkin: “Well, the Senator asks an insightful question. Earlier, I had stated--and the Senator may not have been in the…”

“Well, the Senator asks an insightful question. Earlier, I had stated--and the Senator may not have been in the Chamber--my office has received over 700 phone calls. Only four have been in favor of this bill. I have not received one phone call from a drug company. Now, the Senator understands when we have legislation that impacts powerful industries in this country, and if it impacts them negatively, they are all out here. Our phones are ringing off the hook; lobbyists are in our offices; the private jets are parked at Dulles. They are all over the place. So it says to me that this bill must be a great benefit to the drug companies because I haven't heard one peep from them. I have found in my experience, I tell the Senator, in the House and in the Senate that when you see a large industry silent on a bill that impacts them so greatly, you can only come to one assumption: They must love it.”