Dan Burton: “They have 600 lobbyists here in the United States, 600, making sure that the prices stay high. They pay those lobbyists…”

“They have 600 lobbyists here in the United States, 600, making sure that the prices stay high. They pay those lobbyists a half a billion dollars a year to lobby the Members of Congress. In order to make absolutely sure that they have Members of Congress who will look with favor upon what they want, they paid $20 million last year in contributions to our colleagues. I am not saying any of our colleagues and their votes can be purchased. I am not saying that at all. But what I am saying is that the money that is being spent by the pharmaceutical industry for our health agencies, FDA, HHS, and CDC, the revolving door policy that appears to be prevalent over there, because they make so much more money when they go with these pharmaceutical companies and they get these benefits and everything, a lot of the people in these health agencies look with a jaundiced eye to anything that might impede their ability to make a lot of money when they go to the pharmaceutical industry and get a job. Many of our colleagues get contributions from the pharmaceutical companies. Many of the people in the health agencies go from the pharmaceutical industry to the health agency and back again. I think that does have an impact on what goes on around this place. As a result, who suffers? The American people. We should not pay any more for our pharmaceutical products in this country than they do in Europe, Canada, Mexico, or anyplace else, or South America.”