Byron Dorgan: “I have heard a generous and interesting presentation for 45 minutes or so--in fact, I think it was the most effective…”

“I have heard a generous and interesting presentation for 45 minutes or so--in fact, I think it was the most effective discourse I have heard for some while on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry and their pricing policies. Of course, I disagree with it very strongly. Nonetheless, I think it was a good representation of what the pharmaceutical industry believes about pricing strategies. As I listened to the back and forth, it reminded me of a small grease fire in a small restaurant; a lot is going on, but nothing real urgent. Let me react to some of the statements made recently. Statement: ``Some people in the Senate don't like anybody who makes any money.'' That is absurd, but obviously in the Senate we can say those things, I guess. I would like to see one Member stand up and say: All right, here is what I stand for. I stand for a pricing strategy by which the American consumer is charged the highest prices for prescription drugs of anybody in the world. I want to see one Senator stand and say that I stand with the pharmaceutical industry and the pricing strategy, and I want the American consumer to pay the highest prices in the world. Nobody will stand and say that. Instead, they will use metaphors that mean something different. We are told, for example, the problem is that, if we don't pay those high prices, we don't get the R&D. The information that was used was, of course, incorrect.…”