Press Release
Source: http://www.thenhf.com
June 7, 2008

PRESS RELEASE

Anti-Supplement Congressmen At It Again & Other Important Legislation

Consumer Action Needed To Amend the FDA Globalization Act of 2008
Contact Your Congressional Representatives Now

June 5, 2008

          [It is critical that consumers push to amend this proposed bill to exempt its application to dietary supplements, or there will be more regulation, higher costs for supplement manufacturers (domestic and foreign), and higher costs for consumers.]

The FDA Globalization Act – Higher Costs for Supplements

By Lee Bechtel, NHF National Lobbyist

The Kennedy/Durbin/Dingell/Waxman, pro-FDA/anti-supplement axis does not rest.

          Now, Representative John Dingell (D-MI), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has released draft legislation that would institute new yearly Food and Drug Administration (FDA) user fees for domestic and foreign dietary-supplement manufacturers.  The proposed bill, the FDA Globalization Act, does not exempt supplements from inclusion and classification as food products or ingredients.  Sound familiar as a legislative strategy for the Democratic-controlled Congress and their anti-supplement leaders?

          The draft bill's provisions also give the FDA one-sided legal authority to recall contaminated "foods" and "unsafe medications."  Currently, the Agency can only ask companies to withdraw a supplement product it deems to be a drug, an adulterated food, or unsafe for consumers.  This new legislation would establish a group of inspectors to monitor companies that manufacture nutritional foods, supplements, drugs, and medical devices abroad.  To fund these changes, and to pay for the expansion of FDA authority, the bill creates new FDA user fees for domestic and foreign manufacturers.  Foreign companies importing supplements for distribution within the U.S. would also be required to register their products and production facilities with the FDA every year, and to pay a user fee.

          The draft bill has not yet been officially introduced, so it has no bill number yet.  It takes provisions from several bills already introduced – H.R.3610, H.R.3624, H.R.3115, and H.R.3484.  If passed and enacted into law in its current version, the legislation would no doubt lead to more FDA regulation of supplements, higher costs for supplement manufacturers, domestic and foreign, and these higher costs would in turn be passed on to consumers of dietary supplements.

          Health-freedom advocates and NHF members need to contact their Congressmen and –women, and especially Energy and Commerce Committee members, to amend this proposed bill to specifically exempt its application to dietary supplements.  If this does not happen, it would be left to the FDA to interpret its application or non-application to supplements.  Health-freedom advocates already know what has and can happen if this were to occur.

          Supplements already have an enviable track record of incredible safety, they neither deserve nor need yet another layer of bureaucratic control.  Above all, this attempt – yet again – to lump safe supplements into the same category as dangerous drugs must be defeated.

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Additional Information on the FDA Globalization Act- (Click this link)

To Read Representative John Dingell's Memo- (Click this link)

To View the Sample Petition Letter- (Click this link)

Committee on Energy and Commerce Members (Click this link)

NHF members and the health freedom community in general, must get behind our lobbying efforts to obtain clarification/exemption language included in the Globalization legislation.

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Click on this address to contact your Congressperson
in the U.S. House of Representatives:  http://www.house.gov/writerep

Click on the following links below for individual mailing addresses for 
letter writing and other contact info for Congress Members: 

House of Representatives

Fax List for Congress

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OTHER IMPORTANT LEGISLATION (Still Pending) THAT NEEDS OUR SUPPORT

• Health Freedom Protection Act (H.R. 2117)

This extremely important bill, which the NHF previously supported and which has been re-introduced by Rep. Ron Paul, will stop the FDA's and FTC's longtime efforts of censorship and restriction concerning access to supplement and supplement information.  Among other things, truthful supplement claims will no longer be restricted.

Click to read "The Freedom You Protect Is Your Own" by Scott C. Tips concerning H.R. 2117 legislation- (Click This Link)

To View H.R. 2117- (Click This Link)

To View Sample Petition Letter- (Click This Link)

To Send Petition To Your Congressional Representatives- (Click This Link)

Please support Ron Paul, the NHF, and health freedom by contacting your Congressional Representatives and encouraging them to cosponsor this legislation.

• Access To Medical Treatment Act (AMTA) H.R. 2717 (Previously H.R. 2794)
  Pending introduction in the Senate by Senator Harkin but no Senate bill number at this time.

This act would permit the use of therapies that have not yet been approved or which may never be approved by the FDA, under the supervision of a state licensed practitioner.  Safe and effective treatments are being used in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Canada but cannot be used here because of outdated FDA policies. Instead of receiving unapproved FDA medical treatments for chronic or terminal diseases in their own community, the only option for Americans who can afford it is to leave the country.  Medical treatment options should not be unjustifiably restricted.

A collective educational grassroots effort is needed to ensure passage of this legislation.

To View Sample Petition- (Click This Link)

PLEASE LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD ON THESE THREE
IMPORTANT PIECES OF LEGISLATION.

ACT NOW

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As the oldest and best-respected health-freedom group on Capitol Hill, the NHF continues to be the credible source of objective assessment, and proactive actions on Congressional legislation and FDA matters that have meaningful impacts upon our freedom-of-health choices and access to dietary supplements and nutritional foods.

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Click here for the permanent link to this press release, use this link to inform others.