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Senior Citizen Politics
Members Named to Senate's Special Committee on Aging
No sign of activity on the committee Website but
chairman busy
 January 26, 2007 The Democrats in the U.S. Senate
may be busy with legislation but they are slow on getting their new
committees in action, at least the Special Committee on Aging, which is
now chaired by Democrat Herb Kohl, 71, of Wisconsin, who was the ranking
Democrat in the last congress. Both parties, however, have named the
members to the committee. Gordon Smith of Oregon, the former chairman,
will be the ranking Republican.
No changes have been made to the committees
Website, since the new congress convened.
The committee has 11 Democrats and 10 Republicans.
(See members in table below.)
Interestingly, both Florida, Oregon and
Pennsylvania are represented in the Senate by a Republican and a
Democrat, and all six are on this committee.
All though there is no sign of activity on the
committee Website, the chairman has been busy on the legislative side.
On the opening day of the new 110th Congress, Kohl
announced several bills he will introduce that are of interest to senior
citizens. They include:
Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act:
Kohl's bill will explicitly prohibit brand-name drug manufacturers from
using pay-off agreements to keep cheaper generic equivalents off the
market. Payoff settlements occur when a brand name drug company pays a
generic drug maker to delay the sale of their competing generic drug.
Last year, Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and
Charles Schumer (D-NY) joined Kohl in sponsoring this bill which was
introduced in the wake of the Supreme Court refusal to hear the drug
patent case, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) v. Schering-Plough.
Citizen Petition Fairness and Accuracy Act: In an
effort to increase generic drug availability, Kohl's legislation will
prohibit brand name drug companies from abusing the Food and Drug
Administration's (FDA) "citizen petition" review process. The bill gives
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) -- the FDA's parent
agency -- the power to sanction those who abuse the citizen petition
process, or who file citizen petitions simply to keep competition off
the market. The bill also instructs HHS that all citizen petitions be
reviewed within six months of filing -- putting an end to excessive
delays which have stalled new generic drug approval by months or years.
Generics First Act: Kohl's "Generics First Act"
requires the use of available generic drugs under the Medicare part D
prescription drug program, unless the brand name drug is determined to
be medically necessary by a physician. Modeled after similar provisions
in many state-administered Medicaid programs, this measure would help
reduce the high costs of the new prescription drug program and keep
seniors from reaching the current "donut hole" in coverage by guiding
beneficiaries toward cost-saving generic drug alternatives.
Kohl also announced a planned meeting with the new
Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Andrew von
Eschenbach, to discuss the FDA's ability to ensure a safe food supply.
In December, Kohl sent a letter to von Eschenbach requesting the meeting
to discuss his agency's future plans to control outbreaks of E. coli and
other foodborne diseases. Kohl's Agriculture Appropriations panel has
jurisdiction over the FDA's budget.
>>
Website for Special Committee on Aging
>>
Sen. Herb Kohn's Website, click
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