JOIN THE FIGHT to end generic drug shortages and skyrocketing drug prices. CONTACT your senators and representatives and tell them to REPEAL the GPO Safe Harbor and STOP GPO kickbacks.
In fact, the bill that would accomplish that was drafted in 2005! Click HERE. If it had been enacted then, there would never have been any drug shortages.
For contact and biographical information for your members of Congress, click HERE
The most effective approach is to send a personal fax or email to the senators and House members who represent your state and congressional district, respectively. Members pay much more attention to personal correspondence than form letters, and more attention to messages from constituents than non-constituents. [Because of security concerns, letters sent by regular mail, FEDEX or other services may be delayed 7 to 10 days.]. MAKE IT PERSONAL. If you, your family or friends have been affected personally by drug shortages, include your own story in your letter.
The Senate and House committees listed below have 1) held hearings or produced reports on the drug shortage crisis and/or anticompetitive GPO abuses; or 2) have direct or indirect jurisdiction over one or both of these issues. But any Member of any committee can help end this crisis. Don't hesitate to follow up with a phone call to make sure they received your message. Remember, they work for you---or at least they're supposed to!
Additionally, state attorneys general are responsible for protecting consumers and taxpayers from harmful anticompetitive practices, such as those perpetrated by GPOs. Their consumer protection and/or antitrust units have jurisdiction over these matters. Consider filing a complaint with your state AG. Contact information can be found by Googling 1) state attorney general and 2) your state. For example, contact info for New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman can be found at: http://www.ag.ny.gov.
CONTACT Your Members of Congress &
State Attorneys General
Key Committees
United States Senate
Commerce, Science and Transportation
web: commerce.senate.gov
Chairman Ranking Member
John Thune (R-SD) Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Majority Staff Contact: Minority Staff Contact:
Ph: (202) 224-0411 Ph: (202) 224-1251
FAX: (202) 228-0303 FAX: (202) 224-1259
Finance
web: finance.senate.gov
Chairman Ranking Member
Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) Ron Wyden (D-OR)
Staff Contact: Ph: (202) 224-4515
FAX: (202) 228-0554
Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
web: help.senate.gov
Chairman Ranking Member
Lamar Alexander (R-TN) Patty Murray (D-WA)
Majority Staff Contact: Minority Staff Contact:
Ph: (202) 224-5375 Ph: (202) 224-6770
FAX: (202) 224-5128 FAX: (202) 224-6510
Judiciary, Antitrust Subcommittee
web: judiciary.senate.gov
Chairman Ranking Member
Michael S. Lee (R-UT) Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Majority Staff Contact: Minority Staff Contact:
Ph: (202) 224-5225 Ph: (202) 224-7703
FAX: (202) 228-2294 FAX: (202) 224-9102
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
web: hsgac.senate.gov
Chairman Ranking Member
Rob Portman (R-OH) Thomas R. Carper (D-DE)
Majority Staff Contact: Minority Staff Contact:
Ph: (202) 224-4198 Ph: (202) 224-2627
Special Committee on Aging
web: aging.senate.gov
Chairman Ranking Member
Susan M. Collins (R-ME) Bob Casey (D-PA)
Staff Contact: Ph: (202) 224-5364
FAX: (202) 224-9926
U. S. House of Representatives
Energy and Commerce*
web: energycommerce.house.gov
Chairman Ranking Member
Greg Walden (R-OR) Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ)
Majority Staff Contact: Minority Staff Contact:
Ph: (202) 225-2927 Ph: (202) 225-3641
FAX: (202) 225-1919 FAX: (202) 225-2525
*Important Note: On November 15, 2012, then-Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA, now senator) and five other Democratic members of the Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter to the Acting Comptroller General of the United States asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an investigation into the role of GPOs in causing the drug shortages and the deadly fungal meningitis outbreak. [Click HERE to read their letter]. The GAO's report was expected in the fall of 2014. The five other signers were: Henry Waxman (CA, since retired), John D. Dingell (MI, since retired), Frank Pallone Jr. (NJ), Anna G. Eshoo (CA), and Diana DeGette (CO).
Tragically for patients, providers, and taxpayers, the powerful GPO lobby derailed the GAO investigation. This industry knew that it could not survive an thorough, independent investigation. The GAO report that was issued in November 2014 had nothing to do with drug shortages.
Oversight and Government Reform
web: oversight.house.gov
Chairman Ranking Member
Trey Gowdy (R-SC) Elijah Cummings (D-MD)
Majority Staff Contact: Minority Staff Contact:
Ph: (202) 225-5074 Ph: (202) 225-5051
FAX: (202) 225-3974 FAX: (202) 225-4784
Small Business
web: smallbusiness.house.gov
Chairman Ranking Member
Steve Chabot (R-OH) Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)
Majority Staff Contact: Minority Staff Contact:
Ph: (202) 225-5821 Ph: (202) 225-4038
FAX: (202) 225-5276 FAX: (202) 225-7209
Ways and Means
web: waysandmeans.house.gov
Chairman Ranking Member
Kevin Brady (R-TX) Richard Neal (D-MA)
Majority Staff Contact: Minority Staff Contact:
Ph: (202) 225-3625 Ph: (202) 225-4021
FAX: (202) 225-2610 FAX: (202) 225-5680