MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'commerce committee'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:58:08 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4984688&cid=t_449317_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F00EJHTbmsSw%2F Three years after the FDA linked the Heparin scandal to contaminated supplies from China, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is expanding a probe into the episode and wrote 10 drugmakers, manufacturer reps and ingredients suppliers for documents, because the agency has indicated they have info about the Chinese heparin industry and supply chains. The move comes after the committee has twice lashed out at the FDA for failing to find those responsible for the scandal, which was linked to 81 deaths in 2007 and 2008 and traced to heparin sold by Baxter International (back story). The fatalities provoked harsh criticism of the FDA for not conducting greater oversight of foreign facilities - particularly those in China that make medicines or supply active pharmaceutical ingredients. Baxter... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4984688 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:55:31 +0100 4984688 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4600522&cid=t_449317_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FP80T-EmXiK8%2F By Jim HarperAt least one report has it that a Commerce Department official will announce the Obama administration's support for "baseline privacy legislation" at a Wednesday Senate Commerce Committee hearing. You mean, like, the Fourth Amendment? If only it were so. The action is in the House Government Reform Committee, which is holding a hearing on the Transportation Security Administration's strip-search machines. What's the administration's "baseline privacy policy" on that? I've already written two posts in the last year (1, 2) titled "Physician, Heal Thyself"... Obama Administration to Take a Stand on Privacy, But it Ain’t Fixing the Strip-Search Machine Morass is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4600522 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:30:27 +0100 4600522 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4536049&cid=t_449317_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F_5nSumydwHM%2F By Michael F. CannonYesterday, the Senate Finance and House Energy & Commerce committees released a joint report on the costs that ObamaCare’s Medicaid mandate will impose on states.  That report, which is based on other reports, likely understates the cost of that unfunded mandate. In “Estimating ObamaCare’s Effect on State Medicaid Expenditure Growth,” Cato senior fellow Jagadeesh Gokhale constructed cost projections for the five largest states -- California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas -- which account for 40 percent of the nation’s population.  Gokhale carefully decomposed and organized micro-data and state-specific administrative data on Medicaid eligibility, enrollments, benefit recipiency, and average benefits per recipient.  Gokhale’s more meticulous a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4536049 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:50:03 +0100 4536049 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4450276&cid=t_449317_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ff4Zu3t_f61U%2F By Walter OlsonReaders of Cato at Liberty knew all about this last July, and now the Obama Department of Transportation is confirming it publicly: The Obama administration's investigation into Toyota safety problems has found no electronic flaws to account for reports of sudden, unintentional acceleration and other safety problems. ... "We enlisted the best and brightest engineers to study Toyota's electronics systems and the verdict is in. There is no electronic-based cause for unintended acceleration in Toyotas," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. If, as retiring NHTSA official George Person charged last July, DoT officials dragged their heels in making public the exculpatory findings, there were very real costs to the economy. Not only did lawsuits proliferate whi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4450276 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 19:59:27 +0100 4450276 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4313987&cid=t_449317_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLOu1IAoxepY%2F By Walter OlsonWhile others wish the new Congress well today on its swearing-in, I plan to light a 100-watt incandescent bulb and hoist a caffeinated alcoholic beverage in honor of a different milestone: starting today, the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee will no longer be under the control of Henry Waxman (D-Calif.). Some lawmakers can talk a decent game about lean ‘n’ smart regulation, but no one ever accused Waxman of having a light touch. (The 900-page Waxman-Markey environmental bill, mercifully killed by the Senate, included provisions letting Washington rewrite local building codes.) He’s known for aggressive micromanagement even of agencies run by putative allies: his staff has repeatedly twisted the ears of Obamanaut appointees to complain that their... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4313987 Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:30:34 +0100 4313987 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4219733&cid=t_449317_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FuODHB7SGWHg%2F By Walter OlsonWe are told constantly that government can play a beneficial role in the marketplace by taking steps to make sure consumers are more fully informed about the risks of the goods and services they use. But what happens when the government itself helps spread health and safety information that is false or misleading? That question came up recently in the controversy over New York City’s misleading nutrition-scare ad campaign, and it now comes up again in a controversy over a new database of complaints about consumer products sponsored by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). As part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), Congress mandated that the CPSC create a “publicly available consumer product safety information database... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4219733 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:54:55 +0100 4219733 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3750046&cid=t_449317_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAaXRKOE_Z9Q%2F By Jim HarperWhen the Telecommunications Act of 1996 passed, section 254 was dubbed the “Gore Tax” by detractors of the policy and the then-Vice President whose project it was. A system of cross-subsidy that was implicit in the old AT&T was made explicit as a tax on interstate telecom services—euphemistically referred to as a “contribution”—and expanded to reach to a small universe of sympathetic interests—more accurately, the telecommunications providers serving those interests. The amount of the “contribution” would be set by the Federal Communications Commission. That is, the agency would set the level of taxes on telecommunications, then hand out the money it produced by taxing. (I wrote previously about the Taxpayers Defense A... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3750046 Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:00:32 +0100 3750046 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3552222&cid=t_449317_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F5zsLLQTMgPE%2F By Jim HarperI was pleased last week to testify in Congress about a draft bill that would mandate “event data recorders” in all new cars. Automobile black boxes or “EDRs” are an issue that found me a few years ago when I commented on their privacy consequences to a newspaper and heard from concerned drivers across the country. My testimony to the House Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection had three main themes: 1) The Constitution doesn’t give Congress authority to design automobiles or their safety features; 2) Only a relevant sample of crash data is needed to improve auto safety—overspending on a 100% EDR mandate will keep the poor in older, more dangerous cars and undermine auto safety for that cohort; an... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3552222 Mon, 10 May 2010 20:25:46 +0100 3552222 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3499061&cid=t_449317_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fp482CAov00A%2F By David BoazToday in Washington: actress Sigourney Weaver testifies before the  Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on the topic of ocean acidification. Because, you know, she played an environmental scientist in Avatar. It’s the best fit since Jane Fonda, Jessica Lange, and Sissy Spacek — all of whom had played farm women — testified on America’s agricultural crisis. Congress doesn’t have time to vote on presidential nominations. It doesn’t bother engaging in serious oversight of presidential power and civil liberties abuses. It looks at the ceiling and whistles as the national debt approaches Greek levels. But members of Congress have time to listen ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3499061 Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:02:14 +0100 3499061 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3335567&cid=t_449317_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FPH9ZazU-oc0%2F A hearing on drug safety is scheduled for next Wed., March 10, and will be held by the House Energy & Commerce committee’s subcommittee on Health. And the featured speaker will be deputy FDA commish Josh Sharfstein, as well as other FDA folks, according to The Pink Sheet. No particular reason was cited, but the impetus for the hearing isn’t being attributed to Avandia. You may recall the GlaxoSmithKline diabetes pill was the subject of a recent Senate Finance Committee report that found internal dissent among FDA staffers over what to do about cardiovascular risks (see here). Importation, however, is expected to be on the agenda. The hearing will be held because the committee hasn’t had any public discussion of drug safety since the FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3335567 Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:00:57 +0100 3335567 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3008402&cid=t_449317_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FigpCGfon0IA%2F In the wake of reports that drugmakers raised prices by as much as 9 percent, on average, this year, the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office requesting a report on recent trends in prescription drug pricing. The letter also requests that GAO submit a proposal to ensure ongoing monitoring of pricing practices (back story). The price hikes came as health care reform legislation was crafted, suggesting drugmakers raised prices in anticipation that a bill would hurt their ability to raise prices in the future. The letter was signed by Charles Rangel, who chairs of the House Ways and Means Committee; Henry Waxman, whos chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee; Pete Stark, who chairs the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee;... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3008402 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:40:42 +0100 3008402 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3003735&cid=t_449317_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FlSdGW8IzYj8%2F I wrote on the Tech Liberation Front blog a couple of months ago about the shady practice among a few Internet retailers of handing off customers who accept a “special offer” to a company that charges people a monthly fee for some kind of credit monitoring service. And I argued hopefully that maybe technologists and the Internet community could generate a response to this problem: Being a smart, informed, and aggressive consumer is each person’s responsibility if a free market is to operate well. The alternative is a negative feedback loop in which government authorities protect us, we rely on that protection and stop policing retailers. Thereby we abandon the field of consumer protection to government authorities, who—try as they might—can never do as good a job for us as we can... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3003735 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:33:15 +0100 3003735 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1975637&cid=t_449317_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F459503259%2F A spokeswoman for Henry Waxman says the California Democrat has been selected by a key leadership panel to replace veteran Chairman John Dingell as head of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the FDA. This is only a preliminary round, though. Waxman, 69, and the 82-year-old Dingell, who has served as the committee’s top Democrat for 28 years, will square off today in a vote of rank-and-file House Democrats. But based on a 25-22 vote in the leadership panel yesterda, Waxman has to be considered the favorite to topple Dingell, the longest serving House member. Waxman, who chairs the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, is just as likely to scrutinize pharma, given his track record, which includes railing against preemption; chastising the... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1975637 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:13:58 +0100 1975637 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1947488&cid=t_449317_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F448466659%2F Usually, Henry Waxman (pictured left) and John Dingell expend their energy berating pharma or some other industry for alleged bad behavior. Now, though, the two seasoned pols are fighting one another over leadership of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, which Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, currently chairs. Waxman, who is the second-ranking Democrat on the E&C committee, chairs the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, which isn’t as powerful and will probably not be as sexy now that a Democrat will again occupy the White House, The Wall Street Journal notes. So last week, Waxman, 69, sent a letter to House Democrats seeking support, writing that, while he admires Dingell, the 82-year-old lawmaker will have served as the E&C committee’s top Democrat... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947488 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:49:05 +0100 1947488 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1551305&cid=t_449317_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F06%2Fend-to-whitewashing-of-healthcare-it.html U.S. Rep. Charles W. Boustany, Jr., MD, R-Southwest Louisiana, introduced the Patient-Controlled HealthIT Act (H.R. 6345) to allow patients to control their medical records. Electronic medical records have indeed created much potential for misuse. This is an interesting piece of legislation. Boustany, a former cardiothoracic surgeon, introduced the bill to spur investment in Health IT to help reduce the cost and improve the quality of healthcare for all in Southwest Louisiana, an area seriously affected by Hurricane Katrina. Of even more interest is H.R. 6357, recently released by Energy & Commerce on Health IT: H.R. 6357 , the “Protecting Records, Optimizing Treatment, and Easing Communication through Healthcare Technology Act of 2008", a.k.a. the "PRO(TECH)T Act of 2008." I not... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1551305 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:33:00 +0100 1551305