Contact senators about drug bill

To the editor:

Once again the federal government has shown just how much influence the pharmaceutical industry has over it. Senate Bill 3 uses the war on terrorism to further the interests of the already powerful pharmaceutical industry, and our government seems more than willing to accommodate them.

In particular, four provisions of this legislation severely undermine state rights as well as our own personal freedoms. If passed this law would:

1. Overturn state laws related to the regulation of drugs and vaccines, including state laws that ban the use of mercury in vaccines.

2. Prohibits states from warning the public about drug and vaccine safety issues.

3. Give additional tax credits, more fast-track approvals, extension of patents and comprehensive liability protection to the pharmaceutical industry.

4. Invade our privacy by establishing a national surveillance program to collect personal health data.

I urge everyone to contact their U.S. senators and find out where they stand on this legislation. Those who favor such legislation should be held accountable by the voters, for it's obvious whom they work for.

MIKE BROWN, Cape Girardeau