Subject: Military Vaccine Action Committee and National Gulf War Resource Center join in letter to President Bush, Congress
The Military Vaccine Action Committee (http://www.mvacpac.org) has joined with the National Gulf War Resource Center (http://www.NGWRC.org) in an open letter to President Bush protesting immunity for vaccine manufacturers on behalf of service members and veterans. In addition, this ad - http://www.adscripts.com/mvec/soldie~1.pdf - ran today in the Congressional Daily. Both groups are also sending this letter to members of Congress: http://www.adscripts.com/mvec/vetera~3.doc We invite you to use the letter as your own protest as well, and to add your signature to it. As the folks at the National Vaccine Information Center have reminded us, we are in the 11th hour on this, and need to take action now. Thank you.
For those of you who are civilians, you're getting this because this is now a civilian issue. At the same time that the BioShield act provides for mandatory inoculation of civilians with bioterrorism vaccines if an emergency is declared, this bill in Congress now - S1873 - would provide complete immunity to vaccine manufacturers in event that their products cause illness, injury, or death; and provides for a new government agency to operate in complete secrecy. We really need to speak out THIS WEEK.
Thanks,
KH
Kathy Hubbell
(406) 728-4595 (w)
(406) 531-9355 (c)
e-mail to: hkathryn7@qwest.net
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Member of Congress:
As leaders of veterans’ organizations, we have seen firsthand the injuries and deaths caused by the mandatory vaccinations of service members. Because of this, we ask you to oppose any effort to include liability protections for the pharmaceutical industry in the Department of Defense Appropriations Conference Report that do not at the same time provide protections for service members and other first responders who will be significantly affected by the administration of a dangerous or experimental drug or vaccine.
Last week it was reported that the Pentagon failed to inform Congress of more than 20,700 troops who were hospitalized after receiving the anthrax vaccine. Despite learning this information, members of Congress are still pushing to add language to the Department of Defense Appropriations Conference Report that would provide virtual immunity to drug companies without creating any kind of compensation system to help service members and first responders who suffer debilitating injuries as a result of a drug or vaccine.
Not only is this language fundamentally unfair to the men and women of the Armed Forces, it puts them at further risk by taking away all financial incentives for drug companies to produce safe, fully-tested drugs and vaccines, creating a greater chance that unsafe drugs and vaccines will be administered to our Armed Forces.
Also upsetting are the undemocratic and dishonest maneuvers the Congressional leadership have used to provide the drug industry these special protections. These kinds of sweeping liability protections have never been debated or passed in either the United States House of Representatives of the Senate. They are the result of backroom, late night deals.
Instead of using funding for the military as cover to pass wholesale immunity for the pharmaceutical industry that actually puts our service members in harm’s way, Congress should be working to help members of the Armed Forces injured by vaccines receive immediate and adequate medical care, and to prevent similar problems from occurring in the future.
This is an opportunity for members of Congress to back up their words of support for our troops with actions by rejecting this liability protection for negligent drug makers.
Sincerely,