Homeland Security Bill:

Passed in the Senate on Tuesday, November 19.

One issue that temporarily caused problems was the inclusion of several provisions by the House which were deemed favors for special interests. One of them is mentioned in this Reuters story:

Vaccine makers will gain stronger protection against liability for possible side effects from their products under legislation that passed the Senate on Tuesday.

...

Democrats failed in an effort to strip the vaccine provision and other sections in a homeland security bill they viewed as a pay-off to special interests supportive of Republicans.    ...    Republicans said that would close a loophole trial lawyers have exploited by filing lawsuits alleging that thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative that was used in vaccines, is linked to autism.

...

Companies that have been sued over thimerosal include Wyeth, GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Eli Lilly and Co.. No scientific studies have shown a link between thimerosal and autism. Edward Sagebiel, an Eli Lilly spokesman, said the company supported the vaccine provision in the bill. "We believe the legislation as passed would help protect manufacturers from lawsuits that are without merit or scientific evidence," he said.

The legislation covering vaccines was a contentious issue, and will be revisited early next year. Even Trent Lott made this concession:

Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., phoned House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill ... and won his pledge that next year Congress would reconsider the three provisions the moderates opposed, senators said. The agreement secured support by Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both R-Maine, Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., and Ben Nelson, D-Neb. One provision would legally shield drug companies already sued over ingredients used in vaccines, which Democrats said included claims that mercury-based preservatives have caused autism in children.

We were curious how the story would be reported on the national network broadcasts. So we checked a couple:

CBS Evening News:

Mentioned the House provision about vaccines, and the politics surrounding it.

ABC World News Tonight:

Reported that the Homeland Security bill was passed in the Senate. Did not mention the issue of vaccines or any other aspect of the House-added special-interest provisions.

However....

Peter Jennings had the time to report this critical issue:

There was actually big news in poetry today. It had to do with money, which is rare in poetry. The heir to the Eli Lilly pharmacutical fortune - Ruth Lilly - has given $100 million dollars to Poetry magazine, even though for years the magazine rejected Ms. Lilly's poems. Growing up in a very sheltered environment, she did, like other children, discover the world through poets - and the magazine was apparently kind with its rejection letters to her.

Can you believe it?


posted by Quiddity at 11/19/2002 09:35:00 PM