60 Minutes/Prescription Drug benefit

by **BigheadTodd** on Sun Apr 01, 2007 8:20 pm

Did anyone else see this? Billy Tauzin featured prominently. He is a pretty smooth talker, but in my opinion, he did not come out of this looking good.

**Sponsor**

by **cjwilhelmi** on Sun Apr 01, 2007 8:24 pm

For those of us that missed it, what was said?

by **BigheadTodd** on Sun Apr 01, 2007 9:16 pm

60 minutes reported that there were some shady dealings to get the benifit passed. The vote was supposed to close after 50 minutes, but stayed open for many hours, in which time there was allegedly some arm twisting, and it ended up passing by about 5 votes. There were claims that the overall cost was deliberately understated by 100 billion. alot of the people said Billy was instrumental in getting it passed. Shortly after, a few of the key players took jobs as lobbyists for the drug companies, including Billy. I have to give him credit, he did not shy away from any of the questions. He said, yes, this is what I did, this is why I did it, instead of the typical"No Comment" that is common in washington.

by **Campbell** on Mon Apr 02, 2007 9:38 am

is this MCLA Tauzin (Nicholls State & LSU) or his dad/family member?

by **Sonny** on Mon Apr 02, 2007 9:56 am

Campbell wrote:is this MCLA Tauzin (Nicholls State & LSU) or his dad/family member?

Yes. his father was a long time US Senator from the Pelican State.

by **laxfan25** on Mon Apr 02, 2007 10:39 am

From Wikipedia;

On January 3, 2005, the same day he left Congress, Tauzin began work as the head of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, a powerful trade group for pharmaceutical companies. It was reported that they had offered more than a million dollars per year for his services, outbidding the MPAA (L.A. Times, February 9, 2004). Two months earlier, Tauzin had played a key role in shepherding the Medicare Prescription Drug Bill through Congress, which had been criticized by opponents for being too generous to the pharmaceutical industry.

Another "lobbyist" in the Abramoff mold, just the Dem side of the coin. This revolving door policy is just disgusting.

by **BigheadTodd** on Mon Apr 02, 2007 6:45 pm

Sonny wrote:
Campbell wrote:is this MCLA Tauzin (Nicholls State & LSU) or his dad/family member?

Yes. his father was a long time US Senator from the Pelican State.

I thought there was only one Billy. That would explain why the one on tv seemed a bit older than I would have imagined.

by **Sonny** on Mon Apr 02, 2007 7:03 pm

laxfan25 wrote:Another "lobbyist" in the Abramoff mold, just the Dem side of the coin. This revolving door policy is just disgusting.

Pretty broad swipe to say that his father did something illegal like Abramoff. You might not like it, but it doesn't make what he did illegal.

by **KnoxVegas** on Mon Apr 02, 2007 8:50 pm

Sonny wrote:
Campbell wrote:is this MCLA Tauzin (Nicholls State & LSU) or his dad/family member?

Yes. his father was a long time US Senator from the Pelican State.

For the record, Wilbert Joseph "Billy" Tauzin Jr. represented Louisiana's 3rd congressional district in the US House of Representatives from 1980-2005. Originally elected to Congress as a Democrat, Tauzin changed party affiliation on 8 August 1995.

http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=T000058

by **Sonny** on Mon Apr 02, 2007 9:25 pm

Thanks for correcting that KnoxVegas. My mistake.

by **KnoxVegas** on Mon Apr 02, 2007 9:47 pm

No worries. As Reggie Jackson is/was the straw that stirs the drink, I think of myself as the finger the holds the scales of justice.