Chronology of Committee Work

Committee Hearings Highlight Allegations on Vaccine Safety

The Committee held four hearings on childhood immunizations in the 106th Congress. These hearings highlighted allegations regarding the safety of some vaccines and conflicts of interest in the vaccine approval process. In one hearing in April 2000, witnesses alleged that autism may be caused by the Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, a theory that has been contradicted by several epidemiological studies. At the request of Mr. Waxman and Chairman Burton, HHS contracted with the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine to analyze all the available science on this theory. The IOM issued its report which found no evidence of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Concerned that parents may be needlessly frightened about vaccine safety and as a result may stop vaccinating their children, Rep. Waxman wrote an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times explaining that this remains an unproven hypothesis. Other allegations about vaccines made during the course of these hearings have never been proved as well. Rep. Waxman’s hearing statements explain the need for sound research into these questions while emphasizing that parents should not be unnecessarily scared from giving their children safe and effective vaccines against known, debilitating, and deadly diseases.

Medicare’s Failure to Cover Kidney Medication Costs Taxpayers Millions

At the request of Rep. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey, the Special Investigations Division investigated Medicare’s coverage of prescription drugs for kidney dialysis patients.

Many Companies Fail to Implement Sound Medical Privacy Policies

Millions of Americans participate in health plans provided by large employers. In April 2000, Rep. Waxman released a report by the Special Investigations Division that evaluates whether these major employers have medical privacy policies that comply with the recommendations of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other privacy experts. The report found that many companies have failed to implement sound privacy policies.

Committee Hearings on DOD Anthrax Immunization Program

Chairman Burton held two full Committee hearings in the 106th Congress on the Department of Defense’s Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program. This program has been fraught with logistical and production problems. Minority views acknowledge the problems with the production and distribution of the vaccine and encourage measures to enhance the protective program. The minority views also note that the Food and Drug Administration testified numerous times that the vaccine is safe and effective for individuals at high risk of exposure to anthrax when used in accordance with the approved labeling.

Pricing of Breast Cancer Drugs on Long Island: Breast Cancer Victims Face Discriminatory Prices

This report for Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of Long Island, New York, is an example of the reports prepared by the Special Investigations Division that compare breast cancer drug prices. It found that breast cancer patients are forced to pay twice as much for lifesaving medicines as drug companies’ favored U.S. customers, such as HMOs and the federal government.

Medicaid Drug Price Manipulation

At the request of Rep. Waxman, the HHS Inspector General and the Special Investigations Division investigated whether drug manufacturers are circumventing the law that requires them to provide drugs to the Medicaid program at the same low prices available to favored private sector purchasers.

Drug Manufacturer Prices Are Higher for Humans than for Animals

This report for Rep. Tom Allen is an example of the reports prepared by the Special Investigations Division that compare human and animal drug prices. It finds that drug manufacturers charge twice as much for drugs when they are used to treat humans than they charge when the same drugs are used to treat animals.

FDA Approval of Rezulin

A new diabetes medication has been linked to at least 33 deaths since it was approved in 1996. According to the Los Angeles Times, the government's top diabetes researcher at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was a paid consultant to Rezulin's manufacturer, Warner-Lambert, while he oversaw the selection and use of the drug in a major government diabetes prevention study. Rep. Waxman wrote NIH Director Dr. Harold Varmus to resolve questions about the safety of Rezulin and the potential conflicts of interest.

Unreported Emissions by Oil Refineries

The Special Investigations Division prepared a report for Rep. Waxman that identified previously unreported pollution from oil refineries as a major source of smog-forming toxic air pollutants. Audits performed by EPA and analyzed in the report reveal that oil refineries emit vast quantities of unreported emissions from leaking valves. Unlike other pollution sources -- which can cost up to $20,000 per ton to control -- fixing the leaking valves does not require new technology or expensive retrofit equipment. In many instances, the pollution can be eliminated simply by tightening the valves with a wrench.

Drug Companies Profit at the Expense of Older Americans

This report finds that seniors are forced to pay more than twice as much for drugs than drug companies’ favored U.S. customers, such as HMOs and the federal government.

Committee Hearings on Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Chairman Burton has held a number of hearings on complementary and alternative medicines. He has used these hearings as an opportunity to criticize the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health for what he says is a lack of commitment to making complementary and alternative medicines widely available. Rep. Waxman’s hearing statements explain that while these treatments should be available, all medicine, including complementary and alternative medicine, needs to be safe and effective. According to Rep. Waxman, the standards for judging safety and efficacy need to be the same, whatever the treatment.

Suspect Organizations and Individuals Possessing Long-Range Fifty Caliber Sniper Weapons

At the request of Reps. Blagojevich and Waxman, the Special Investigations Division and the Office of Special Investigations of GAO investigated criminal organizations that use fifty caliber sniper weapons. This investigation found numerous instances in which these weapons were involved in serious crime, including the use of fifty caliber weapons by Branch Davidions at Waco, during multiple homicides at a shopping center in Colorado, and in a foiled assassination attempt against Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Civilian Access to Military Armor Piercing Ammunition

At the request of Reps. Blagojevich and Waxman, the Special Investigations Division in conjunction with the Office of Special Investigations of GAO worked to reveal how the Department of Defense indirectly armed citizens with some of the most powerful and destructive ammunition available. Armor piercing ammunition for fifty caliber weapons can pierce armored vehicles and bulletproof glass when fired at a distance of over a mile. Until Congress acted in response to the investigation, military surplus fifty caliber armor piercing ammunition was readily available in the U.S. civilian market as a result of a little-known Department of Defense demilitarization program. As part of the investigation into fifty caliber sniper rifles, expert Marine snipers provided a demonstration of the power and accuracy of these weapons. The demonstration was recorded on video tape. Also as part of the investigation, undercover investigators from the Office of Special Investigations of GAO taped conversations with ammunition dealers who sell specialized armor-piercing ammunition for fifty caliber sniper weapons.

Committee Hearings on Dietary Supplements

Chairman Burton held several hearings on FDA’s regulation of dietary supplements. He used the hearings in part as an opportunity to criticize FDA for what he claimed was over-regulation of dietary supplement products. Rep. Waxman’s opening statements explained that while there are supplements such as certain minerals and vitamins that play an important role in promoting health, there are legitimate concerns about the efficacy as well as the safety of some of these products that need to be addressed.

Fifty Caliber Rifles and Ammunition

The Special Investigations Division, in conjunction with the Office of Special Investigations of GAO, prepared a report for Reps. Blagojevich and Waxman on the availability of fifty caliber sniper rifles and the armor-piercing ammunition used with these weapons.

Exposure to Hazardous Air Pollution

A series of reports prepared by the Special Investigations Division were the first studies to analyze levels of hazardous air pollutants -- and the health risks they generate -- based on current monitoring data. The reports found that many people may be exposed to hazardous air pollutants at levels that are hundreds of times higher than the goals of the Clean Air Act. The report on exposure to hazardous air pollutants in Los Angeles, which the Special Investigations Division prepared for Rep. Waxman, is representative of these reports.

Minority Views on Campaign Finance Investigation

The majority’s campaign finance investigation was marked by a series of unsupported charges and missteps. It also virtually ignored Republican campaign finance abuses. The minority views document the investigation's abuses, respond to the major findings in the majority’s November 1998 campaign finance report, and describe some of the most serious campaign finance allegations involving Republicans.

Costs of the Campaign Finance Investigation

The Committee's campaign finance investigation was the most expensive congressional investigation in history, costing over $8 million. Campaign finance investigations by this Committee and other congressional committees also imposed costly burdens on federal agencies that had to respond to hundreds of congressional campaign finance inquiries.

Underage Tobacco Buying Sting in U.S. Capitol Buildings

The Special Investigations Division worked with the American Lung Association to conduct an undercover "sting" to determine if teenagers could buy cigarettes in House, Senate, and Capitol buildings. One 15 year-old girl succeeded in buying cigarettes from all sites tested in the House office buildings. A teen also was able to buy cigarettes in Senate office buildings and the Capitol building itself.

Air Tobacco: Campaign Travel on Tobacco Industry Jets

Rep. Waxman released a report by the Special Investigations Division that investigated the tobacco industry’s practice of providing corporate aircraft to congressional leaders and political parties for campaign activities. The report found: (1) the tobacco industry provides more subsidized campaign travel to congressional leaders and political parties than any other corporate special interest; and (2) the principal beneficiary of subsidized campaign travel from the tobacco industry is the Republican congressional leadership and Republican party organizations.

Doctored Transcript of Hubbell Tapes

On April 30, 1998, Rep. Burton released a transcript of tape recordings of conversations between Webster Hubbell, the former Associate Attorney General, and his family and friends. These recordings were made by the Bureau of Prisons during Mr. Hubbell’s incarceration for tax evasion and mail fraud. According to Mr. Burton, the prison tape recordings showed that former Associate Attorney General Webster Hubbell was paid off for his silence. In fact, the transcript released by Rep. Burton was heavily edited to appear incriminating. The minority’s analysis of the majority’s “Hubbell Master Tape Log” showed that it contained selective and misleading transcripts of the taped prison phone conversations of Webster Hubbell.

Children's Access to Lead Screening

At the request of Rep. Waxman, GAO investigated whether children in Medicaid receive necessary screening for lead poisoning. In February 1998, GAO found that most Medicaid children had never been screened, and that an estimated 352,000 children covered by Medicaid probably had lead poisoning that was undetected.

Members Request Briefing on FDA Clinical Trials

Ten committee members request that the Food and Drug Administration brief the committee on the clinical trial case histories of several witnesses scheduled to testify in FDA oversight hearings.

Tobacco Companies’ Efforts to Target Children

Rep. Waxman released internal tobacco company documents that revealed the extent of the tobacco industry's efforts to market to children. One set of documents detailed R. J. Reynolds’s decades-long efforts to capture the youth market. The second set of documents, released by Reps. Waxman, John Dingell, and Sherrod Brown disclosed the efforts of Philip Morris to target children. In a detailed letter to Rep. Tom Bliley, then the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee, Rep. Waxman summarized the most important documents and their legal and policy significance.

Minority Views on the White House Database Report

In the 104th and 105th Congresses, the majority conducted a multi-year investigation of the White House database (WhoDB), a computerized rolodex used to track contacts of citizens with the White House and to create a holiday card list. The majority concluded its investigation by alleging that President Clinton, First Lady, and senior aides were involved in “theft” of government property. As explained in the minority views, these charges had no basis in fact.

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