HSA gets postponed

[Guest guest]

The HSA is being held up in the Senate, thank God, and Democrats cite the

protection for Eli Lilly over the vaccines the biggest problem.

from foxnews.com

WASHINGTON — Senators are holding the homeland security bill hostage over

partisan politics, even with the threat of future terror attacks from Al

Qaeda and a possible war with Iraq looming.

Senate Democrats say they will spike the homeland security bill if a number

of Republican-inspired " goodies " aren't taken out of the legislation.

Republicans say the provisions are homeland security-related and they insist

on keeping them in.

Though a vote was expected late Monday, a standoff could affect whether the

bill, which includes provisions for establishing a new 170,000-employee

homeland security agency, will be passed by the end of the 107th Congress

this year.

The vote on Monday is expected to strip away seven GOP items from the bill —

and Republicans say if that happens, it won't get to President Bush's desk in

2002.

Sen. Dodd, D-Conn., said Sunday that House Republicans slipped

several provisions into the bill without consulting Democrats.

" The bill the president supported was 35 pages long. The bill that I've been

asked to vote on Monday or Tuesday is 484 pages long, filled with special

interest legislation, loaded up by the House Republicans in the last few

days, " Dodd said Sunday in a televised interview.

The worst of the offending provisions, say Democrats, is a measure that would

protect pharmaceutical companies from lawsuits over the vaccines they create

and their side effects, including wiping out lawsuits already in court.

" Does this have anything at all to do with homeland security? The answer is

no, " Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said last week.

Republicans deny that the provision would wipe out current lawsuits, and say

future liability protection is needed to ensure that drug companies will

produce the vaccines that America needs to fight the war on terrorism.

Some lawmakers, including Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., said the provision would

block children's and families' access to compensation after being injured by

a vaccine.

Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge begged to differ.

" If you look at the present system, these families and these children have

access to compensation through a special fund that was set up. And if they're

not satisfied with that, they still reserve the right to litigate it. So I

would disagree with his conclusion, " Ridge said Sunday.

Other GOP measures include liability shields for airport security companies

and businesses that sell approved anti-terrorism technologies, and a

provision that would block Senate-approved legislation to bar government

contracts with corporations that have moved their headquarters offshore to

avoid U.S. taxes.

The bill could also create at least one hometown pork project: a new

university-based homeland security research center that Democrats say is

intended for Texas A & M University, a favorite of retiring Sen. Phil Gramm,

R-Texas. Republicans disagree, saying it could go to any number of

universities.

If the bill is changed substantially, aides said, the leaders are unlikely to

call House members back to Washington to consider it, thus killing it for the

year.

If a homeland security agency is created, it would combine the Coast Guard,

the Customs Service, the Secret Service, the Federal Emergency Management

Agency and much of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. President Bush

is expected to nominate Ridge to head the new cabinet agency.

Once the Senate finishes with the homeland security bill, it will move on to

the terrorism insurance legislation passed by the House.