Lawmakers Hoping President Recommits To Energy Reform

By Linn Grubbstrom - Talk Radio News Service

Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), co-authors of the Senate's comprehensive energy independence and climate change legislation, said Tuesday that recent analysis from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed a decrease in the cost of Americans' energy bills resulting from their newly proposed legislation, the American Power Act.

"That means that every day, the American Power Act will save 60 times the amount of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. That's real change," said Lieberman.

Both Senators said they are looking forward to hearing President Barack Obama's speech from the Oval Office tonight as he is expected to make a big push in favor of energy reform.

"The best way to avoid another tragic oil spill like the one on the Gulf today is to break our dependence in oil today to power our society and we need legislation to make that happen," Lieberman said. "So I hope and believe that President Obama will renew his commitment to comprehensive clean energy legislation."

Hoyer Urges Republicans To Support Small Business Fund

By Linn Grubbstrom - Talk Radio News Service

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Tuesday that a $30 billion fund for small business loans currently under consideration in the House would simplify the conditions for small businesses to acquire capital and would increase their ability to hire new employees.

"All of these are designed to get more money in the hands of small businesses, to expand and to create jobs all over the country," said Hoyer.

President Barack Obama outlined the importance of the fund, as well as a number of other spending measures, in a letter sent to Congressional leaders Saturday evening, and described the fund as a "cost-effective [way] of spurring job creation."

Although there has been grumbling on the right that the legislation amounts to a bail out, Hoyer highlighted the fact that small business owners and entrepreneurs support both sides of the aisle and said that Republicans should realize that when Congress votes on the small business legislation this week.

"I hope that the Republicans will come together and support this legislation because there are Republican small businessmen and Democrat small businessmen who are not able to get capital," said Hoyer. "All small businesses are struggling to get capital."

New Study Shows FDA Regulations Are Hurting Patients

By Linn Grubbstrom - Talk Radio News Service

The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) regulations have caused delays in the development of new drugs, costing patients far more than they cost producers. This is the result of a report presented by Tomas Philipson, Ph.D. of the University of Chicago and Eric Sun, M.D., Ph.D. of Stanford University.

"The main costs of drug delays to producers are not the clinical trial process being long and costly. The main cost to them is the forgone profits of delayed sales," said Philipson. "The second costs that have been ignored is the cost of patients that are waiting for these drugs to go on the market."

The study looked at the economic and health related consequences FDA regulations have for patients suffering from HIV, breast cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In the first case, results showed that access in the market would be worth $16,000 for each patient and the total value for these patients would be $19 billion. These are all costs that can be slashed, according to the authors.

"In our report, we list a few policy recommendations such that make it easier to recruit patients into clinical trials, using bio markers to track a drug's effectiveness opposed to clinical outcome," said Sun.

The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) was enacted in 1992 and authorizes the FDA to collect fees from companies that produce certain human drug and biological products.

Senate Democrats Rail Against Murkowski Resolution

By Linn Grubbstrom
Talk Radio News Service

Before the Senate voted on Sen. Lisa Murkowski's (R-Alaska) Environmental Protection Agency disapproval resolution earlier today, Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M), called for rejecting the measure, which would block the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions.

"A vote for this resolution would force the United States to use another 450 million barrels of oil, most of which would be imported," said Udall. "A vote for this resolution would let special interests continue to profit while Americans pay the prices. And a vote for this resolution would put at risk landscapes and water supplies."

Udall argued that the disaster caused by a massive oil spill almost two months ago in the Gulf of Mexico should be enough of a warning sign to reject the resolution. Merkley added that the only benefactors of the resolution would be large oil companies.

"What benefits Big Oil is not in the interests of the citizens of the United States, not in the interests of the economy of the United States, not in the interests of the national security of the United States," he said.

Senate rules dictate that Murkowski only needs a simple majority of votes to pass her resolution. So far, the Alaska Republican has 40 co-sponsors, including three Democrats -- Sens. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Ben Nelson (Neb.) and Mary Landrieu (La.).

Update: Murkowski's resolution was defeated on Thursday by a vote of 47-53.

BP Liable For Salaries Of Workers Laid Off During Drilling Moratorium, Says Interior Secretary

By Linn Grubbstrom
Talk Radio News Service

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Wednesday that BP will be held accountable for the salaries of workers laid off during the administration's six month moratorium on drilling for new deepwater oil wells.

"The law is very clear, BP is a responsible party. They are responsible with respect to dealing with the oil spill, they are responsible for dealing with all the damages that flow from the oil spill, [and] they are responsible for compensating those that are damaged from the oil spill," Salazar said.

"It's a dynamic relationship, but it is a directive relationship between the United States and BP," he added.