Reward!
For Information Leading To The Identification Of
The Eli Lilly Bandit
In November, as Congress finalized the legislation authorizing a new
Department of Homeland Security, two paragraphs suddenly appeared in the
bill giving drug maker Eli Lilly & Company something it desired: a
shield from lawsuits by parents who claim the company's vaccines caused
their children's autism.
The provision diverts those suits from state courts to a federal 'vaccine
court' where damages are capped at $250,000 -- small compensation for a
child's lifetime of medical care. And because any damages awarded by the
vaccine court are paid by U.S. taxpayers, manufacturers are relieved of
liability.
It's a sweet deal for Eli Lilly, a very special interest that, like most
mega-donors, gets what it wants in Washington. Since 2000, the company
has given $1.6 million to national parties and federal campaigns, 79 percent
of it to Republicans.
Who inserted the provision? Reporters tried and failed to find out.
Lilly's lobbyists (laughably) claim ignorance. No one on Capitol Hill is
proud enough of his handiwork to claim it.
Democracy requires accountability, so TomPaine.com is offering a $10,000
reward to the first person who proves the identity of the Eli Lilly Bandit
-- the member of Congress responsible for inserting the company's special
provision. Mail submissions to PO Box 53303, Washington, D.C. 20009.
The complete terms
and conditions of this offer are posted at www.TomPaine.com.
Public officials who work secret deals like this are cowards. They subvert
and dishonor a fundamental American principle -- open government accountable
to the people.
Help us finger the Eli Lilly Bandit.
A CLARIFICATION: Lots of readers have contacted us to say, "Rep. Dick Armey
admitted doing it!" We know that. It's easy for Dick Armey to say he did it
-- he's a lame duck with no accountability. And indeed, Armey, as House
Majority Leader, did ALLOW it to happen. But what TomPaine.com is looking
for is THE PERSON WHO *ASKED* ARMEY to ALLOW it to happen. THAT is the
person we want to finger.
Published: Dec 18 2002
Related Articles:
Finding The Eli Lilly Bandit
A Compendium Of Recent Articles
 |
| by TomPaine.com Staff |
|
| Links to articles in The New York Times, The
Washington Post, Newsday, and elsewhere.
|
Terms and Conditions...
...For The REWARD! Op Ad Contest
|
| by TomPaine.com Staff |
|
| Our lawyer says we have to post this. If you're
thinking of entering our contest, you better read it.
|
Finding The Answer To Washington's Hottest Whodunit
Mystery Legislator Does Corporate Bidding Behind Closed Doors
|
| by Arianna Huffington |
|
| In a town where knowledge is power, there has been a
sudden outbreak of people playing dumb as to how an ugly little
provision shielding pharmaceutical behemoth Eli Lilly from billions in
lawsuits filed by the parents of autistic children made its way, in the
12th hour, into the Homeland Security bill.
|
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