The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) announced yesterday that it would ration the late-stage cancer drug Avastin for breast cancer patients. (Ironically, the same day, the EU announced it would not ration access to Avastin.)  The reaction to the FDA’s decision has been fierce:

Rep. Kay Granger:  “For the 17,500 women across the country who rely on Avastin to survive, I am extremely disappointed the FDA has chosen to take away one of the very few options for the treatment of late-stage breast cancer. To make matters worse, this announcement comes on the same day that European drug regulators approved the continued use of Avastin for women with late-stage breast cancer.  It is troubling that women in Germany and France will soon have access to a life-saving drug, while women in the U.S. will not. I will continue to work in the 112th Congress to ensure doctors and patients continue to have access to every available treatment option.”

Rep. Rodney Alexander:  “As expected, the Obama administration has begun its process of rationing health care with its announcement to remove Avastin from the market for women suffering from metastatic breast cancer. Today’s decision to limit women’s access to a lifesaving treatment is amiss, and indicative of the frightful direction our health care system is headed.

 For the government to deny access to such a viable treatment is a severe intrusion into personal health care decisions that should be left between the patient and the doctor. Given that this drug helps over 17,000 patients manage their disease, it appears this move is merely based on cost cutting and rationing rather than on any real medical grounds.  Avastin has extended the lives of thousands of individuals suffering from this devastating disease. Going forward, they will no longer be afforded that opportunity. This decision represents the first major example of things to come if components of the recent health care overhaul are allowed to continue. I will work with others in the incoming majority to restore the fundamentals of the U.S. health care system.”

Susan B. Komen Foundation for a Cure:  Komen for the Cure’s president, Elizabeth Thompson said that the organization is concerned about the potential impact on women who are benefitting from Avastin if the FDA ultimately removes its approval for the drug for breast cancer treatment. “We want to be sure that women who are using Avastin, and for whom it is working, can continue to have access to it, that their insurers will continue to pay for it and that the drug’s manufacturer, Genentech/Roche, continues making the drug available to women through its patient support programs and considers an expanded access program.”

(more…)

On November 17, 2009, a prominent Senator and five leading Members of Congress sent a letter to the IRS asking for an investigation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) concerning their possible violation of the Lobbying Disclosure Act which limits the expenditures a non-profit can spend on lobbying  If CAIR has exceeded the limits of that law, they risk losing their non-profit status.  Other penalties may be more severe:  if the Secretary of the Senate or Clerk of the House of Representatives determines that CAIR should have registered and find “a knowing violation by a preponderance of the evidence,” CAIR could be “subject to a civil fine of not more than $200,000, depending on the extent and gravity of the violation,”  and if CAIR “knowingly and corruptly failed to comply,” they could be subject to imprisonment up to 5 years.    Our separate analysis of CAIR tax returns, compared to audio evidence recorded in 2006, reveals another potential issue for IRS investigators – more on that follows below…

The November 17 letter to the IRS was signed by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), Ranking Member on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations for the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.    The members of Congress signing the letter also have extensive experience in intelligence, counter-terrorism and investigations:

• Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC), Deputy Whip, founder of the Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus, who also serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
• Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), who serves on the Judiciary Committee and the Armed Services Committee
• Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA), who serves on the United States House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment
• Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ), who serves on the  Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming
• Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who serves on the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs for the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Our own investigation revealed another problem CAIR may have with the IRS.

(more…)