Founded in 1991, the Republican Liberty Caucus works to advance the principles of limited government, free markets and individual liberty within the Republican Party.

Help Rand Paul End Abuse of Power at the FDA

By Dave Nalle - May 23, 2012 at 8:29 AM
Filed under Civil Liberties , Farming , Heath Care , Issues

UPDATE
A deal was worked out on Wednesday which selected 17 Amendments to the FDA bill to be voted on on Thursday. Sen. Paul’s amendment was included among the 17 so we now have until some time Thursday get people to email their Senators to to encourage them to support the Paul amendment.

On Thursday the Senate is expected to vote on the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act which contains authorization for the continued operation of the Food and Drug Administration. Senator Rand Paul has offered an amendment to this bill which addresses key problems with the FDA (S.3187).

This amendment targets two key areas of abuse of power by the FDA, regulatory overreach and abusive enforcement powers.

The first goal of the Paul Amendment is to reign in FDA overreach in regulating dietary supplements and deliberately misclassifying foods, vitamins and natural medicines as drugs, placing them under inappropriate restrictions or removing them from the market entirely. This addresses an ongoing problem with the FDA attempting to expand its authority to interfere more and more with the health food and natural medicine market to reduce competition with commercial pharmaceuticals. Paul’s proposal does not limit reasonable regulation of dangerous substances, but does target opportunistic overregulation.

The second target of the amendment is the excessive expansion of enforcement power in the FDA. This has become a problem with a number of federal agencies which have decided they need their own police forces. In the case of the FDA they have developed a cadre of armed enforcement officers and are sending them out to conduct forced inspections of manufacturing facilities and farms, often carrying out searches and making arrests without a warrant in violation of the 4th Amendment. It is questionable that the FDA should ever have been given the power to arrest people and they certainly shouldn’t have their own armed enforcement units. The Paul amendment would disarm the FDA and require them to follow due process in going after violators.

This amendment addresses a serious problem with one of many federal agencies which have gone far beyond their legitimately authorized power. FDA regulation should be strictly restricted to keep the market in health supplements and foods as free as possible and enforcement of their regulations should be handled as a civil process or by local law enforcement or existing federal enforcement agencies.

Please write your Senators to encourage them to vote with Rand Paul to limit the power of the FDA and end regulatory abuse and overenforcement. Make sure to modify the wording of the standard letter to cover the points, but be in your own voice.

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official positions of the RLC.
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4 Comments to “Help Rand Paul End Abuse of Power at the FDA”

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  1. Mariah D said:
    On May 24th, 2012 at 6:47 am

    It is fascinating that the FDA has become such a corrupt and criminal arm of the Goverment/Pharma complex. From approving numerous agents which are responsible for the death of 100,000 or more patients per year, to the approval of thimerosal in vaccines which ushered in the autism epidemic and caused incredible neurotoxicity in millions of children, to the reckless and fraudulent approach taken to the approval of cancer therapies and the stifling of real therapies from the naturopathic community, to the use of armed agents trespassing and storming on private farmland to prevent an Amish farmer from selling whole milk from a cow to someone who wants it, the FDA has become a sad, sick joke and a signature agency of the abuse of and criminal nature of government at its worst.

  2. John Mills said:
    On May 24th, 2012 at 12:47 pm

    It’s about time someone take the powers away from the FDA. They allow the use of aspartame in diet foods, but prohibit unadulterated cows milk to be sold. How foolish can they be?

  3. Cynthia T. Grano said:
    On May 24th, 2012 at 5:34 pm

    I am asking my VA senators to please support the amendment to the FDA bill (S.3187) to address regulatory overreach and armed enforcement power by the FDA

  4. Thomas Higgins said:
    On May 24th, 2012 at 9:38 pm

    Please do your job and serve the PEOPLE of the U.S.and not the Pharmecutical industry.The FDA has no legitimate authority to make or enforce,so called, laws which do nothing but protect the profits of Big Pharma . I am appalled at your misconduct . I am looking forward to the day when the FDA will be recognized for what it is .Your misuse of authority brands you as criminal in intent and worthy of prosecution and dissolution.The FDA is a disgrace to the to the U.S.A.