{"id":1549784,"date":"2025-07-29T21:40:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T01:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1549784"},"modified":"2025-07-29T21:40:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T01:40:00","slug":"the-maha-priority-pursued-by-lawmakers-on-both-sides-of-the-aisle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/the-maha-priority-pursued-by-lawmakers-on-both-sides-of-the-aisle\/1549784\/","title":{"rendered":"The MAHA Priority Pursued By Lawmakers On Both Sides Of The Aisle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The MAHA Priority Pursued By Lawmakers On Both Sides Of The Aisle<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Nathan Worcester via The Epoch Times<\/a> (emphasis ours),<\/em><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON\u2014The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda has helped shape the second Trump administration, with early actions targeting mercury in vaccines, artificial food\u00a0dyes<\/a>, and ultra-processed\u00a0foods<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The U.S. Capitol in Washington on July 14, 2025. Despite the Supreme Court\u2019s 2002 ruling in favor of drug advertising, some lawmakers are seeking to ban the practice. Madalina Kilroy\/The Epoch Times<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s thanks in large part to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who dropped out of the presidential race in August 2024 and joined forces with then-presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

Kennedy stressed one notable MAHA agenda item just two days before Election Day.<\/p>\n

On Nov. 3, 2024, he\u00a0asked<\/a> voters to support Trump \u201cso we can ban pharmaceutical advertising”\u2014such as the commercials for brand-name drugs that pepper many networks.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The United States consumes more prescription drugs than any country in the world and spends nearly twice as much for them as all other nations combined, according to a Rand report.<\/p>\n

For now, independent and Democratic senators are leading the legislative charge to eliminate direct-to-consumer drug ads, including on social media, with House Democrats following with a parallel bill.<\/p>\n

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has voiced openness to his Senate colleagues\u2019 proposal. The Missourian is also part of a bipartisan effort to get rid of tax deductions drug companies use for promotions.<\/p>\n

Though some legislators are enthusiastic, past court decisions might throw up roadblocks\u2014any sturdy leash on Big Pharma\u2019s marketing could get tangled on the First Amendment.<\/p>\n

MAHA Versus Commercial Speech<\/h2>\n

Critics of direct-to-consumer drug advertising, including Kennedy, have long pointed out that the practice is rare around the world. It is only allowed in the United States and New Zealand.<\/p>\n

In May, the MAHA Commission released a report<\/a> on childhood chronic disease that raised concerns about pharmaceutical ad campaigns aimed at everyday Americans. It suggested they encourage \u201ca notable level of reliance on the industry by those that benefit financially.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The report also highlighted medical\u00a0publications<\/a> that have linked those advertisements to the over-diagnosis of disease and the overuse of drugs, including by children.<\/p>\n

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary holds up carrot juice, an alternative to synthetic food dyes, in Washington on April 22, 2025. Nathan Worcester\/The Epoch Times<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

By 2023, Americans were consuming more than 210 billion daily doses of medication, data from analytics company IQVIA show.<\/p>\n

Dr. Marty Makary, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration,\u00a0said<\/a> in April that \u201cwe don\u2019t have any plans to ban direct-to-consumer advertising.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some things we can do to make sure that the information being presented is a complete picture,\u201d he added<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Legal precedent could make it difficult to eliminate such advertisements. Corporations, including drug companies, have wide latitude for commercial speech in the United States.<\/p>\n

In 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that a federal law restricting advertisements for certain drugs ran afoul of the First Amendment.<\/p>\n

About a decade later, it struck down a Vermont law banning the sale of prescription drug users\u2019 data for drug marketing, again on free speech grounds.<\/p>\n

Sanders, King, Shaheen, and Hawley<\/h2>\n

Despite the Supreme Court\u2019s record, some lawmakers want to bring the issue to a head.<\/p>\n

In June, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Angus King (I-Maine), independents who caucus with the Democrats,\u00a0unveiled<\/a> the End Prescription Drug Ads Now Act.<\/p>\n

The measure<\/a> would alter the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to define all direct-to-consumer advertising as misbranding, thereby banning it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThis bill is a great step to ensure that patients are getting the best information possible and from the right source: their providers and not biased advertisements,\u201d King said in a statement on the bill.<\/p>\n

The senators attracted five Democrats as cosponsors: Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).<\/p>\n

It is now in the Senate\u2019s health committee, where Sanders is the ranking member. Sanders\u2019 office did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.<\/p>\n

On July 21, King told The Epoch Times he was unaware of any Republicans in the Senate who supported the proposal.<\/p>\n

(Top Left) Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) listens to testimony on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 27, 2022. King and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced the End Prescription Drug Ads Now Act to classify all direct-to-consumer drug ads as misbranding, effectively banning them. (Top Right) Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 14, 2025. (Bottom Left) Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Miss.) speaks during a confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 13, 2025. (Bottom Right) Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 19, 2023. In May, Hawley and Shaheen introduced the No Handouts for Drug Advertisements Act. Chip Somodevilla\/Getty Images, Madalina Vasiliu\/The Epoch Times, Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

That same day, Hawley, a Republican who has carved out a reputation as an economic populist, said he was receptive to the bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t read Bernie\u2019s bill, but it sounds very complementary to me,\u201d he told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n

He suggested that it paired well with one of his own bills, one that targets pharmaceutical ads in a way that Kennedy has also highlighted.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In May, Hawley and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)\u00a0introduced<\/a> the No Handouts for Drug Advertisements Act.<\/p>\n

Under current law, drug companies can claim tax deductions for ads for both compounded medications\u2014drugs combined or otherwise customized to individual patients\u2014and prescription drugs. Hawley and Shaheen\u2019s proposal would make that impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cHHS Secretary RFK Jr. has made it clear that he wants to ban prescription drug commercials, and I\u2019m proud to introduce legislation to do just that,\u201d Hawley said in a statement on the bill.<\/p>\n

Like Sanders and King\u2019s bill, it is awaiting action in a committee\u2014in this case, the Committee on Finance.<\/p>\n

Interest Grows in the House<\/h2>\n

Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), a medical doctor, introduced a House version<\/a> of Hawley and Shaheen\u2019s bill in April. It, too, was referred to that chamber\u2019s finance committee.<\/p>\n

Read the rest\u00a0here…<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nTue, 07\/29\/2025 – 17:40<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/political\/maha-priority-pursued-lawmakers-both-sides-aisle<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The MAHA Priority Pursued By Lawmakers On Both Sides Of The Aisle Authored by Nathan Worcester via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), WASHINGTON\u2014The Make America…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1549785,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1549784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1549784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1549784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1549784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1549785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1549784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1549784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1549784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}