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Good morning. Since 1996, Michigan citizens whose lives have been destroyed by dangerous drugs have been denied the power to hold drug companies accountable for these deadly, dangerous drugs. Michigan is the only state in the nation that gives drug companies a get out of free jail card. 
 
Michigan residents should not be treated like second-class citizens. We must stand up to the powerful drug companies and bring an end to this unfair immunity law. We must fight to ensure that people come before profits. The plan I've introduced will repeal Michigan's drug industry immunity law and allow victims to hold drug companies accountable. 
 
Patients put a lot of faith in their doctors. When a doctor prescribes a prescription drug most people don't think twice about taking that medication and following the advice of their doctor. After all, it seems like it should be safe and to assume that it's safe to use, and every medication is tested by the FDA, right?  And the Federal Drug Administration has stringent testing standards, right? No. Well, it turns out that we cannot blindly trust the FDA. In the wake of scandals surrounding drugs such as Vioxx, Resulin and Bextra, there have been revelations that many members of FDA drug approval boards have ties to pharmaceutical industries. The public testimony of FDA scientists, such as Dr. David Graham, indicates that FDA system for drug evaluation is broken. 
 
Dr. Graham was the Associate Director for Science and Medicine in the FDA's Office of Drug Safety. When he testified before a Senate committee in 2004, he used the word broken to describe the FDA's approval system. Test results are twisted, safety studies are skewed. The FDA is supposed to be the gatekeeper.  We cannot trust the drug industry, and the FDA safety system is broken. That is why we must take action to protect our residents in Michigan. 
 
This plan sends a clear message; if a company makes a dangerous product, that causes harm or death, they must be held accountable.  No Michigan consumer should ever be treated like a second-class citizen.  Drug industry profits are not more important than the lives of people.