NSP Health Freedom Alert: Senate Bill 3217

Dear NSP Manager: We received the information below from the Sunshine Health Freedom Foundation ("SHFF"). SHFF has requested that we distribute this information to you immediately. Please review this information and pass it along to your successline Members. Thank you for your continued participation and support in the fight for health freedom! Best Regards, Denise B. Bird Director, Paralegal Services Nature's Sunshine Products, Inc. ................................................... WE NEED YOUR HELP TODAY! Call and Fax Your Senators Right now Senator Dodd's Senate Bill 3217, Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 is on the Senate floor. We have to make sure to keep out a provision to expand the Federal Trade Commission's authority. Sadly, the 1700+ page House Version of this bill, HR 4173 includes Section 4901 with the FTC expansion of authority.  Furthermore, we have to make sure that when the Senate and House bills are combined in the 'conference' process that Section 4901 is removed from the final bill before it becomes law. Send this letter to your senators.  Download letter (PDF). With the expanded power granted in this bill, the FTC will have the authority to develop new rules on what information dietary supplement manufacturers can and cannot use as substantiation of their products. Their goal will be to require the dietary supplements and food industries to have conducted two large, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials on every product they market for which any claim of benefit is made. This is the drug model of information substantiation that cost drug companies a BILLION dollars to bring a patented drug to market. It is not a sustainable model for the dietary supplement and food industries. This will undermine the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. We need to stop this from happening! It is thought that Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), who is Chairman of the Commerce, Science and Technology Committee, is likely to offer an amendment on the floor of the Senate during the current debate on S 3217. We need every Senator to vote no on including the "FTC power grant" in S. 3217. Please call your two Senators today and tell them you do not want the FTC to have expanded authority, to keep that amendment off the Senate Bill and to keep Section 4901 of the House bill out of the final bill that becomes law. Please send this letter (PDF) to your senators, or for hand delivery fax to Beth Clay at 202-318-7557. We are not the only ones opposing this amendment. It has broad-reaching effects. Even the U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposes this. However, it will take a grass roots effort by you and others in the dietary supplement industry to alert Senators and keep them from jumping on board with Senator Rockefeller. We must act immediately. Sincerely, Sunshine Health Freedom Foundation