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STATEMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE STEVEN D. SYMMS, A
MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF IDAHO
Mr. SYMMS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I appreciated the testimony of my colleague, Mr. Duncan. What
he is saying is like the bumper sticker that says, "Caution, FDA
Can Be Hazardous To Your Health." That is what we would like to
avoid.
I think, as he mentioned, that many of us are grateful to FDA
for the work they did to stop thalidomide from being sold in the
United States. On the other hand, the nature of the bureaucracy,
and this is not limited just to FDA, is that it is much easier and
safer for the person who is sitting in the role of the bureaucrat to
say no rather than say yes because when they say yes, they do
have to take some risks. When they say no, then they are not
taking any risks and there are no responsibilities or disruptions
that may come. So this is what we are dealing with.
I would just say, Mr. Chairman, to you and members of the
committee, I consider it a privilege to be here today and to testify
on the innovation and availability of DMSO in the United States
and, furthermore, I again would like to commend you for having
these hearings so that maybe we can get this important subject off
dead center.
As you on the committee know, I have introduced three bills in
the House in conjunction with Congressman Bob Duncan which
would approve the usage of DMSO for treatment of scleroderma,
for the treatment of arthritis, bursitis, rheumatism and other disor-
ders of the muscular-skeletal system, and approve the intravenous
use of DMSO for the treatment of acute brain and spinal cord
injuries.
Normally, I do not like to introduce legislation for the approval
of specific drugs because I believe that the entire process by which
the Food and Drug Administration approves drugs for use in the
United States should be revamped, and in this regard I have a
major reform bill pending in the House, the Food and Drug Reform
Act of 1979, which is commonly called H.R. 54 dealing with a broad
range of the problems, some of which have already been discussed
this morning, the efficacy question, the patent question, and some
of the things I think would help move ahead our protection and
our safety but also expedite the use of vital pharmaceutical drugs
that we need.
I think that I have said many times that there is nothing more
ineffective than a product that is unavailable to the public. I think
that that is where we have been too carried away with our entire
attitude toward efficacy.
However, Mr. Chairman, because DMSO can provide widespread
relief for those suffering from muscular-skeletal disorders such as
arthritis; provide treatment to those suffering from scleroderma, a
disabling disorder in which the skin becomes tight, interfering with
blood supply and joint movement; and oftentimes save the lives of
those patients who are suffering from injuries or hemorrhaging
within the brain because of the ability to reduce intracranial pres-
sure, I believed that specific legislation was urgently needed to
make DMSO available for prescriptive use in the United States.
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