House minority leader meets with Masry,

Brockovich in Westlake
Topics: Environmental issues, healthcare




Brockovich in Westlake

Topics: Environmental issues, healthcare

By Stephanie Bertholdo

bertholdo@theacorn.com

Tom Daschle, the Democratic senator from South Dakota and current House minority leader, met Wednesday with Ed Masry, local attorney and Thousand Oaks city councilman, and Erin Brockovich, Masry’s former assistant on the celebrated Pacific Gas and Electric lawsuit, to discuss environmental issues and political matters.


Speaking to local officials and guests at Masry’s Westlake Village office, Daschle discussed the prohibition on state class action lawsuits, which has the effect of curtailing consumer protection. "I think that would be a disaster," said Daschle, who complained that the battle over tort reform has been raging for more than a month in Congress and has interfered with the debate over other issues such as healthcare and education.


A guest at the event asked whether it was true that half the cost of prescription drugs will be paid through Medicare.


Daschle responded yes, but said the government should have more flexbility negotiating drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. He said he and other members of the Senate co-sponsored a bill to enable Americans to access cheaper markets for their prescription drugs.


In Canada, the costs of prescriptions are 30 to 50 percent less than in the United States.


Prescription drug prices, Daschle said, have increased three times the rate of inflation every year for five years.


Daschle called the lack of a national health plan a "travesty" and added that about 100,000 people die in the U.S. each year because they have no medical insurance.


Erin Brockovich, a formerly unemployed single mother of three who used her moxie to help win the biggest environmental lawsuit in U.S. history, knows better than most what it means to fight for the underdog.


Masry said he and Brockovich planned to discuss environmental issues with Daschle.


"Erin and I are making a concerted effort to meet with members of state and national legislative bodies––both Republicans and Democrats––to have some bills passed that benefit citizens, particularly children who have been largely ignored in our research."





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