Congress Needs Regulating

FTC, FDA, IRS, the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Attorney for Southern Florida recently in 2010 helped put a hardheaded marketing scammer in jail for 20 years. He was warned before by a Federal court. This case proves that dietary supplements are regulated.

FDA has forced the recall of dietary supplements by several sellers in recent months. Muscle products containing steroids are reported in this issue. The recalls prove that dietary supplements are regulated.

The FDA has used the Federal Courts and U.S. Marshalls numerous to seize dietary supplement products from sellers who violated the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. These seizures prove that dietary supplements are regulated.

Likewise, there are frequent reports that FTC obtains fines against sellers of dietary supplements for defrauding consumers. These fines prove that dietary supplements are regulated.

Activity that is not regulated very much is that of the U.S. Congress, when it passes law after law requiring FDA or some other Federal agency to do something, while failing to provide the money to do the work. The U.S. Constitution regulated what Congress could do 100 years ago, but does so infrequently now.

In 2009 dietary supplements lost NIH’s support for an annual bibliography for research on dietary supplements.

This year the President’s Budget for FY 2011, the first budget that this President had complete control over, does not mention any increase in funding for dietary supplement programs. But this budget proposes spending in the trillions beyond income to expand entitlement and new programs.

In early February 2010, Senator John McCain introduced a bill to amend the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act and the bill does not mention giving FDA or other agencies any money to implement the new amendments, if they are passed. This compounds the inefficiency in government programs.

Funding necessary government programs is harder to do when most of the Federal money is dedicated to entitlement programs. Of course, this shows Congress is incapable of distinguishing the difference between necessary programs and entitlement programs. This discernment is what needs regulating.

The United States government would have adequate money to do what is necessary, if the members of Congress would stop passing spending bills to benefit their own states or districts in order to get themselves reelected 98 percent of the time. Once upon a time this was regulated by the U.S. Constitution, common sense, and decency. But these are no longer reliable!

For articles that explain background on the legal issues related to dietary supplements in this blog go to www.natmedlaw.com where you can read 13 plus years of the author’s newsletters.