Congresswoman Betty Barton pushed aside the pages of yet another proposed farm bill when her intercom buzzed. “Sorry to interrupt you,” her administrative assistant said, “but we just had a call from Davis Metcher. He wanted to know if he could stop by to talk to you about a couple of things.”
A couple of things, my eye, she thought. He probably wants to rehash his three D’s—defense, drugs and the deficit. She could add a fourth D to that list—dames. But she was sure he wouldn’t mention his latest conquest. At least not to her.
“Tell him I’m pretty busy, but if he wants to come by, I’ll be here for the next hour or so.”
“Thanks. He said he’d like to come in a few minutes. I’ll tell him it’s okay. Oh, and that group that wanted a meeting about money for ozone replacement. Shall I schedule that one?”
Betty rolled her eyes and scanned the ceiling. No divine revelation there. “They’re constituents. Guess I’ll have to find the time.” She sighed. “Go ahead and put it on my calendar.”
She went back to the executive summary of the bill they would be debating. It was another stab at cutting price supports for certain farmers, including the ones who grow tobacco. How can I explain to the voters that we have to do more to ban smoking, but we need the taxes we get from selling cigarettes so we have to keep paying farmer to grow tobacco?
Betty pushed that one aside and grabbed a summary of the new energy proposals. As she reviewed the major points, she read a section calling for more of the same—increase the use of ethanol, demand higher fuel efficiency standards, and develop more wind mills. Then there was the problem of gasoline taxes that are supposed to go to build and repair more interstate highways.
There was a call to increase the gas tax, but also a call for more rebates to encourage people to buy electric cars. Yet another part of the bill called for installing mileage meters on those same electric cars so the owners could be taxed on the miles they drive since they don’t pay gasoline taxes. It sounded just like the farm bill. What’s the line? With one hand we giveth; with the other we taketh away. Or something like that. No wonder our approval rating is below the news media’s.
She made some notes in the margin and heard her buzzer again. “Yes?”
“David Metcher is here.”
“Send him in.”
The door opened and the congressman from Maryland came across the room sporting wide smile. “Betty, how’re you doin’ today?” he asked jovially. “Thanks for letting me barge in on short notice.”
“No problem, Davis. I figure you want to trade some votes,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Got me there,” he said as he settled into the red leather chair across from her desk.
“Let’s see. Is it going to be for defense or drugs or the deficit?”
“Now Betty, am I that predictable?”
“Usually,” she said.
“All right then. Score one for the gentlelady. I do need to talk to you about the defense bill. You heard the testimony in the subcommittee. I have to figure out whether to include money for that new technology at Bandaq or give the nod to the new missiles over at Sterling. I don’t see how we can do both.”
“Yes, the defense and the deficit. That’s two out of three . . . so far.”
Ignoring her gotcha tone, he said, “So here’s the deal. I know you’re coming down on the side of Sterling Dynamics, am I right?”
She nodded. “I think so. I just figure that it’s a good idea to throw good money after good. I mean, their stuff actually works. Sometimes.”
“Right you are. So if I throw Bandaq over the side and vote for Sterling on defense, will you vote to extend the drug patents?”
“Extend the drug patents?” she exclaimed. “You can’t be serious. Those companies are making a fortune. And you think they need even more protection?” She shook her head. “It’ll never fly, Davis. And you know it.”
Betty Barton was a walking barometer. She could sense the reaction of the editorial boards of the Washington Post and the New York Times, before anyone else could put together a focus group. She added, “It might fly on CNBC, but I doubt if Fox News would even buy that turkey.”
Davis sat back and looked down at his hands for a long while, not saying a word. Betty stared at him. What was the matter now, she wondered. He came in here like a long-lost pal, and now he’s sitting there like a lost puppy. She waited. Still no comment. She leaned forward and said in a soft voice, “Davis, is there something else going on here? Something I don’t know?”
“Actually, it’s an old buddy of mine” he said in a low voice.
“A buddy? What do you mean, a buddy?”
“We went to college together. His family contacted me. You see, he suffers from a rare type of lymphoma. There are some new drugs in the pipeline. But they’re expensive to produce, and they’d only help a few people. So why should the big pharmaceuticals spend any time developing drugs that only a few people need when they can just churn out Viagra . . . or . . . whatever?”
She was momentarily taken aback. She had never heard Davis Metcher talk about his friends or discuss anything remotely personal. All she knew about the man was that he was single and probably the biggest rake on the Hill. She figured him for the total party boy after hours, although she had to admit he was pretty serious about the legislation and the committee work when they were in session.
“Davis. What does this man’s family want?”
“They’re grasping at straws. Thought maybe I could help somehow. Now I know that we can’t let our personal concerns drive what we do up here. It’s just that I’ve watched this whole thing unfold. I’ve met with the pharmaceutical guys. I’ve studied their numbers, their research costs, their production costs, how they make their profits. And sure, there are things that could be done better and drugs that are probably more expensive than they should be. But with the new drugs that are so expensive to research and develop, there just isn’t any incentive for them in this climate.”
He shifted in his chair and continued. “Look at what happened to some of the vaccines. First, you’ve got that idiotic ‘Vaccines for Children’ bill that passed. Well, that was before my time. But the government forced big discounts so they had to more or less give the stuff away. Then, with the threat of lawsuits if someone has a bad reaction, most of the drug boys said, ‘who needs it?’ and just got out of the business. We’ve only got a few companies making some of the vaccines now. In the whole country. No wonder we get shortages once in a while. Whenever we need a new vaccine, the government has to call in the pharma boys and plead for their help. And now with the drugs for special cases . . .” he stopped and stared down at his hands.
Betty got up and came around her desk to sit in the chair next to his. “I understand your point. I really do. Let me take a look at the legislation. Maybe there’s a way to reword some of the sections. Maybe we can do something on the importation provisions in exchange for patent protection. I don’t know, but let me have a look.”
Davis nodded. “Yes, that’s good. You do that, and we’ll talk some more about it later. And about Sterling, I’ll go along with you on that one, if you feel strongly about it.”
She paused and thought back to the subcommittee hearing. She had to admit that the young Dr. Somebody certainly had spunk when she was describing her new technology. They couldn’t prove it though. At least not yet.
On the other hand, if they could pull it off, it would be unique. Something really different. Something we surely could use. Something that would give us a real advantage over a possible terrorist strike or problem in the field.
“Tell you what,” she said. “I’m still studying my options on the defense bill. And if this situation over in India and Pakistan continues to heat up, we may have to spend even more money to tamp things down.”
“I know,” Davis said. “At least the president named Ferrell to that Envoy slot. If anyone can get those two countries to the table, he can.”
“Yes, I think you’re right. Oh, and I heard something about a signing ceremony at the Taj Mahal. Know anything about that?” she asked.
“Only that the whole deal’s a real long shot. Course if they could pull it off, I’d be willing to fly over there for the ceremony. It’ll probably be a pretty good bash.”
“Yes, probably. But back on the bill, I appreciate your offer to vote for Sterling. And yes, I have backed them in the past. I think the jury’s still out on that other company. The one with the weird name.”
“Bandaq,” he supplied.
“Right. I’ll think about that one too and get back to you in a couple of days.”
“Thanks, Betty. That’s all I need to know.” He turned and walked out of her office. As for casting her vote for Bandaq, at this point she didn’t have a clue.