Vermont Democratic Party

For Immediate Release
11/28/11
Contact: Jesse Bragg
Phone: 802.229.1783

Montpelier, VT- Yesterday, Vermont Republicans sent out a press release critical of the 2007 data mining law and the ensuing legal battle that saw that law declared unconstitutional.  The Vermont GOP attempts to place the blame on Governor Shumlin, who voted for the legislation as a state senator, but fails to mention that Shumlin was joined by all but one of his GOP colleagues in the Senate, and that it was Governor Douglas, a Republican, who signed the legislation into law.
 
“The data mining law, which protected Vermont patients from predatory pharmaceutical company practices, was a bipartisan effort.  Vermont Republicans want to point fingers, but they conveniently fail to mention the role their own party played in its passage,” said Jake Perkinson, Vermont Democratic Party Chair.  “Six Senate Republicans, including current Lt. Governor Scott, voted for the legislation.  Their party’s leader, Republican Governor Douglas, signed the data mining legislation into law.  They can’t say ‘we told you so,’ when it appears they failed to warn leaders of their own party about their concerns.”
 

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