ANOTHER Conflict of Interest for Frist

The plan by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) to push through billions of dollars in new spending to prevent a possible avian influenza pandemic could result in a multibillion-dollar windfall for a handful of the nation's largest and most politically well-connected drug companies.

While there is wide agreement that the threat of avian flu is a serious medical concern that also has implications on the domestic and international economy, Congressional interest in the subject has been a boon for Washington, D.C., lobbyists and even for the financial portfolio of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

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