May 4, 2007
Sioux City Journal
U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, this week began a new push in his quest to allow Americans to import prescription drugs from other countries.
For years, Grassley has noted that drugs cost considerably less in nations such as Canada, and he’s voted for every amendment before the Senate that would allow prescription drugs to be imported.
Grassley has joined two other senators in proposing an amendment that would make it legal for Americans to buy prescription drugs from outside the U.S. In sponsorship with Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, the amendment was filed to the Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act that is under consideration.
On Wednesday, Grassley gave a floor statement on drug importation.
“Making it legal for Americans to import their prescription drugs is a top priority at the grassroots. It needs to be a top priority here in Washington,” Grassley said.
Grassley said U.S. consumers pay 60 to 112 percent more for brand-name prescription drugs than do people in many other nations.
Importation should happen, Grassley said, so long as there are measures ensuring safety of the medicine coming in. Drug importation, Grassley said, “is a free-trade issue. Imports create competition and keep domestic industry more responsive to consumers. In the United States, we import everything consumers want, so why not pharmaceuticals?”
With the competition, Grassley continued, “prescription drug companies will be forced to be competitive and establish fair prices here in America.” He added that the Dorgan amendment “would prohibit drug companies from engaging in any actions to restrict, prohibit or delay the importation of a qualifying drug.”
Grassley said he was disappointed that when his fellow Republicans held the Senate in recent years, the issue didn’t advance. With a change of control to Democrats, the senator said, “this is the golden opportunity this year to get it done, and I would hope that the Democratic leadership will be doing everything they can to get it done.”
Grassley said he knows there will be attempts to beat back the amendment, saying U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., is offering a “cleaver amendment” that is nothing more than a “poison pill” in the guise of health and safety.
In summer 2004, Iowa’s other senator, Tom Harkin, a Democrat, also went on record as supporting drug reimportation. Harkin still supports that move, saying Wednesday he’ll back the Dorgan/Snowe/Grassley reimportation amendment.
“Americans should have access to low prescription drug prices. I recently voted in favour of allowing Medicare to negotiate direct with the pharmaceutical industry to get the lowest price possible for America’s seniors. Reimportation would be another way to further lower the prices of drugs for Americans, “ Harkin said.
Source: Sioux City Journal, Brent Hayworth