[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 58 (Wednesday, May 2, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E704]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     PRICE CONTROL PROGRAMS GOVERNING MEDICINE IN MEXICO AND CANADA

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                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 2, 2001

  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, today I have introduced a bill that calls 
for the United States Trade Representative to investigate whether any 
price control program governing medication in Mexico or Canada 
violates, or is inconsistent with, any trade agreement, denies benefits 
to the United States, or discriminates against or restricts United 
States commerce.
  As I travel around the Second Congressional District of Tennessee, 
one concern I hear about over and over again is the high cost of 
medications. Many seniors, in particular, often face a choice between 
things like medicine, food and heat. However, this problem is not 
isolated only to the elderly. All Americans face these steep prices. 
For example, single mothers and poor working families also have to buy 
medications. As a father, I cannot imagine anything worse than not 
being able to afford medicine for a sick child.
  As has been discussed many times, there are a lot of complex reasons 
that prices are so high, and it goes far beyond greedy manufacturers as 
some have suggested. Some new drugs can cost more than a billion 
dollars to bring to market. In exchange, these drugs have a profound 
impact on the health of Americans and hundreds of millions of people 
worldwide. Fundamentally, we need to find ways to reduce these 
development costs, as it is these costs that are passed on to 
consumers.
  Another great inequity in the pricing of these medications is that 
many countries, such as Canada and Mexico, have outrageous cost control 
laws. While these reduced costs may be sufficient to pay the price to 
physically produce a pill or medicine, they rarely take into account 
the phenomenal expenses that went into the development of the drug. 
These development costs are then shifted elsewhere to other consumers 
who end up paying outrageously high prices for the same medications. If 
manufacturers and researchers were ever completely stripped of the 
ability to recover these costs, the flow of new drugs would slow 
dramatically, if not end completely.
  Nevertheless, it is wrong that Americans are so often asked to pay 
the price for drugs that benefit all mankind. It is particularly 
frustrating to consumers when they see our neighbors to the North and 
South paying much lower prices for exactly the same drug.
  I believe that this situation needs to be examined and addressed and 
this bill helps begin the necessary steps. The United States can no 
longer afford to be burdened with research and development costs of 
drugs that are going into other countries.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill and improve heathcare for 
all American consumers.

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