[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 69 (Monday, May 17, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H3056-H3057]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 MOMENTUM CONTINUES ON DRUG IMPORTATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, I am not certain I can do this Special 
Order without my charts. It is different for me to be down here without 
charts, but I am going to talk about prescription drugs. And for those 
of us who believe that Americans ought to have access to world-class 
drugs at world-market prices, last week was a very good week.
  In fact, let me just review some of the things that have happened 
just since May 4. On May 4, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy 
Thompson said, ``I think it is coming,'' referring to the legislation 
to legalize the importation of prescription drugs.
  On May 5, the CEO of CVS Pharmacies, one of the largest in America, 
Tom Ryan, said, and I quote, ``Millions of Americans have already opted 
to import drugs because they cannot afford not to. To do otherwise,'' 
referring to the importation legislation, ``would be to ignore the 
millions of Americans who, as we speak, are forced to go outside our 
existing system, which is intended to ensure drug safety, in order

[[Page H3057]]

to preserve their pocketbook.'' That is what Tom Ryan said, who as I 
say, is president and CEO of CVS Pharmacies.
  On May 6, Walgreen's, their CEO, came out and said essentially the 
same thing. Through a written statement, they said, ``If importation is 
legalized, we will actively participate in filling prescriptions for 
patients. It is a way to provide some relief to those we see every day 
in our pharmacies.''
  On May 9, the Chicago Tribune editorialized and said in their 
headline: ``The Drug Import Juggernaut,'' and they highlighted the 
growing momentum for drug importation. They said in that editorial, and 
I quote, ``Simply relying on the American consumers to pick up the 
slack is indefensible.''
  And on May 10, a Minnesota District Court judge granted our State 
Attorney General's request to compel GlaxoSmithKline to produce 
documents related to the company's efforts to cut off Canadian drug 
imports to the U.S. This is a landmark decision, and it is the first 
time a judge has stated, and I quote, ``Not only drug importation is 
illegal.''
  Mr. Speaker, the momentum continues to grow to allow Americans to 
have access to world-class drugs at world-market prices. As I have said 
here many times with my charts, I think we as Americans live in a 
blessed country. We should be willing to pay our fair share for the 
prescription drugs which help save our lives. But it is really 
unfortunate that we are forced to subsidize countries around the world. 
I think we ought to pay our fair share, but we should not be forced to 
subsidize the starving Swiss.
  And there are several other solutions people have proposed; but 
ultimately, I, like Ronald Reagan, believe markets are more powerful 
than armies. The time has come to open up those markets, allow 
Americans to have access to those drugs at world-market prices.

                          ____________________