[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 103 (Thursday, July 22, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1516]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 EXPAND ACCESS TO MEDICINE FROM ABROAD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 22, 2004

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, although the pharmaceutical industry and the 
supporters of the Republican prescription drug plan may disagree, 
Americans have a right to affordable medicine! That is why so many 
continue to ask Congress to take action, such as allowing the 
importation of safe prescription drugs from abroad.
  The residents of Calexico, El Centro, San Ysidro, Chula Vista and 
other border communities join in that call, but in the meantime many 
are already going to Mexico to buy up to a 90-day supply of 
prescription drugs for personal use.
  They purchase medicines in Mexico because the pharmaceutical 
companies continue to gouge them at home.
  Yet the Senate's Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act, 
which takes the important step of permitting importation from Canada 
and Europe, would reduce the 90-day cap on personal use medicine from 
Mexico to a 14-day supply.
  It is inconsistent to increase access to Canadian and European 
prescription drugs while decreasing access to safe medicine from 
Mexico. It is unfair to low-income seniors who rely on these life-
enhancing--and often life-saving--medications.
  The supporters of the bill may have reservations about the safety of 
medicine from Mexico. This is a valid issue to raise. Yet the FDA has 
not provided convincing evidence that the importation of inexpensive 
drugs from Mexico has resulted in health problems. If the authors of 
the bill were convinced that medicines from Mexico were in fact 
dangerous, why would they allow even a 14-day supply?
  The fact is seniors in my district have found these medicines to be a 
safe, affordable and accessible alternative to their local pharmacies. 
That is why I call on my colleagues in the Senate to oppose this 
legislation as it is currently written and ensure that communities on 
the U.S-Mexico border have access to affordable drugs.
  The availability of inexpensive medicine is such an important issue 
at the border because many senior citizens and other residents of these 
communities have low-incomes and no insurance.
  The U.S.-Mexico Border Commission reports that if the border region 
were the Nation's 51st state, it would rank: Last in the percentage of 
insured residents, last in per capita income, last in access to care, 
first in unemployed; and first in the number of school children living 
in poverty.
  We must move forward in boosting the health of our border communities 
and increasing the availability of safe and inexpensive medicines, 
rather than moving backward and placing new restricts on access to 
prescription drugs from Mexico.

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