[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 107 (Friday, September 10, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S9072]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        PHARMACEUTICAL MARKET ACCESS AND DRUG SAFETY ACT OF 2004

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today in support of S. 2328, the 
Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act of 2004, and to 
explain my reasons for becoming a cosponsor of this bipartisan 
legislation, which was introduced by Senators Dorgan and Snowe earlier 
this year. My decision to cosponsor this bill has come after serious 
and careful deliberation. I know that there are many who oppose the 
importation of prescription drugs, and I have carefully considered 
their arguments.
  However, I have come to the conclusion that this bill can be helpful 
to ensuring that Americans have access to the drugs they need, with the 
peace of mind that the medications they are taking--or giving to a 
family member--are safe.
  Mr. President, all of us are aware of the unfortunate news released 
over the last several weeks about the state of health care in our 
country. In many respects, we have the greatest health system in the 
world, but far too many Americans are unable to take advantage of this 
system. According to data released by the Census Bureau in August, 45 
million Americans were without health insurance in 2003--an increase of 
1.4 million over 2002. The primary reason for the continued increase in 
the number of uninsured is that employers are dropping their health 
coverage. That's right Mr. President, most of the newly-uninsured are 
working Americans.
  Employers are not dropping health coverage out of malice they are 
doing so because they can no longer afford to provide this benefit. 
Year after year, health care costs increase by double digit 
percentages. The cost of employer-sponsored coverage increased by 14 
percent in 2003. And year after year, the increase in the cost of 
prescription drugs stands out as a driver of the overall cost increase. 
Over the last three years, drug costs have increased by over 50 
percent.
  Mr. President, I do not subscribe to or participate in the attacks on 
our prescription drug industry. The American drug industry is an 
extraordinary success story. As a result of the innovations that this 
industry has spawned, millions of lives have been improved and saved in 
our country and around the globe. Because of the importance of these 
medicines to our health and well-being, I have consistently supported 
sound public policies to help the industry to succeed.
  These policies include authoring a successful statute to ensure that 
drug manufacturers receive appropriate incentives for ensuring that 
their products are safe and effective for children. I have also co-
authored legislation to make sure that new drugs can more swiftly move 
through the approval pipeline and move quickly into the hands of the 
patients who need them. I have worked to create a fair balance between 
the need to protect drug patents for their full patent life, and the 
need to ensure that generic pharmaceuticals are able to come to market 
when that patent life has expired. I have always encouraged 
pharmaceutical research and development. I have also supported trade 
agreements to help open international markets for American 
pharmaceuticals. The American pharmaceutical industry is the best in 
the world, and it has succeeded, and will continue to succeed, in a 
competitive global environment.
  Prescription drugs are an absolutely integral part of our health care 
system. I am proud that many of these medicines are made in my home 
state of Connecticut. But Mr. President, I am saddened that such a 
basic and necessary part of modern health care is becoming unaffordable 
for the average American--including many thousands of men, women, and 
children in Connecticut. Americans should not be put in the position of 
choosing whether to purchase groceries or medicine. And yet I have 
talked to far too many of my constituents who are faced with that 
choice every day.
  We have an obligation to seek opportunities to lower drug costs. I 
was disappointed that such an opportunity was missed during our 
consideration of the Medicare Modernization Act. That law now prohibits 
the Federal government from using its purchasing power to bargain for 
lower drug prices. Such a measure is inconsistent with the economic 
principle of competition that is fundamental to our economy.
  We are now faced with another opportunity to control prescription 
drug costs by allowing the importation of FDA-approved prescription 
drugs from Canada and other industrialized nations. I have long taken 
the position that drug importation should only be allowed if we can 
ensure that it is safe. I do not want affordable medicines to come at 
the cost of quality and safety for American consumers. I have looked at 
every importation proposal with these priorities in mind.
  Mr. President, Senate bill 2328, while not perfect, is a sensible 
approach to the issue of drug importation. I believe that it addresses 
the safety concerns that have been raised in the past, and in my 
discussions with opponents of this bill, I have yet to hear an argument 
that makes me believe that the medicines imported under this bill would 
be unsafe. In fact, I believe that it has the potential to be 
significantly safer for American consumers than the status quo. 
Currently, an American can easily go on the Internet and order drugs 
from another country. But there is no guarantee that these drugs are 
safe, and no way to prevent these drugs from entering the country. We 
are being flooded with counterfeit and compromised medicines, and 
people are being hurt.
  Under the Dorgan-Snowe bill, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
would be given the authority and resources necessary to make drug 
importation a safe proposition. Importers would be required to register 
with the FDA, so Americans can know where it is safe to purchase 
imported medicines.
  Mr. President, with the issue of safety addressed, this really 
becomes an issue about what is best and what is fair for American 
consumers. At the moment, Americans pay significantly more for 
prescription drugs than those in other industrialized nations. Based on 
that fact, it is my belief that we should work toward a more open 
global market for prescription drugs, just as we do for countless other 
products that we trade internationally.
  As I mentioned earlier, I am confident that the American drug 
industry can compete with that of any other nation. I am committed to 
ensuring that this continues to be true. We should, in my view, take 
steps to bring about fairer trade, freer trade, and safer trade for 
prescription medicines. This legislation represents one such step.
  I intend to continue to talk to all interested parties about this 
bill. If safety concerns should arise in the future that have not been 
previously considered, I will do everything in my power to address them 
with the sponsors of this legislation. But it is past time for us to do 
something about the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs, and I 
support this bill as a step in the right direction.

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