[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 156 (Tuesday, September 26, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H4468]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    DRUG SHORTAGES ACROSS OUR NATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Bucshon) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BUCSHON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to raise further awareness of 
an issue of great importance to this legislative body and to many of 
our constituents: the problem of drug shortages, specifically cancer 
drug shortages.
  As a physician, I know this has been a problem for decades, and there 
isn't one solution to the problem.
  Let me tell you some personal stories I have heard recently. I heard 
this month from a family in my district with a 5-year-old son battling 
pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
  For 2\1/2\ years now, the family has been facing heartbreaking 
challenges, which have been made significantly worse by shortages of 
generic medications.
  First, their son was supposed to receive cytarabine, also known as 
ARA-C. This is a generic chemotherapy medication the family should have 
been able to inject into the little boy's thigh at home, during a 
particularly fragile stage of their son's treatment.
  Instead, the family was informed that shortages would prevent them 
from obtaining that form of medication, and they would need to deliver 
all chemotherapy through a central port intravenous line.
  Repeated access to the central port line led to an infection and 
ultimately a 3-week hospital stay hundreds of miles from their home in 
Evansville, Indiana.
  On top of that, the family has experienced shortages of 
dexamethasone, a generic corticosteroid that supports the immune system 
and helps the body to endure heavier rounds of chemo and blood thinners 
needed because of his port, and finally, even antibiotics needed when 
his suppressed immune system needed help.
  This wasn't the first story I had heard of the troubling news about 
drug shortages. Earlier this summer an oncologist in my district 
brought to my attention the fact that his practice was short on 
chemotherapy drugs. Subsequently, we found out this was a nationwide 
issue. In fact, they were so short that they were forced to, 
essentially, ration the medication needed by his patients with cancer.
  I was really shocked that in our country we would have to potentially 
ration chemotherapeutic agents due to a shortage. We subsequently found 
out it was due to a manufacturing issue overseas.
  As a physician myself, I cannot imagine being put in a position where 
I might have to choose which of my patients on this day might receive 
lifesaving treatments.

  As the Energy and Commerce Committee--of which I am a member--and 
other committees are considering legislation on drug shortages, let's 
think critically about how to enact meaningful reforms that will 
address the roots of these problems and allow for long-term change to 
mitigate chronic drug shortages.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to remember that real people are 
affected by these shortages every day. Our constituents and all 
Americans are affected by this problem.
  Mr. Speaker, let's pass meaningful legislation to help resolve these 
chronic drug shortages.

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