[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19401]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           IMPORTATION OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS BAD FOR AMERICA

  (Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, today the House will be considering 
legislation that would allow for the importation of prescription drugs 
from foreign lands, H.R. 2427. The supporters of this bill will tell us 
that this legislation will give millions of Americans access to safe, 
cheap drugs from foreign countries. I believe them to be wrong. 
Instead, this bill will only serve to undercut important safety 
protections and place foreign price controls on American businesses.
  We are all concerned about the cost of prescription drugs, but this 
bill is not the way to go about holding down prices.
  This bill is not about free trade. In other industries, we do not 
permit the imposition of foreign price controls on American businesses, 
and we should not in this case, either.
  This bill is not about safe drugs. In Operation Safeguard, the U.S. 
Customs agency determined that 80 to 90 percent of pharmaceuticals that 
enter the United States via mail violate FDA and DEA requirements.
  We all want cheaper drugs, but not at any cost. But that is the 
question the supporters of this bill put to this body: At what price we 
are willing to make sure cheap drugs are available to our constituents? 
I do not think that price should be their safety.
  Let us work on constructive solutions to bring down the cost of 
health care in this country, not promote ideas that will do more harm 
than good.

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