[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15251]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           DRUG REIMPORTATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, while Congress is working to provide 
affordable pharmaceuticals to American citizens through reimportation 
legislation, the Bush administration is working to undermine those 
efforts. We will soon vote on the United States-Australia Free Trade 
Agreement.
  Article 17.9.4 of the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement would allow 
pharmaceutical companies to prevent imports of drugs to the United 
States. That means the Australian Free Trade Agreement is directly 
inconsistent with provisions in the bipartisan drug reimportation bill 
sponsored by Senators Dorgan, McCain, Snowe, Lott and Daschle. Under 
its comprehensive pharmaceutical benefits scheme, the Australian 
government negotiates today lower prices for its citizens through mass 
procurement. In other words, they use volume purchasing.
  The U.S. pharmaceutical industry has made sure that our government 
cannot use mass procurement to bring down drug prices for U.S. 
citizens, and that is not good enough.

                              {time}  1900

  Now they want to go a step further.
  The U.S. Trade Representative's office, the President's person at the 
trade table, has included language in the Australian Trade Agreement 
that will forbid importation of cheap, affordable and safe Australian 
pharmaceuticals into our country. The clear winners as always in this 
Congress, as always in the White House, the clear winners are the large 
pharmaceutical companies; and the big losers, again, as far as 
prescription drugs and the Republican leadership, the big losers are 
American consumers, particularly millions of American retirees who lack 
drug coverage.
  The Bush administration and its pharmaceutical allies argue the only 
way to ensure lower drug prices for Americans is by raising drug prices 
on every other nation, ostensibly because these nations are not helping 
to pay for research and development. That argument is not just 
specious; it is absurd.
  Foreign drug prices already are high enough to cover research and 
development costs and still return a healthy profit to the drug 
industry. If you do not believe me, look at Pfizer's balance sheet, 
look at Pharmacea's balance sheets, look at Merck's balance, look at 
Schering's balance sheet.
  Glaxo is headquartered in England. Aventis is headquartered in 
France. Bayer is headquartered in Germany. Would these companies set up 
shop in a country where they cannot do business and make a profit? What 
if other companies do increase their drug prices? Do we really think 
the drug industry is going to turn around and reduce their prices just 
because they can get higher prices in Europe? Not on your life.
  Drug companies charge U.S. companies outrageous drug prices for one 
reason and one reason only, because they can. The Australian Trade 
Agreement simply helps them get away with it in that country too. Drug 
industry profits to $59 billion. Last year the drug industry has been 
virtually the only industry in America left unscathed by the Bush 
recession. Year after year after year they earn higher profits than any 
other industry in America for 20 straight years. Meanwhile, drug 
spending is fueling double-digit increases in health insurance 
premiums, drug spending is draining tax dollars out of the Federal 
Treasury hand over fist, drug spending is undermining the financial 
security of millions of seniors who have to choose between a full 
prescription drug dosage and their food or their utility bills.
  Meanwhile, other countries are fighting back all over the world, but 
our government is not. Instead, at the behest of the drug industry, the 
Bush administration is trying to undermine price negotiations in 
Australia and block lower price prescriptions from even reaching our 
country.
  Catering to a major campaign contributor like the drug industry is 
nothing new to this administration, but is it not getting a little 
ridiculous. If trade agreements are about creating open markets for 
cheaper goods and better market access, why are we trying to do 
something the opposite of that? Why are we trying to raise the price of 
prescription drugs across the world? The answer is easy: the 
pharmaceutical industry wants to make more money and the Bush 
administration and Republican leadership want their campaign help.
  Enough is enough. A vote for the Australia Free Trade Agreement is a 
vote against U.S. consumers. It is as simple as that.

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