[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 19224]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     NEED TO VOTE ON REIMPORTATION

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, we have just two short weeks before the 
Senate is scheduled to adjourn. Regrettably, this Congress seems on 
track to be remembered for all the different challenges it failed to 
confront.
  Forty-five million Americans lack health insurance, and this Congress 
has done nothing to lower the cost of health care. Medicare premiums 
are set to rise 17 percent next year, and yet this Congress has done 
nothing to keep these increases from eating into seniors' Social 
Security benefits. Eight million Americans are out of work, and we have 
let a jobs bill that would stop the flow of American jobs overseas 
languish on the shelf.
  America deserves better.
  Today I want to talk specifically about an issue that has strong 
bipartisan support, is vitally important to millions of Americans, and 
one that we felt the majority leader was committed to considering. I am 
talking, of course, about the price of prescription drugs.
  Each year, the cost of prescription drugs outpaces inflation and 
moves further out of reach for far too many Americans. This is 
particularly tough on seniors, many of whom are living on fixed 
incomes. The AARP revealed last week that during the first quarter of 
2004, drug prices rose more than three-and-a-half times the rate of 
inflation, and there is no end in sight.
  The typical senior will pay $191 more for their drugs this year than 
they did in 2003. This has sent a lot of seniors looking for solutions, 
and many are looking to Canada.
  Recently, a man in the town of Mitchell, SD contacted my office with 
a question: Was the prescription drug card he was considering better 
than the savings he was getting in Canada? The answer is that it 
wasn't. He and his wife were saving 50 percent when they got their 
drugs from Canada, much more of a benefit than they would get from the 
drug card.
  His doctor told him what he was doing was safe; his wife's quilting 
group was very excited about the savings they could get. There was only 
one problem: they were afraid what they were doing was illegal. 
Technically, what they wanted to do--purchase in Canada the same, safe, 
doctor-prescribed and FDA approved drugs that they would get in 
America--is illegal. And the only reason that it is illegal is because 
there are those who would put the profits of drug companies over the 
needs of America's seniors. That needs to change.
  The drug companies and their friends in Congress have tried to stop 
straightforward reforms by making the issue of health care appear 
complicated or even dangerous. The White House tells us that 
reimportation wouldn't be safe. But just the other day, an executive 
from Pfizer said it was ``outright derogatory'' to suggest that 
reimportation wasn't safe. These are the same drugs, manufactured to 
the same safety standards.
  What is not safe is when seniors skip doses or split pills because 
they can't afford their full prescription. That is the real safety 
issue.
  There is not mystery to bringing down drug costs. You don't need a 
PhD in economics. You just need common sense. If two stores offer the 
exact same product, you save money if you buy it from the store that is 
selling it for less.
  It works the same for medicine. Drug companies charge American 
consumers the highest prices in the world. Some medicines cost American 
patients five times more than they cost patients in other countries.
  By giving Americans the freedom to find the best price, we can lower 
the cost of prescription drugs for all Americans. This isn't a 
Republican solution or a Democratic solution. It is a common-sense 
solution.
  What doesn't make sense is why we haven't done this already. In 
March, the Republican leader said that we would begin a process of 
``developing proposals to allow for the safe re-importation of FDA-
approved prescription drugs.'' But, the Republican leader was quoted as 
saying it was doubtful that we would have the opportunity to vote on 
prescription drug reimportation legislation.
  A number of us have sent a letter asking the Republican Leader to 
reconsider his position and allow us to vote on our legislation 
legalizing reimportation before the Senate adjourns.
  This problem isn't going to go away if we ignore it. It has gotten 
worse for the past decade, and it will keep getting worse until we act. 
Tomorrow, hundreds of seniors will gather outside the Capitol to make 
their voices heard on this issue. Those voices must also be heard 
inside the Capitol as well.
  It is time we make the statement that the pocketbooks of Americans 
are more important than the profits of big drug companies. It is time 
the Senate got a chance to provide seniors real, meaningful relief from 
high drug costs.
  I yield the floor.

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