Debbie Dingell: “we have before us a bad rule on a bad bill. This is a bill which is going to come up simply because somebody wanted a…”

“we have before us a bad rule on a bad bill. This is a bill which is going to come up simply because somebody wanted a vote, and it is also a bill which is going to put our senior citizens and everybody else at risk. Some of my colleagues think that prices are going to be lower. They are not. What in fact is going to happen is that the country is going to be flooded with unsafe pharmaceuticals, counterfeits, over-aged pharmaceuticals, pharmaceuticals that do not preserve and protect the safety of our senior citizens. That is what the House is doing. There were no hearings, there was no opportunity for the committee to consider this legislation; and as a result, we are at risk of passing legislation that is liable to hurt our senior citizens and other Americans. Let me tell my colleagues what the AMA says. These are doctors: "We believe that H.R. 2427 would be so dangerous to patients' safety that we must oppose it. This legislation would eliminate most of the important safety restrictions on reimportation to pharmaceuticals in current law and replace them with a system of unverifiable and unsafe provisions." The American Osteopathic Association says, "H.R. 2427, while increasing the possible number of drugs reimported into the United States, does nothing to ensure the safety and efficiency of these drugs.…”