Gilbert Gutknecht

Absolutely. The time is now. You mentioned in coming from Michigan, General Motors has been a fabulous employer. Not only in the State of Michigan but for suppliers all over the world. The interesting thing is General Motors, I met with a…

That is the point. If we are going to have a prescription drug benefit for seniors, which I think virtually everyone agrees we should, we ought to first of all deal with the issue of affordability. Because just shifting the responsibility…

I must admit I am using it as an example because it is probably the most egregious example, with the possible exception of Tamoxifen, which the taxpayers paid for.

Absolutely. Let me just talk about this Glucophage. This package of Glucophage in the United States sells for over $100. We bought it in Munich, Germany for $5. $5.

Longer than I want to remember. Actually I got started with this about 5 years ago. I always tell people that I have moved from fan to fanatic. Winston Churchill said a fanatic is one that cannot change his mind and will not change the…

Here is the interesting thing. They do not have price controls in Germany. What they do in Germany is what we ought to do here, and that is they allow the pharmacists to shop for the best price.

Warfarin, Coumadin, developed at the University of Wisconsin. The price here in the United States, about $84 for this package. The price in Canada, only $25. But here is the real kicker. Over in Europe they buy this same drug, as a matter…

It was paid for by the taxpayers. Originally, as it was developed, the drug was called Warfarin. They are basically identical drugs, but Warfarin is used as a rat poison. It is a blood thinner. What they do is they give it to rats, rats…

Wrong again. Let me give you an example. This is a drug that my 85-year-old father takes. It is called Coumadin. Coumadin is a wonderful drug. It actually was developed at the University of Wisconsin.

We are the world's best customers by any measure, and some people have challenged some of the sources, but nobody challenges the numbers. The numbers speak for themselves. Even now the pharmaceutical industry acknowledges that the world's…

And there are published reports that the president of SmithKline Beecham 2 years ago earned over $200 million.

Well, the FDA is also responsible for all of the fruits and vegetables coming into the country. The issue they raise is safety, yet we import 318,000 tons of plantains that come into our borders, through our borders every year, and we do…

One-sixth. That will not stand. That is defending the indefensible, and sooner or later, it may not happen this year, may not happen next year, but sooner or later this wall will collapse just like the walls of Jericho. I want to thank the…

The gentleman quoted one of my favorite Presidents. Let me quote another one. Ronald Reagan said, ``Markets are more powerful than armies.'' This idea that American consumers should be charged $360 for these pills when we can buy them in…

If I could have one additional minute, I do want to mention to all my colleagues, we have been working for a year trying to come up with a bill that would make sense. We think we have it. It is called the Pharmaceutical Affordability Act…

I think that about says it all. As a matter of fact, let me just close with this. The Congress has spoken. When we voted on this matter in the House the last time, 323 of our colleagues voted with us on this.

I think the people who developed this drug, Glucophage, are entitled to be rewarded for it. I believe in that. I believe in intellectual property rights. But I also say why is it we pay so much when the Germans can buy it so cheaply?

On this particular package, the price here in the United States is $29.95. This is a smaller package. We bought this in Germany for $5.

But that is the slender reed upon which our own FDA has constructed this wall around the United States; and that is the reason, my colleagues, that American consumers pay $360 and Germans pay $60.

So the idea that somehow it is easier for somebody to contaminate a drug going via UPS in a sealed package with a bar coded technology using counterfeit-proof packaging, that it is easier somehow to adulterate that drug than it would be to…

The interesting thing is the FDA does not keep those records. They are only concerned about drugs being safe and effective. But Dr. Steve Schondelmeier, one of the top pharmacologists in the world, certainly in America, he has a great…

Twenty-nine percent. I do not know if the gentleman has ever experienced this, but I met this morning with community pharmacists, and I asked them this question: How many of you have had the example where a senior citizen comes in to buy a…

Six times the amount. And here is the real tragedy. There are American women who need this drug and they cannot afford it.

Mr. Chairman, there is a term ``illegal diversion'' used twice in section 307. I just want to make clear that the authors have the intent to keep us from reimporting drugs that are being donated for AIDS in central Africa; that this will…

What is being done by some of the big pharmaceutical companies is nothing short of shameful. I also say shame on us. I said the other day that Teddy Roosevelt must be rolling in his grave, the Republican President who believed in breaking…