Byron Dorgan: “Senator Stabenow has done a service by pointing out something in the amendment I did not point out. The other change is…”

“Senator Stabenow has done a service by pointing out something in the amendment I did not point out. The other change is that this would be a 1-year pilot program, when approved by the Senate. The certification will still be that this is safe because, clearly, we have identical systems in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, after a 1-year pilot project, there will be a 6-month period in which the Secretary of Health and Human Services will certify if there is a problem, if in fact there is one. I expect there will not be. At that point, this program will continue. At least it creates a specific 1-year pilot project and an evaluation, so there is a fail-safe system if there would be any problem at all. I would not expect a problem--particularly because we have narrowed this--with respect to Canadian drugs.”