Byron Dorgan: “the large bipartisan group of Senators that has worked to put this bill together and endorsed the bill through…”

“the large bipartisan group of Senators that has worked to put this bill together and endorsed the bill through cosponsorship has done so believing, first of all, that there is no safety issue. These are FDA-approved drugs that would be allowed to be imported, No. 1. And, No. 2, very substantial savings would exist. The Congressional Budget Office has said that it would be $50 billion over 10 years, $5 billion a year. There would be additional savings to the Federal Government itself. At a time when we are up to our necks in debt, it is very important to do the right thing not only on behalf of the American consumers but also on behalf of our Government's fiscal policy. The right thing is allowing this to be an opportunity to access the identical FDA-approved drugs at the much lower price that they are being sold in virtually every other country of the world. I yield the floor.”