Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, the Australia Free Trade Agreement is for the most part a good agreement with a strong U.S. ally. But because it is becoming increasingly clear that the reimportation of prescription drugs from other countries is on the horizon, so much so that even the Secretary of Health and Human Services has said that it is coming, this administration, in cooperation with this majority, has included a provision into a bill designed to stave off the inevitable, this time interfering with the reimportation of a patented product into the United States in a trade agreement and setting a bad precedent for other agreements with western developed countries. American seniors, fed up with discount cards that do nothing to reduce their drug costs, should not be fooled by this. The Republican leadership has failed to win the reimportation debate on every level. The American people disagree with them. Their own members disagree with them. Absent Republican support, this body would not have voted to legalize the practice last year with 243 bipartisan Members. Putting any reimportation legislation passed by this Congress in violation of free trade is their goal in this agreement.”