Joe Pitts: “The bill before us today is important and necessary legislation to strengthen the prescription drug supply chain and to…”

“The bill before us today is important and necessary legislation to strengthen the prescription drug supply chain and to provide greater safety for our Nation's patients. Safeguarding our prescription drug supply chain is important to protect against counterfeit drugs. It is necessary to help prevent increases in drug prices while also ensuring adequate supplies of much- needed prescription drugs. Equally important, H.R. 1919 includes reforms that will eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of duplicative government red tape on American drug manufacturers, wholesale distributors, and pharmacies. Sadly, counterfeit prescription drugs have proven to be a lucrative business, with many of these illegal counterfeit drugs finding their way to some of our sickest patients, including those with cancer. Additionally, some States have taken draconian actions to safeguard their prescription drug supply chain, but many of these steps will force small and large businesses to implement costly and indefensible electronic systems for tracking such drugs at the unit level. After hearings in the Health Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which I chair, we heard that a more feasible and practical solution to this serious problem is attainable, and those provisions are included in H.R. 1919. Mr.…”