Political Quotes

“I rise to oppose the Dorgan amendment on importation of foreign drugs. It is essential that my colleagues understand the gravity of what we are about to vote on today. My colleagues yesterday passed the Cochran second degree amendment by voice vote, ensuring that none of the provisions in the Dorgan amendment would become effective unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services certifies to Congress that the implementation of the Dorgan amendment would (1) pose no additional risk to public health and safety, and (2) result in a significant cost savings for Americans. While this safety and cost savings certification threshold determines whether the Dorgan importation language would ever become effective in the first place, I believe that in this era of increasing bioterrorist threats, now more than ever, we should not pass new drug importation legislation at all. Allowing the importation of drugs from Canada by pharmacists and wholesalers would simply encourage further proliferation of schemes to use Canada as a transshipment point for sending unapproved, expired, counterfeit or otherwise dangerous drugs to American consumers.”