Herb Kohl: “I rise today on the first day of this new Congress to introduce the Citizen Petition Fairness and Accuracy Act of 2007.…”

“I rise today on the first day of this new Congress to introduce the Citizen Petition Fairness and Accuracy Act of 2007. This legislation will help speed the introduction of cost-saving generic drugs by preventing abuses of the Food and Drug Administration citizen petition process. Consumers continue to suffer all across our country from the high-- and ever rising--cost of prescription drugs. A recent independent study found that prescription drug spending has more than quadrupled since 1990, and now accounts for 11 percent of all health care spending. At the same time, the pharmaceutical industry is one of the most profitable industries in the world, returning more than 15 percent on their investments. One key method to bring prescription drug prices down is to promote the introduction of generic alternatives to expensive brand name drugs. Consumers realize substantial savings once generic drugs enter the market. Generic drugs cost on average 63 percent less than their brand- name equivalents. One study estimates that every 1 percent increase in the use of generic drugs could save $4 billion in health care costs. This is why I have been so active in pursuing legislation designed to combat practices which impede the introduction of generic drugs.”