Jim Sensenbrenner: “I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding me this time. I introduced H.R. 4223, the SAFE DOSES Act, to address the…”

“I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding me this time. I introduced H.R. 4223, the SAFE DOSES Act, to address the problem of medical cargo theft across the United States. Medical cargo theft poses significant health risks to patients who have no reason to know that their medicines have been stolen and improperly cared for before being sold back into the legitimate supply chain. Stolen medical cargo can kill or injure those patients that need reliable, safe medicines. {time} 1510 Sophisticated and enterprising criminal organizations are stealing large quantities of medical products and selling them via the wholesale market into legitimate pharmacies and hospitals. They are putting patient safety at risk because improperly cared-for medical products can be ineffective or harmful, and such damaged products are often impossible for health care professionals to identify. High-value pharmaceuticals, including treatments for serious diseases, are frequent targets. Unfortunately, these high-value items are the very type of sensitive products that need the most careful handling and temperature control. Many medical products can become ineffective if stored at the wrong temperature, even for a brief time. Yet, under current law, the theft of lifesaving medical supplies is treated the same as the theft of perfume or stereo equipment.…”