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Lawmakers question drug reimportation

October 4, 2000 7:00 AM UTC

Republican and Democratic lawmakers raised concerns Tuesday about proposals to loosen restrictions on imports of prescription drugs. Rep. Thomas Bliley (R-Va.), chairman of the Commerce Committee, suggested that reimportation legislation is being rushed into law without appropriate consideration and Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) released data suggesting that most Americans who import low-cost drugs from Mexico are not senior citizens.

Reflecting the intense focus on drug prices in the presidential and congressional campaigns, the Republican congressional leadership and the White House are scrambling to quickly agree on terms of reimportation legislation. Bliley, who is not running for re-election, warned that his colleagues may be moving too fast. "Relaxing the laws governing the importation and reimportation of prescription drugs into the United States will have far reaching consequences, some potentially dangerous. Unfortunately, a full vetting of this issue has not occurred," he said. Bliley added that he is "very concerned that the Congress is legislating changes to a public health law that may be unwise and may erode the gold-standard that exists for the quality and efficacy of drugs consumed by Americans." ...