WASHINGTON – Sens. Chuck
Grassley (R-Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) reintroduced the Safe and
Affordable Drugs from Canada Act, which would allow individuals to safely
import prescription drugs from Canada, creating savings for consumers and
bringing greater competition into the pharmaceutical market.
“Addressing
the rising costs of prescription drugs has continued to be one of my top
priorities. Safe and affordable prescription drugs have been for sale just
across the border, but legally out of reach for American families. This
commonsense, bipartisan bill will empower Americans to have more choices at the
pharmacy,” Grassley said. “This is
one critical piece of the puzzle of improving access to affordable medications.
I’ll also continue to fight against high prescription drug prices through
increased competition and expanded access to more affordable generics.”
“Prescription
drugs are unaffordable for far too many Americans,” Klobuchar said. “This bipartisan legislation would allow for the
safe importation of less expensive drugs from Canada, which would in turn
increase competition and bring down drug costs in the United States. The fact
that Americans pay more than people in other countries for the exact same
medications is just wrong. I will continue working to ensure Americans have
more options when picking their medications, which will ultimately save
consumers money.”
Grassley
has been steadfast in his work to address the rising costs of prescription
drugs. Last year, he worked with President Trump to curb drug prices and
praised
the Administration’s finalized rule that establishes a process for some importation
from Canada.
Grassley
and Klobuchar have repeatedly encouraged increased importation of prescription
drugs from Canada and worked to address the ever-increasing costs of
prescription drugs. Together, they have:
·
Urged
former HHS Secretary Tom Price to use statutory authority to fast-track the
importation of prescription drugs from Canada.
This
bipartisan legislation is cosponsored by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Susan
Collins (R-Maine), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Angus King
(I-Maine), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.),
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.).
Companion legislation was introduced by Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Jaime
Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.).