House passes FY 2008 Agriculture Appropriations Bill with provision to allow Prescription Drug Reimportation from Canada, other nations

Aug 03, 2007--The House on Thursday voted 237-18 to pass a $91 billion fiscal year 2008 Agriculture appropriations bill (HR 3161) with a provision that effectively would allow U.S. residents to purchase lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada and other nations, AP/USA Today reports (AP/USA Today, 8/3). Under the provision, FDA could not use federal funds to enforce a ban on prescription drug reimportation.

Earlier on Thursday, the House voted 283-146 to reject an amendment proposed by Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) to remove the provision from the legislation.

Kingston, who supports prescription drug reimportation, said that he proposed the amendment to establish a record of majority House support for the provision, according to CQ Today.

Critics of the provision raised concerns about the safety of prescription drug reimportation. "What we are doing is throwing open the gates to every counterfeiter in the world," Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said.

In an argument against passage of the amendment, Kingston said, "If we want to make this safe, we can make this safe," adding, "This is a country that just invented the iPhone. We can figure out how to make this safe" (Richert, CQ Today, 8/2). Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.) said, "I would prefer to stand up for my constituents in Missouri as opposed to the pharmaceutical companies keeping competition and low prices out of this country."

The Bush administration "strongly opposes" the provision, but a policy statement released by the administration did not include an explicit veto threat (AP/USA Today, 8/3). According to CQ Today, the appropriations bill passed, although more than half of Republicans left the House and refused to vote on the legislation, "saying the Democratic leadership handled the bill poorly."

Other Provisions
The appropriations bill includes $18.8 billion in discretionary spending -- $993 million more than President Bush requested -- with $17 billion for USDA. The legislation would provide increased funds for food stamps and conservation. In addition, the bill would increase funds for food safety by $38 billion at USDA and $28 million at FDA (CQ Today, 8/2). The legislation also would provide $233 million for the Women, Infants and Children program, 4% more than Bush requested (AP/USA Today, 8/3).

The bill also includes a provision under which FDA could not use federal funds to close Office of Regulatory Affairs laboratories. In May, FDA announced a plan to close seven of the 13 labs, although FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach on Wednesday said that the agency has suspended the proposal to allow time to study the effects (Fox, Denver Post, 8/2).