Senate blocks bid to allow drug imports | By ANDREW BRIDGES, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 7 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - In a triumph for the pharmaceutical industry, the Senate on Monday killed a drive to allow consumers to buy prescription drugs from abroad at a significant savings over domestic prices.
On a 49-40 vote, the Senate required the administration to certify the safety and effectiveness of imported drugs before they can be imported, a requirement that officials have said they cannot meet.
"Well, once again the big drug companies have proved that they are the most powerful and best financed lobby in Washington," said Sen. David Vitter (news, bio, voting record), a Louisiana Republican.
The vote neutralized a second amendment, later passed on a voice vote, that would legalize the importation of prescription drugs manufactured in Canada, Australia, Europe, Japan and New Zealand.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called the certification amendment, introduced by Sen. Thad Cochran (news, bio, voting record), R-Miss., a "poison pill" for the drug-imports legislation. Sen. Byron Dorgan (news, bio, voting record), D-N.D., acknowledged it nullified his bid to allow the purchase of drugs abroad. ...
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