Thanking senators who spoke out for importation
posted Wed, 9 May 2012We recently told you about the amendment that Senator John McCain (R-AZ) introduced to allow prescription drug importation from Canadian online pharmacies during a reauthorization of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act.
Unfortunately, the amendment, co-sponsored by Senator Al Franken (D-MN), didn't make it past the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions' executive session. It was defeated by a 12-9 vote.
In any case, we commend Senators McCain and Franken for offering this important amendment and the other senators who supported it: Bingaman (D-NM), Sanders (I-VT), Merkley (D-OR), Whitehouse (D-RI), Blumenthal (D-CT), Paul (R-KY), and Murkowski (R-AK). It's nice to see that some politicians can get beyond their partisan differences when it comes to critical issues such as affordable medicine! In particular, Senators Bingaman and Sanders spoke out to say that they would support legislation that legalized prescription drug importation from additional countries (besides Canada).
RxRights sent letters of thanks to Senators McCain and Franken. We also called upon the constituents of all nine senators who voted on behalf of the amendment to send letters of thanks. Thank you to those of you who participated in this effort. Just as it's important to speak out in opposition to injustice, It's important to give kudos to politicians for doing the right thing.