House Likely To Pass Bill With Provision To Bar FDA Enforcement of Prescription Drug Reimportation Ban
The House this week likely will pass the fiscal 2005 agriculture appropriations bill (HR 4766), despite a provision that would block FDA enforcement of a ban on prescription drug reimportation, CQ Today reports. According to CQ Today, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA and Related Agencies Chair Henry Bonilla (R-Texas), who has opposed the provision, has "shown no signs" that he would attempt to remove the provision from the bill on the floor, House Republican aides said (Jalonick, CQ Today, 7/9). The subcommittee last month approved the provision, under which FDA officials could not spend agency funds on enforcement of the reimportation ban. The House Appropriations Committee last year approved a similar provision that was dropped in conference committee, and many lawmakers predict that similar action could occur this year (California Healthline, 6/24). The $83.7 billion agriculture appropriations bill would fund most operations of FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CQ Today, 7/9).
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