Thompson To Decide on Reimportation Safety ‘Soon’
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said on June 29 he will decide "soon, in the next 10 days," whether to let the agency implement legislation passed last year that allows the reimportation of FDA-approved prescription drugs from overseas, CongressDaily/AM reports. The measure was passed last year as part of the FY01 Agriculture appropriations bill, but former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala "determin[ed]" that drugs could not be reimported safely and declined to implement the provision. Before going public with his decision, Thompson said he would notify Sen. James Jeffords (I-Vt.), who authored the provision. Thompson's announcement comes as the House plans to resume debate on July 11 on the FY02 Agriculture spending bill. Reps. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) and Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.) have each sponsored proposals --HR 698 and HR 1387, respectively -- that will be debated as amendments to the agriculture bill (CongressDaily/AM, 7/3).
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