Washington, DC – U.S. Senators David Vitter, Ken Salazar, Jim DeMint and John Thune and U.S. Representatives Gil Gutknecht, Rahm Emanuel, Anne Northup, Sherrod Brown and Rosa DeLauro today unveiled their companion Pharmaceutical Market Access Act of 2005 bills during a press conference on Capitol Hill.

The legislation allows American consumers, pharmacists and wholesalers access to Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved prescription drugs from FDA-approved facilities in 25 industrialized countries. The bill strengthens current law by requiring additional safety provisions, including mandatory counterfeit-proof packaging and chain of custody documentation. The House passed similar legislation during the 108th Congress.

“For too long, American consumers have been held captive in a market that forces them to pay significantly more for the same prescription drugs as our friends in Canada and Europe,” Gutknecht said. “Opening pharmaceutical markets is an idea whose time has come. By opening markets, American consumers will save billions of dollars. I’m pleased to join members of the both the House and Senate to push for a vote on these important measures.”

“I am proud to be part of this bipartisan group introducing strong, effective importation legislation in the House and Senate,” Emanuel said. “If we could fit them all in the room, we’d have the 200 million Americans who support importation standing here today with us. No matter what the means, we all have one end in mind – to legalize prescription drug importation, open our captive prescription drug market, and help make lifesaving prescription drugs available to Americans at prices they can afford.”

“I’m pleased to see the momentum building once again in the House and more than ever in the Senate toward implementing a solid importation bill,” Northup said. “The same system which allows drug manufacturers to safely import prescription drugs from around the world should be made available to all Americans. For the Americans who depend on these life-saving drugs, this legislation cannot come soon enough.”

DeLauro said, “Seniors in Connecticut and all over the country are increasingly turning to countries like Canada where they can get their drugs at half or even a third of the cost. They have been waiting a long time for meaningful action from Congress on this issue so that imports of FDA-approved prescription drugs from Canada and other developed countries can safely come into this country.”

“There’s been eighteen months of discussion on this issue. Every additional day takes money out of consumers’ pockets. This bill is an opportunity to get the job done. There is no excuse for further delay,” Brown concluded.