Statement of Congressman John D. Dingell, Chairman
Committee on Energy and Commerce

Dingell Statement on the Food and Drug
Administration Act of 2007

September 19, 2007

Rep. John D. Dingell, Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, delivered the following statement on the House floor today in support of H.R. 3580, the Food and Drug Administration Act of 2007:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 3580, the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007. This legislation contains much needed reforms to strengthen the safety of our nation’s drug, device and food supply.

On July 11, 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2900, the Food and Drug Administration Amendments by a bipartisan vote of 403 to 16. The bill was hailed by stakeholders, patient advocates, and others as a strong bill that would improve the lives of Americans by ensuring that drugs and devices are reviewed in a competent and timely fashion.

Earlier this year, the Senate also passed a similar bill. Since July, bipartisan meetings have been held frequently between the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate bills. I am pleased to report that these differences have been resolved.

This bill includes two very important user fee programs that are vital to the timely approval of life-saving drugs and devices. This legislation would significantly improve our postmarket safety programs, thereby preventing many of the drug and device injuries and deaths that occur today. Finally, it would fill an important gap in therapies available to one of our most vulnerable and important patient groups, our children.

Before I conclude, I would like to thank all of the members of the Committee and all of the staff for their hard work on this bill. They have endured many long hours to ensure that this bill would be completed before two user fees programs expire at the end of this month.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation strikes the proper balance between new drug safety measures and ensuring consumers have access to innovative prescription pharmaceuticals in a timely manner. I support this bill and I urge all of my colleagues to do the same.