During the 106th Congress I wrote and introduced the International Prescription Drug Parity Act (H.R. 1885), which was the legislative vehicle used to legalize the importation and re-importation of prescription drugs. Vigorously opposed by the U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, the bill allows FDA-approved prescription drugs being sold at lower prices in other nations to be legally imported or re-imported to the USA. Most of the medicine affected by the new law is actually made in this country, and the pharmaceutical companies are among the only types of businesses that benefit from special laws designed to regulate the free trade of the product they sell.

The bill passed the Congress with bi-partisan support in the final hours of the session last December, after weeks of negotiation and compromise. Finally the American people were offered hope for reasonable prescription drug prices comparable to what everyone else in the industrialized world actually pays.

Unfortunately, then-Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala temporarily delayed the implementation of the measure by discouraging its implementation in a letter to President Clinton before the transition. Since that time, HHS has not honored the intent of the Congress, and the Bush Administration has demonstrated no interest in executing the law.

In fact, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson in July sent a letter to U.S. Senator James Jeffords (I-Vt.) indicating that he will not implement the law due to safety concerns.

Some members of Congress, frustrated with inaction on this issue by the Bush Administration, have introduced legislation in the 107th Congress to enact prescription drug importation/re-importation. For instance, U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who co-sponsored H.R. 1885, introduced an amendment to this year’s agriculture appropriations legislation that would restrict the ability of the FDA to use its funds to block the importation of prescription drugs.

Rep. Sanders should be commended for his continued hard work. However, our efforts as members of Congress will have a limited impact in light of Thompson’s current mood. This issue is not unfinished business for Capitol Hill - we have done everything we can possibly do. Prescription drug importation is unfinished business for the Bush Administration, and as a consequence, for the American people.

It is important to remember that the letters sent by Secretaries Shalala and Thompson do not reflect final binding decisions, and the implementation process could still go forward if Thompson changes his mind. While the process that created the final congressional agreement was not perfect, it does give the HHS secretary a lot of latitude to design a regulatory process that will work. I think the safety concerns are valid but not insurmountable.

The simple fact remains that a good law was passed by the Congress in December, and only awaits its deserved implementation by the executive branch of the federal government.

The strong bi-partisan support for the prescription drug importation bill in both houses of Congress makes it clear that the American people want action on this issue. The Bush Administration has the authority to implement the measure, and I urge it to do so.

The good news is that there are other ways to address the prescription drug pricing issue. I will continue to try to relieve the burden imposed by the high cost of medicine, with particular emphasis on adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare and passing a real patients’ bill of rights.

Berry, the only registered pharmacist in the U.S. Congress, is the co-founder and co-chair of the House Prescription Drug Task Force. He also is co-chair of the House Democratic Caucus Health Care Task Force, and co-chair of the Health Care Task Force for the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of conservative to moderate Democratic lawmakers.