In his 1st address to Congress, President Donald Trump called for speeding up drug approvals within the FDA. Earlier that day, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) proposed a bill to allow the importation of prescription drugs from Canada in the hopes of lowering drug prices.
The new administration has been critical of drug prices, with Trump saying that pharmaceutical companies are “getting away with murder” in reference to what they charge government-funded programs for their drugs. Politicians, including Sanders and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), appear to be looking for ways to work with the new president on this issue.
“We’re attacking this problem by focusing on ideas that even President Trump says he supports,” Cummings said. He is the sponsor of the companion bill in the House. “The president’s support for these ideas have been so clear that I’m tempted to introduce a bill in the House named ‘The Donald Trump Drug Affordability Act.’ I’m sure he would like that.”