Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska have introduced new legislation aimed at combating the sale of counterfeit drugs to U.S. consumers. The bill, named the Combatting Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals Act, seeks to address concerns about foreign entities, particularly those in China, producing and distributing fake or substandard medications.
According to Senator Cotton, “Dangerous and ineffective counterfeit drugs from Communist China and other adversarial nations pose an increasing threat to consumers. Our bill will crack down on all counterfeit drugs to ensure Arkansans have access to safe and effective medicine.”
Senator Ricketts added, “Communist China’s drugmakers are quickly manufacturing and selling copy-cat drugs based on our biological advances. By doing so, Communist China is pumping Americans full of unregulated, substandard ingredients. It is time to get these Chinese-made compounds out of our borders. Our efforts will target organizations engaged in illicit opioid trafficking posing fatal consequences here at home.”
The proposed legislation would require U.S. intelligence agencies to identify individuals and organizations involved in the production or trafficking of counterfeit pharmaceuticals or their ingredients. It also instructs the Treasury Department to impose sanctions on those identified as responsible for such activities.
The full text of the bill is available online.
