A bipartisan group of senators is pleading with the Trump administration to use its existing authority to quickly lower high drug prices.
The three senators sent a letter to Trump’s budget director Mick Mulvaney amid reports that the administration is looking at executive orders or regulations to clamp down on high prices. Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and John McCain, R-Ariz., wrote the letter released Monday.
The senators laid out several actions the administration can take without Congress. These include giving the Food and Drug Administration the authority to import cheaper medications from abroad, and allowing imports of drugs from Canada when needed to combat sudden price hikes or the lack of competition.
“We urge you to seriously consider this existing statutory authority as well as explore other options for executive action,” the letter said.
The letter comes at a time when there is little movement on the legislative front to combat high drug prices.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., last week tried to add an amendment to a bill to reauthorize the FDA’s user fee program. The amendment, which was voted down by a Senate panel last week, would have enabled Americans to buy cheaper drugs from Canada.
Another amendment that was included in the bill, which now heads to the Senate floor, would aim to spur development of more generic drugs to generate more competition.
