Democrats unveil FDA, CMS bills

Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Democratic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, announced that Democrats intend to introduce several bills that would give the secretary of HHS authority to negotiate Medicare drug prices with manufacturers, allow drug importation from Canada and other industrialized countries, and restructure the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA). The legislation also seeks to increase NIH's fiscal year 2006 budget to $40.1 billion, which is $1.5 billion more than President Bush's request. ...