To help seniors and other Americans who rely on prescription drugs, Congress recently passed a bill that will make it easier for individuals and wholesalers to import drugs from other countries where they are often sold at cheaper prices.

Seniors should not have to choose between medicine and food. Because some medications are cheaper in Canada and other countries, many Americans are trying to import their prescription drugs. A typical medication in Canada, for example, is 56 percent cheaper than in the United States.

Even though it's legal, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tried to prevent efforts to import cheaper drugs through the mail. This is wrong. There's no excuse for the FDA to stand in between Americans and legal, lower-cost FDA-approved drugs imported from abroad. That is why I cosponsored H.R. 3240, the Drug Import Fairness Act.

The House recently passed a similar version of this bill. The bill clarifies that drugs that are approved for sale in the United States can be imported. As a cosponsor of the Drug Import Fairness Act, I was pleased to see Congress take action on an issue that can help millions of Americans

I look forward to working toward common sense solutions to meet the prescription drug needs of seniors and the millions of other Americans who rely on prescription drugs.