Seniors in the United States are struggling to pay for medicine while those in other countries are paying 30 to 70 percent less for the same drugs. This is not fair.

Many of the good people of East Tennessee continue to see their cost of prescription drugs skyrocket. We must strike a balance between drug safety for our seniors and the constantly rising cost of prescription medicines.

During the consideration of this year's Agriculture Appropriations bill, I voted for Congressman Gutknecht's amendment that passed by a bipartisan vote of 324-101. This amendment would allow individuals not in the business of importing prescription drugs to import FDA-approved drugs from the European Union and Canada. This would maintain all current FDA rules regarding labeling and packaging for safety purposes.

But, the amendment does not apply to controlled substances, including narcotics.

I will keep working towards common sense solutions like this, which meet the prescription drug needs of our seniors.