Chairman Rick Scott’s CLEAR LABELS Act has gained support in both chambers of Congress, with Representative Rich McCormick leading the initiative in the House of Representatives. The bipartisan Consumer Labeling for Enhanced API Reporting and Legitimate Accountability for Base Entity Listings (CLEAR LABELS) Act seeks to require prescription drug labels to disclose the original manufacturers of drugs and their active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Currently, federal labeling rules do not mandate public disclosure of where these ingredients or finished products are made, even though many are produced overseas, especially in China and India.
The proposed legislation aims to provide patients, healthcare providers, and regulators with clear information about the origins of prescription drugs. This follows previous bipartisan efforts by Chairman Scott, including investigative reports and inquiries directed at federal agencies and industry leaders regarding reliance on foreign-manufactured generic drugs.
In the Senate, Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand as well as Senators Ron Johnson, Tommy Tuberville, and Katie Britt have joined as cosponsors.
Chairman Rick Scott stated: “As parents and grandparents, we do everything we can to make informed, safe decisions that keep our families safe and healthy. But right now, families are kept in the dark about where the drugs they rely on are coming from. America’s drug supply is dependent on our adversaries like Communist China and nations such as India to manufacture our drugs and their ingredients, often with limited transparency and oversight. This broken process leaves patients clueless about where their drugs come from. Families deserve to have confidence that the medicines they take are safe, regulated, and clearly labeled. That’s why I’m leading the bipartisan, and now bicameral, CLEAR LABELS Act to ensure your medicines have clear and upfront country-of-origin labeling to help ensure every American can feel comfortable knowing what’s in their medicine cabinet. I appreciate my colleagues in the Senate for joining me in this effort, and I’m thankful to Congressman McCormick for leading the way in the House.”
Congressman Rich McCormick added: "I'm proud to be the House co-lead of the CLEAR LABELS Act. This bicameral bill will bring transparency to consumers, pharmacists, providers, and purchasers about the country of origin of pharmaceuticals and APIs and empower stakeholders with knowledge of where their medications come from. Americans deserve to know where their prescription drugs, or the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used to make them, are manufactured. I'm proud to work alongside Sen. Rick Scott to pass this legislation.”
The Senate Special Committee on Aging oversees issues affecting older Americans nationwide through hearings and policy recommendations related to programs such as Social Security and Medicare (official website). The committee also provides resources aimed at protecting seniors from fraud via tools like a dedicated hotline (official website). Senator Rick Scott serves as chair while Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is ranking member (official website).
