Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023

Floor Speech

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Ms. SPANBERGER. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of my amendment to protect seniors and crack down on drug companies obscuring the side effects of their prescription drugs in their television ads.

The United States is one of only two countries that allow direct-to- consumer pharmaceutical advertising, and there are serious consumer safety concerns about these ads. These ads use distracting imagery, such as butterflies, happy puppies, cheesy music, and beautiful sunrises to distract consumers from a drug's dangerous side effects.

Congress instructed the FDA to crack down on these deceptive techniques more than a decade ago. However, the FDA has misused that statutory deadline by more than a decade.

My amendment simply instructs the agency to finalize the rulemaking as soon as possible. Medical decisions should always be made between a patient and their doctor, not between a patient and their TV screen.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support my commonsense consumer protection amendment.

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