Statements On Introduced Bills And Joint Resolutions

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - February 15, 2007)

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By Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Vitter, Ms. Collins, Mr. Leahy, and Ms. Stabenow):

S. 623. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the licensing of comparable and interchangeable biological products, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Access to Life-Saving Medicine Act with my colleague, Senator Clinton. Recognizing the promise of generic drugs as safe and effective treatments at greatly reduced prices, I have worked for years with my colleagues in the House and the Senate to increase generic drug availability and accessibility, most notably with Senator McCain on a 2003 law. This legislation represents the next step in the availability of generic drugs for American consumers by creating a statutory pathway for generic versions of biotech drugs to enter the market.

While generic drugs save American consumers an estimated eight to ten billion dollars each year, American consumers have not yet reaped the full potential savings from the generic drug market. Under current law, there is no generic approval process at the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, for an entire category of drugs, even once the patents have expired. These biologic drugs, which are an expensive and growing sector of the pharmaceutical market, will obtain monopoly pricing on the market indefinitely without the possibility of generic competitors.

Drug companies that invest in the research and development of life-saving drugs, whether biological or chemical in nature, deserve to be rewarded for their work. At the same time, patients need the ability to access affordable drugs. We have created a statutory framework for chemical drugs that balances incentives for continued innovations with access to affordable drugs for patients. But, this framework has not yet expanded to biotech drugs, which are on the cutting edge of science but for which the laws are hopelessly out of date.

Now is the time to ensure that American consumers have the same access to life-saving biotech drugs that consumers have to well-known, widely used chemical drugs. Patients need to be able to afford and access their medications, and they don't care what kind of drug they have. Patients rely on biotech drugs to treat a wide array of diseases, ranging from diabetes to cancer to AIDS, but with no generic versions of biotech drugs available, these drugs can cost tens of thousands of dollars a year--too expensive for many patients to afford. Introducing fair competition for biotech drugs is essential to make life-saving biotech treatments affordable.

The Access to Life-Saving Medicine Act will allow the FDA to approve generic versions of biologic drugs that have been determined to be both safe and effective. The FDA is not required to approve any generic biologics, but if the data is there, they will now have the ability to do so.

A report released earlier this year by Pharmaceutical Care Management Association estimated that the introduction of generic biotech drugs into the market could save Medicare Part B $14 billion over the next ten years. We need to embrace those potential savings and provide American consumers access to affordable biotech drugs.

Moving this legislation forward and creating a statutory pathway for generic versions of biotech drugs to enter the market is one of my highest priorities in the 110th Congress. I look forward to working with my colleagues, especially Senator CLINTON, to accomplish this goal.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

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By Mr. SCHUMER:

S. 636. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the reporting period for certain statements sent to taxpayers; to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the ``Reduce Wasteful Tax Forms Act of 2007.' This bill extends the deadline from January 31 to February 15 for certain types of 1099 forms to be sent to taxpayers. 1099 forms are used to report non-wage income, such as income from dividends and capital gains. These forms are distributed by brokerage firms and financial institutions to their investors, who must report the information on their income tax returns.

Due to recent changes in tax laws that govern income from interest and dividends, there has been a significant increase in the number of inaccurate forms sent out by firms in order to meet the January 31 deadline. The problem is that much of the tax data for certain types of investment income cannot be calculated until after the first of the year, resulting in a compressed window for calculating data in compliance with the new laws and mailing the forms. Once accurate data becomes available, financial institutions must send taxpayers an amended form with the correct information.

These amended forms create confusion for taxpayers, and in some cases, those who receive an amended 1099 may have to re-file their taxes. If taxpayers underpaid in their initial return, they could face interest charges and penalties if they do not file again before the April 15 deadline. The January 31 deadline results in tons of wasted paper, confusion for taxpayers, and wasted expenses incurred in sending the amended forms.

This problem affects an increasing number of taxpayers. According to recent press reports in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today, prior to 2003, an average of 5 to 8 percent of 1099 forms required correcting. That number has since jumped to an average of 13 percent, translating into millions of amended 1099s being sent to taxpayers each year.

My legislation would extend the deadline for sending 1099 forms to taxpayers to February 15, by which time the vast majority of required data will be available to ensure the accuracy of the forms. The bill extends the deadline only for certain types of 1099 forms used to report investment income; it would not extend the deadline for 1099 forms sent to independent contractors or for statements that only report interest earned on bank deposits. Accordingly, this extension will not delay filing for the vast majority of taxpayers.

This year, the IRS granted several brokerage firms an extension to the January 31 deadline. However, this bill would provide a permanent extension for all firms and financial institutions to remove the uncertainty for taxpayers that arises due to this unnecessarily early deadline. My bill will help taxpayers by reducing confusion, the financial industry by cutting costs and waste, and the environment by eliminating millions of unnecessary mailings.

I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting this legislation, and I look forward to working with other Finance Committee members to have it considered during the 110th Congress. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the RECORD

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