By a vote of 93 to 1, the Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new power to police drug safety, regulate advertising and restrict the use and distribution of medicines found to endanger consumers. However, "drug company executives succeeded in their efforts to block a proposal to legalize imports of lower-priced medicines from Canada," the New York Times wrote on Thursday. Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-VT) cast the lone "no" vote, saying he was extremely disappointed that the bill did not legalize re-importation.

Sen. Byron Dorgan's (D-ND) proposal to allow consumers to import prescription drugs from abroad was modified and adopted, but lawmakers and advocates agree that in its current form, the drug importation proposal will never take effect. Sen. Dorgan's amendment was approved in a voice vote. In spite of this, lawmakers voted 49-40 in favor of an amendment from Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) that required assent from the Secretary of Health and Human Services for the provision to go into effect, effectively killing re-importation. "The Alliance for Retired Americans is all for rigorous safety standards when it comes to prescription drugs. Where we draw the line, however, is shamefully using those standards as a shield to keep drug company profits sky-high," said Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance.