WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Chairman Rick Scott and Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the Consumer Labeling for Enhanced API Reporting and Legitimate Accountability for Base Entity Listings (CLEAR LABELS) Act to add country of origin labeling requirements to the U.S.’s prescription drug supply chain. Many prescription drugs, and their active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), are manufactured overseas, particularly in China and India. Yet, current federal labeling requirements do not require public disclosure of where those ingredients or finished products are made. As a result, patients, pharmacists, and health care providers lack the upfront visibility into the origins of their medications. The CLEAR LABELS Act would require prescription drug labels to disclose the original manufacturers of prescription drugs and APIs to ensure patients, providers, and regulators have clear, upfront information about where the drugs they rely on day after day are made.
This legislation builds on bipartisan efforts led by Chairman Scott and Ranking Member Gillibrand, including an investigative report and more than a dozen inquiries to federal agencies and industry leaders requesting information on the U.S.’s dangerous overreliance on foreign-manufactured generic drugs.
Chairman Rick Scott said, “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 being kept in the dark about where their drugs are coming from. America’s drug supply is dependent on our enemies like China and countries such as India to manufacture our drugs and ingredients, often with limited transparency and oversight. This broken process leaves patients in the dark about where their drugs come. Families deserve to have confidence that the medicines they take are safe, regulated, and clearly labeled. That’s why I’m leading the bipartisan CLEAR LABELS Act with Ranking Member Gillibrand to add country of origin labels to your medicines and help ensure every American can feel comfortable knowing what’s in their medicine cabinet.”
Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand said, “Americans deserve to know where their prescription drugs are manufactured so they can make informed health care decisions. The CLEAR LABELS Act would shine a light on pharmaceutical manufacturing by making this information readily accessible to patients, pharmacists, and providers while strengthening accountability across the supply chain. As the top Democrat on the Senate Aging Committee, I will keep fighting to make sure every American has access to safe, effective, lifesaving medications and the clear, reliable information they need.”
Senator Ron Johnson said, “The American people deserve to know where their drugs are coming from so they can make informed medical decisions. I’m proud to cosponsor the CLEAR Labels Act to help increase transparency, consumer safety, and drug choice by requiring disclosure of formerly opaque supply chains.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville said, “Most Americans are so used to taking medicines that they don’t stop to think where it comes from. We have become way too reliant on foreign supply chains for our generic medicines—and it’s putting our health at risk. Americans deserve to know where their medicines are being made and what ingredients they contain. It’s common sense. I’m proud to join Sen. Rick Scott in introducing the CLEAR Labels Act to give Americans the truth so they can make more informed decisions when it comes to the medicines they consume.”
Senator Katie Britt said, “Patients deserve transparency to make informed health care decisions. If someone is taking drugs from China and other foreign adversaries, they deserve to know. That’s why I am proud to support the CLEAR LABELS Act to help restore faith in the quality, safety, and reliability of the medications Americans depend on.”