S. 920: Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act

117th Congress · introduced 2021-03-23 · Health · Latest: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security. Hearings held.

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Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2021-03-23 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security. Hearings held. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act

Plain summary

Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act This bill allows expanded importation of eligible prescription drugs and addresses related issues. Current law allows the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to authorize the importation of certain eligible prescription drugs from Canada if HHS certifies to Congress that doing so would pose no additional risk to public health and safety and would result in significant cost savings for consumers. The bill removes this certification requirement and requires HHS to issue regulations that permit the importation of qualifying prescription drugs from Canada. After a certain amount of time, HHS may authorize importation from certain other countries if it determines that importation from Canada has resulted in cost savings for consumers and increased access to safe medication. The bill also expands the types of prescription drugs eligible for importation to include, for example, biologics such as insulin. Furthermore, the bill allows individuals to use an eligible licensed foreign pharmacy to fill a U.S.-issued prescription for a qualifying drug for personal use. Currently, an individual seeking to import a prescription drug generally must acquire a waiver from HHS. The bill imposes various requirements related to certification of foreign sellers, labeling of imported drugs, and supply chain security. The bill also (1) prohibits certain acts that discriminate against foreign sellers, such as charging higher prices to foreign sellers than to other sellers in the same country; and (2) imposes criminal penalties for online websites that sell counterfeit drugs or dispense drugs without a required prescription.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] · 21 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] reported raising $26.5 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (4)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-117s920.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/117/s>

Record fed-us-cong117-s920 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117