shimkus or mr. guthrie asked you if you said you're going to get back to them, but i would really like to get some answers, you know, obviously you are not prepared or do not feel you have an answer today, but i'd like you to get back to us through the chairman if you could. >> we'd be happy to, congressman. i mention we have an upcoming report that will give further analysis and further economic analysis is also intensely underway. >> with that relate to this or you don't know for sure? >> hopefully will get a better understanding of the causes. >> mr. chairman, if he could get back to us on that because i know many of us have asked the same question and would really like to know. >> if the chairman would yield just on this point. and i thank my friend for following up on this debate in this question. but in my opening statement they didn't just focus on the government pricing. i did say insurers, too. so we are all in this together in the market going to work if that were. i just want to correct t

shimkus.ou asked a lot of the questions in the opening testimony that i had a group of oncologist the other day these are people that make drugs and sell drugs and people that are fda issues or whatever these are people sort of taking care of the patients and they say they literally have to make choices about who they take care of because they don't have the drugs available so that this kind of question. i don't believe the company won't make them if you have a demand for them and they told me that these particular types of drugs are very different and the federal government said the medicare actually has price is different than other drugs is that what they were saying is true? >> i can start with that first of all thank you for your attention to the patient and this is a dire situation for the patient and i've actually tried in other fields so this is very personally and professionally in important to me. we have a rule of medicare here that reimburses according to what is called the average

shimkus: thank you, mr. speaker. and i do apologize for my friend from california for coming late and kind of disrupting, you know, what was planned to be a closing. but this is an important debate and my colleague from california and i have crossed sabres many times on these issues. and i don't question his commitment to the environment and the regs and rules and the like, but as he knows, i'm from southern illinois. i'm from an area that was devastated in the jobs issue and during the 1992 clean air act. and i'm from an area of the country that still is not being all it can be based upon the excessive rules and regulations that come out of washington, d.c. so the train act is really a first start to help us ask a simple question. shouldn't we as an interagency process, shouldn't we at least ask the basic question of what is this going to do on the effect on jobs? and what is it going to do on the effect of our competitiveness worldwide? so it's really a basic debate. it's a good one to have. i applaud the chairman

shimkus.u answered a lot of the questions in your opening testimony, but i had a group of oncologists in the other day, not people who make or sell drugs, people who have fda issues or whatever you want to -- these are just guys taking care of patients, and they say they literally have to make choices about who they take care of because they don't are is -- they don't have the drug available. so i asked questions, and they told me that this particular type of drugs, the generic, are priced different in the federal government. so the medicare/medicaid has prices different than these other drugs, is that -- is what they were saying true or -- >> first of all, congressman, thank you again for your attention to the patient. this is a dire situation for patients, and i have actually trained in cancer as well as other fields, so this is very personally and professionally important to me. we have a role of medicare here that reimburses according to what's called the average sales price. so that is on

shimkus. it's been widely reported that information of the drug shortage in acted in a market tries to sell drugs in short supply to the pharmacist for hospitals. does this present a safety concern? >> yes it does, congressman. >> howell and what can you do about it? >> this is largely unregulated. the commission is involved in some degree but -- >> they don't have the expertise that you have. would you submit a proper answer informing me of what we have to do to address that particular problem? >> i would be happy to do that. >> do you know of these drugs have been stored properly to ensure the effectiveness, whether they have been delivered or whether they are free of self and contaminants or -- yes or no? >> unfortunately we know very little about the products in the market. >> as i mentioned the many factors to maintain the records establishing the drugs and its materials would produce and putting all the information relative to the producers, and the manufacturers, distributors and import

shimkus, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. shimkus: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. shimkus: thank you. thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, this marks the first of what i hope to be many times to address you and my colleagues on an issue that i have been graced with having the responsibility to deal in the public policy arena about and that's the whole issue of nuclear waste. now, when people talk about nuclear waste in this debate about where it is and why it's there, they primarily talk about our nuclear utilities and especially after fukushima daiichi, people understand that when you store high level nuclear waste on sites and if there's a disaster that occurs and if the pools run dry then you might have a melting which might spread radio activity and that's not good for anybody. and that's a good debate to have because we have nuclear waste stored all over this country. but i'm not here really to talk about the private for-profit sector of the nuclear industry

again think you to the witnesses and i will yield the balance of my time to congressman shimkus from illinois. >> we want to welcome our folks in the two panels. obviously this is a concern. whenever there is a lag in a commodity good or product, you have to really wonder about the demand and the supply and the available cost because when there is a limited supply and high demand cost should go up so that begs the question of what is constraining the market signals from producing the product to consumers need is that insurance companies, is that government reimbursement rates is that the state medicaid provision? that's what i will be looking at because the bigger the government is the more manipulative it gets in the market services and the less to provide goods and services to consumers. we appreciate that, look forward to it and i yield back my time, a researcher man. >> we recognize the ranking member of the subcommittee for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. shean i want to thank you for holding today's hearing on this important issue. i am encouraged by the bipartisan nature and i

shimkus. it's been widely reported that information of the drug shoage in acted in a market tries to sell drugs in short supply to the pharmacist for hospitals. does this present a safet concern? >> yes it does, congressman. >> howell and what can you do about it? >> this is largely unregulated. the commission is involved in some degree but -- >> they don't have the expertise that you have. would you submit a proper answer informing me of what we have to do to address that particular oblem? >> i would be happy to do that. >> do you know of these drugs have been stored properly to ensure the effectiveness, whether they have been delivered or whether they are free of self and contaminants or -- yes or no? >> unfortunatelwe know very little about the products in the market. >> as i mentioned the many factors to maintain the records establishing the drugs and its materials would produce and putting all the information relative to the producers, and the manufacturers, distributors and importers wit

i'm just going to follow a little long, shimkus. you asked a lot of the questions in the opening testimony that i had a group of oncologist the other day these are people that make drugs and sell drugs and people that are fda issues or whatever these are people sort of taking care of the patients and they say they literally have to make choices about who they take care of because they don't have the drugs available so that this kind of question. i don't believe the company won't make them if you have a demand for them and they told me that these particular types of drugs are very different and the federal government said the medicare actually has price is different than other drugs is that what they were saying is true? >> i can start with that first of all thank you for your attention to the patient and this is a dire situation for the patient and i've actually tried in other fields so this is very personally and professionally in important to me. we have a rule of medicare here that reimburses according to what is called the avera