Hawkeye Reporter

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has joined a bipartisan group of senators to reintroduce the Short on Competition Act, a bill aimed at increasing competition in the pharmaceutical sector and reducing prescription drug prices for consumers. The legislation is led by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), with Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) as a sponsor. Grassley currently chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and has previously chaired the Senate Finance Committee.

The proposed act would give the Secretary of Health and Human Services authority to grant expedited reviews, inspections, and temporary importation of prescription drugs when there are shortages or an anticipated shortage. These measures could also be enacted when there are fewer than five competitors in a market for drugs that have been approved for at least ten years.

“Iowans are fed up with the high price of prescription drugs, and a driver of those costs is lack of competition. Time and again, we see that limited options in the marketplace lead to higher prices for patients. Our bill will bring more options to the market, giving consumers relief through alternatives to a single high-priced drug,” Grassley said.

“If drug companies know new competitors can quickly enter the market, maybe they’ll think twice before raising prices in the first place. More competition in the marketplace will lead to more affordable prescription drugs for American consumers,” Klobuchar said. “This bipartisan legislation will help lower drug prices by prioritizing approvals and safely allowing temporary drug importation of products to address markets that lack competition.”

“Big Pharma monopolies are keeping lifesaving drugs out of reach for too many Americans,” Lee said. “Cutting red tape for manufacturers will allow new competitors into the health care market – bringing drug prices down and quality up. The Short on Competition Act will give Americans more options for the medicine they need, protecting them from drug shortages and lowering their costs.”

“American families should be able to afford life-saving medication. However, many medications, despite having been on the market for decades, are unaffordable. It is time that Big Pharma is held accountable for its abusive price gouging tactics,” Durbin said. “I am joining my colleagues in reintroducing the bipartisan Short on Competition Act to combat Big Pharma’s price gouging and lower prescription drug costs for Americans. Drug costs are a problem; this bill is a solution.”

Grassley has advocated efforts targeting lower prescription drug costs over several years through legislative actions focused on curbing anticompetitive practices among pharmaceutical companies and increasing accountability among pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). He has also led congressional investigations into price gouging within the industry.

Recent actions include chairing hearings on PBMs’ influence over rural pharmacies in May 2025, leading six bills through committee passage aimed at boosting industry competition in April 2025, responding positively to Federal Trade Commission reports about PBM practices throughout 2024–2025, urging completion of FTC investigations into industry intermediaries since 2021, advancing provisions enhancing oversight over CMS programs related to PBMs since November 2023, supporting bills addressing unfair practices driving consumer costs up since March 2023, and leading bipartisan inquiries into insulin pricing as early as January 2021.

For further information about Senator Grassley's ongoing work regarding prescription drug affordability efforts visit his official site.