Fingerhut slams Voinovich on Canadian drug imports

By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
CAMPBELL -- U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich is "deliberately misleading Ohioans" regarding his record on importing cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, his Democratic opponent says.
State Sen. Eric Fingerhut, Voinovich's challenger in next month's election, said Friday at the American Legion Hall Post 560 in Campbell that the Republican incumbent wants Ohioans to believe he's supporting legislation on importing drugs when he's opposed it for years.
"This is a classic example of why people have grown so cynical about politics, and why the interests of ordinary people always lose out in Washington to the well-funded special interests," Fingerhut said.
Voinovich's vote
Voinovich voted against lifting the ban on importing drugs from Canada.
In response, Marcie Ridgway, Voinovich's campaign spokeswoman, said the senator "believes seniors should be able to save money by buying their medicine from Canada. Some say the only way we can do this is to open up our borders to any and all drugs and by waiving aside the FDA's [Food and Drug Administration] drug safety protections."
Voinovich opposes that because there needs to be strong protections against counterfeit, mislabeled and unsafe medicines from other countries, Ridgway said.
Fingerhut says Voinovich is supporting legislation to lift the ban that has no support, no chance of being signed into law, and contains many regulatory hurdles.
'A fig leaf'
He described the legislation as "a fig leaf for senators who refuse to stand up to the prescription drug companies but don't want their constituents to know it."
Voinovich doesn't support a bill that passed the U.S. House and is stalled in the Senate that lifts the ban without the restrictions, Fingerhut said.
Ridgway pointed out that Voinovich helped create a Medicare program that gives seniors discounts on prescription drugs. Fingerhut says the program doesn't provide enough of a discount on drugs for seniors.
Most polls show Voinovich with a comfortable lead against Fingerhut in his re-election bid.
skolnick@vindy.com