Watch video of Upton's House Floor remarks here By a unanimous voice vote, the House of Representatives today passed bipartisan, bicameral legislation (S. 3187) that streamlines the federal approval process for U.S. prescription drugs and medical devices. Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) has led the way in the House for these commonsense reforms, which will enable Michigan manufacturers like Perrigo, Pfizer, and Stryker to better compete with companies overseas, innovate, and create jobs. R... Read more

By Al Jones KALAMAZOO, MI – Stryker Corp.’s top executive praised the progress Thursday of legislation to repeal a 2.3 percent excise tax facing medical device makers in the U.S. “Stryker appreciates House passage of legislation to repeal the medical device tax,” Curt Hartman, interim CEO and chief financial officer at Stryker, said in a press release. “This tax is anti-competitive and decreases the money available for jobs and innovation.” Hartman responded to passage Thursday in the U.S. House... Read more

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) praised today’s House passage of bipartisan legislation to prevent a new 2.3 percent excise tax from being imposed on U.S. sales of medical devices. The tax, which was included in the President’s overreaching healthcare law and is currently scheduled to take effect in 2013, would directly cost the U.S. medical device industry billions of dollars per year – not including costs of compliance – to the detriment of American jobs and medical inno... Read more

By Rep. Fred Upton - Congress doesn’t often get a second chance to do the right thing. But when it comes to health care, the U.S. Supreme Court may provide lawmakers a historic opportunity to do just that. The high court will render its decision on the constitutionality of Obamacare by the end of the month. If the justices strike it down, Congress will have an opening to do what President Obama and the then-Democratic majority failed to do – listen to the American people. Traveling around my dis... Read more

A video of Upton’s morning remarks can be viewed here. A video of the full press conference can be viewed here. Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) joined House Republican Leadership this morning to discuss the continued efforts of House Republicans to support American job creation and economic growth. Upton highlighted last evening’s House passage of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Reform Act of 2012 (H.R. 5651), which passed by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 387 to 5. H.R. 5651 ... Read more

In an act of overwhelming bipartisanship, the House of Representatives today passed legislation authored by Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) that reauthorizes and expands the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) user fee programs for medical products. The FDA Reform Act of 2012 (H.R. 5651) includes major reforms to the FDA’s current evaluation and approval processes for prescription drugs and medical devices, enabling U.S. companies to bring their breakthrough products to market faster whil... Read more

Rep. Fred Upton - It is hard to believe that the beginning of summer is little more than a month away. Warmer weather and longer daylight hours mean spending more time outside with friends and family. Whether relaxing at the pool or beach, hosting a backyard barbeque, or catching up on much-needed yard work, please be sure to take the necessary precautions before enjoying your time in the sun. May is National Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month, a yearly reminder for all of us to... Read more

By Rep. Fred Upton - This past week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee took a major step by passing bipartisan legislation that will make important reforms in the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) evaluation and approval process for new medical products. From the latest medical devices to tomorrow’s drug treatments, these reforms will enable U.S. manufacturers to get their breakthrough products to market faster while maintaining the highest levels of patient safety. That is good news fo... Read more

Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) made the following statement in support of today’s Energy and Commerce Committee passage of the bipartisan Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Reform Act of 2012 (H.R. 5651). The legislation reauthorizes FDA user fee programs for prescription drugs and medical devices – the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) and the Medical Device User Fee Act (MDUFA) – that are set to expire in September. The bill also establishes user fee programs for generic drugs and ... Read more

By Andrew Green Congressman Fred Upton, like many others, is watching closely as the US Supreme Court debates the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. This week, Upton was in the audience as the High Court heard arguments on the individual mandate part of the legislation. He told Fox Business later that he's been against the federal legislation all along, and expects there will be a lot of work to do if the Supreme Court strikes it down ... For full story and audio: http://www.wsjm.com/... Read more