Key lawmaker sees growing drug shortages as national security threat

Today, supplies of more than 300 commonly used drugs in the U.S. are experiencing shortages. That's compared to supplies of maybe 40 or 50 commonly used drugs in the U.S. experiencing shortages 20 years ago, according to Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.), vice chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health.

The shortages, combined with the U.S.'s increased independence on foreign nations for critical drug ingredients, represent a national security issue he and other congressional lawmakers hope to address...