WASHINGTON – The AARP, the nation’s largest senior advocacy group, endorsed a bipartisan drug importation bill Wednesday co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe.

The bill would allow residents of the United States to import prescription medications from other countries such as Canada where price controls have made many drugs cheaper than they are in the United States.

“We are here together today because the AARP understands the necessity of affordable prescription drugs for America’s seniors and recognizes that the Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act will help achieve that goal,” said the Republican senator from Maine at a press conference on Capital Hill.

Snowe was joined by representatives of the AARP and by fellow bill co-sponsors U.S. Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., John McCain, R-Ariz., and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

The bill calls for importing only U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs from those countries with comparable levels of regulation and oversight.

It also contains provisions for regular inspections of the participating pharmacies and wholesalers and for using the latest technologies available to avoid tampering and counterfeiting.