Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Ms. MENG. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

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Ms. MENG. I am opposed.

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Ms. MENG. Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage as amended.

The purpose of my motion is simple. It says that the restrictions in the underlying bill do not apply to settlement agreements that ultimately result in lower prices for lifesaving medical devices.

Mr. Speaker, Americans are hurting across this country. Far too often, there have been companies that have sought to profit off of the most vulnerable among us through monopoly-like action and power.

When that happens, Mr. Speaker, particularly when it comes to medical devices, it is the Federal Government's role to ensure that consumers are protected, to ensure that all Americans have access to devices they need, particularly when it is a matter of life and death.

In my opinion, we have to look no further than the actions of the maker of EpiPens, the device every parent of a child with severe allergies is aware of. When a child goes into shock, this is the device that will save his or her life.

Unfortunately, EpiPen's maker, Mylan, has chosen to systematically inflate its profits over the past several years without reinvesting those profits for further business activities such as research and development. Instead, we have seen CEO pay raised astronomically, and quarterly profits skyrocket, all off the backs of vulnerable Americans.

This is wrong. It is so wrong that we have taken notice of these actions, and Congress is investigating whether or not violations of antitrust law have occurred with respect to Mylan. If we find that it has, and DOJ or another government agency agrees, let's not hamstring the settlement that may ultimately be reached with Mylan.

Clearly, we are not the jurors in this case, and we are not structuring the terms of any eventual, possible deal. But let's not preclude the agencies seeking to protect us from reaching a deal that may solve problems for Americans in need, a deal that may actually reduce the cost of lifesaving medical devices.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this motion.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. MENG. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

A recorded vote was ordered.

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