Executive Calendar
Floor Speech
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Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, I recently received a letter from a gentleman living in Cedar Falls, IA, who suffers from Parkinson's disease. As I speak, he is going without his $1,450-per-month LYRICA prescription in order to keep a roof over his head. That is right, folks. He must choose between making a mortgage payment and getting his prescription.
Here is another story a woman from Davenport, IA, shared with me. Last October, she was able to get a 3-month supply of blood pressure medication for $17, but when she went to the pharmacy for her refill in late December, she was told the price had nearly tripled to $55. She wrote to me and said:
Thinking this was a mistake, I refused the refill and checked online about the change in price and found I couldn't get it cheaper anywhere else. So I went back in ten days and thought I would just have to pay the new cost [which was $55]. In that time . . . the prescription had gone up to $130!
Whether I am talking to folks back home in my townhalls and other events on my 99 County Tour or in meetings right here in Washington, DC, the cost of prescription drugs is the No. 1 issue I hear about from Iowans. Every day, I hear stories just like these about the outrageous costs associated with their prescription medications.
For too long, hard-working Iowans have borne the brunt of skyrocketing prescription drug prices. Stories like the man from Cedar Falls and the woman from Davenport have become the norm. We have to change that, and that is exactly what we are doing here in the Senate.
We have been hard at work in advancing bills to drive down drug prices, increase competition, and close costly loopholes that are being exploited by those bad actors. I am proud to lead on three such bills that were recently approved in committee.
First, I have teamed up with Senator Cotton on a bill that aims to eliminate an egregious loophole in the patenting process. This loophole allows drug companies to take advantage of the well-intentioned concept of sovereign immunity for Native American Tribes in order to dismiss patent challenges and unfairly stifle competition.
Our legislation would put an end to this manipulative practice and actually provide Iowans with access to cheaper options for their prescription drugs. That is not all we are doing in the Senate to make more low-cost generic drugs available to folks in Iowa. We have also been working across the aisle on a bipartisan bill that would put a powerful check on drug companies seeking to keep generics off the market.
The bill would empower the makers of generic drugs to file lawsuits against brand-name manufacturers if they fail to provide required resources, such as drug samples, needed for generics to clear the regulatory process. In turn, we would see cheaper alternatives available for my folks in Iowa.
I am also working with my fellow Iowan, Senator Grassley, on a bill that focuses on the middlemen behind some of the prescription drug price hikes we have seen recently. The bill would direct the Federal Trade Commission to examine anti-competitive behavior in the prescription drug market. As mergers push drug prices higher and higher, this bill will be instrumental in helping Congress develop policies to increase competition and lower those costs for both patients and our taxpayers.
Make no mistake. The rising cost of prescription drugs is an issue that significantly impacts hard-working Iowans. We in Congress have a responsibility to take action, to give folks a voice, and to make sure no family is ever forced to choose between making a mortgage payment and purchasing their medications.
That is what we are doing. We have some great bills in the Senate-- bills from both Republicans and Democrats--that can help lower those drug prices, increase competition, and close loopholes. Let's build on this effort and continue working together in a bipartisan way to get these bills and others across the finish line and signed into law. Iowans are counting on us.
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