Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion.

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Ms. SCHRIER. Mr. Speaker, I am so glad that my colleague from Texas, Mr. Wright, is well and I am so glad that he could afford the treatment that he needed.

But we have people suffering from the cost of prescription drugs now, and intentionally holding up this bill hurts them. We absolutely must remain the leader in the world in innovation, but the thing is, we can reduce drug prices and still have money for research.

The money U.S.-based drug companies made in 2015 by charging Americans high prices was nearly double what was needed to fund their global R&D. An H.R. 3 uses the savings to reinvest billions in the research and clinical trials needed to get cures faster.

I am so excited about H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. I am the first pediatrician ever elected to Congress, and currently the only female doctor here. I am also a patient with type 1 diabetes. My life depends on insulin, so the high cost of prescription drugs affects me and people like me every day.

I have driven over 7,000 miles this year traversing my district talking to people about what matters to them. And you know what the biggest thing is? The cost of prescription drugs. Because it doesn't matter if you are a Democrat or Republican if you cannot afford your medication.

I understand this issue both as a doctor and a patient, because it is not theoretical for me or for my patients. When we talk about the cost of insulin, I have felt that personally. I have seen the price of my insulin go from $40 a bottle to $300. That is the price for a bottle that holds 10 milliliters, 2 teaspoons.

Before being elected to Congress, I worked for nearly 20 years as a pediatrician in the suburbs of Seattle, just 3 hours from the Canadian border. Mostly, I sent electronic prescriptions, but when patients asked for paper ones, I knew it was because they were going to Canada to fill it. EpiPens are $600 here; $50 there. In Canada, insulin costs $50.

Right now, we pay three to four times what our colleagues overseas pay, and that is why we must use the negotiating power of Medicare to bring prices down. Our districts are alike. And we need to take on this out-of-control pricing. The people who sent us here asked us to do it. Let's deliver today. I encourage my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this MTR and ``yes'' on H.R. 3.

Blunt Rochester), my colleague, a champion of this bill.

Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

I respect my Committee on Energy and Commerce colleagues, but I cannot support this motion to recommit. What we have today is an opportunity to live up to our promise.

Democrats promised.

Republicans promised.

Even the President promised to lower prescription drug costs.

Let's not get this confused or mixed up. Colleagues, I want to just make it plain: The Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, H.R. 3, is about three things: Fairness, hope, and legacy.

Fairness: Is it fair that the United States pays 2, 3, or 60 times more for the same drug as other countries?

Is it fair that in a capitalist country our government can't negotiate? We can negotiate for planes, but we can't negotiate for insulin?

The Congressional Budget Office says that H.R. 3 will lower out-of- pocket costs and premiums for those on Medicare and it will reduce premiums for 180 million Americans who have private insurance. American households will save $120 billion over 10 years.

Let me put it another way: These same Americans will see their cash wages increase by $116 billion. It is about fairness. H.R. 3 is about hope.

As AARP has shared, it gives seniors hope that with savings from this bill, we will modernize and expand Medicare and cap part D out-of- pocket costs. The $2,000 cap could be the difference between a lifesaving pill and somebody's rent.

Hope: With the savings generated from this bill, we can expand Medicare coverage to include hearing, vision, and dental.

Hope: We can accelerate the great American tradition of innovative research for scientific breakthroughs and cures for the National Institutes of Health.

And with H.R. 3, we will provide patients like David Mitchell, who testified before our committee about his personal experience with cancer. And what he said is that it taught him something: Drugs don't work if people can't afford them. In other words, if you can't afford it, you don't have it.

So, lastly, this will provide us a legacy.
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