Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019
Floor Speech
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Ms. STEVENS. Madam Chair, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
Madam Chair, I want to thank our majority leader for designating his time in managing the floor on the heels of the passage of today's historic vote.
Today is a beacon of hope for so many families who have been burdened by the outrageous costs of prescription drugs in this country.
Lower Drug Costs Now Act lowers drug costs now for the families who are counting on us, the families who are burdened with exorbitant costs of prescription drugs that they cannot afford. Lower prescription drugs for the parents of a child with a rare disability who are wondering how they can afford to pay that bill. Lower prescription drugs for the retired American who worked all of their life and now cannot afford to pay for that medication. Lower prescription drugs now for the senior who is afraid to go to the pharmacy to pick up that prescription drug because of what it might cost. Lower prescription drugs for a third of Americans who do not get their prescription drugs because they cannot afford them. That is what we are here today to do.
Some have chosen to listen to the drug companies. Some have chosen to take their cues. Take it from somebody who worked in an innovation research lab about the plight of research and development in this country and the investments that go into funding basic innovation research and how that gets done through public-private partnership. But do not put the American people at the expense of that plight because we know that our basic research dollars rest within the National Institutes of Health, that they rest within the work that we are doing in the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.
This legislation today, my friends, this legislation appropriately named after our beloved colleague, Elijah E. Cummings, someone who was never afraid to stand up for what was right and who led by true and pure example, we were so blessed to have stood in his light. And while serving as the Chair of the Oversight Committee, he showed us the way by uncovering many of these corrupt practices that have caused drug prices to be out of reach for so many.
I am also especially pleased to highlight provisions in this bill that were long championed by one of my great friends and mentors, former Congressman Sander Levin. These provisions for the first time will allow our Nation's older adults to receive coverage for dental, vision, and hearing under Medicare. I hope Mr. Levin is proudly watching as the House in which he served for 36 years, this very body, delivers on this effort.
I can speak for members of the freshman class, who have stood on the shoulders of the Members who have come before us to say that we were sent to Washington with a mandate to bring down the cost of prescription drugs and to deliver for the American people.
H.R. 3 is a long overdue change to the way we do business around here. This will untie the hands of the Federal Government to negotiate prices for the oldest and most expensive drugs in Medicare part D and apply those prices to all Americans.
In my district, in Michigan's 11th District, southeastern Michigan, H.R. 3, the Lower Prescription Drugs Now Act stands to benefit over 100,000 people enrolled in Medicare part D alone, as well as over 600,000 people who are enrolled in private health insurance.
We all know someone who has had their life impacted by cancer, whether it be a parent, a cousin, a relative, a dear friend. For the 9,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer in Michigan this year, H.R. 3 will lower their medication by 65 percent from $69,000 to $23,000 per year. For the 4,500 Michiganians diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, H.R. 3, the Lower Prescription Drugs Now Act will lower the cost of their medication from over $100,000 to $37,000 per year. And the list goes on.
Many of these patients live as close as a 10-minute drive from Canada in Michigan where Canadians are paying cents on the dollar for the exact same drugs. We ask why should that be in a country as wealthy, as prosperous, as innovative, as creative, and successful as ours? Drugs like insulin. H.R. 3 will finally level the global playing field for Americans.
The tremendous savings generated from H.R. 3, the Lower Prescription Drugs Now Act, will go right back into the research to develop new drugs with some of the savings also bringing us one step closer to stemming the devastating tide of the opioid epidemic.
I ask my friends to join me in commandeering this opioid epidemic that is ravaging far too many communities across this beautiful country. Far too many communities. Where recent graduates from high school say we go to our high school reunions in graveyards, in cemeteries because of this opioid epidemic.
I am proud that this historic piece of legislation also includes a bill that I had the privilege of authoring to lower prescription drug costs for lower-income, older adults, who are enrolled in the lowest cost part D plan that covers their medication needs.
The time is now, and I urge my colleagues, I implore them, to follow the will of their constituents and pass H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019.
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Ms. STEVENS. Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene).
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Ms. STEVENS. Madam Chair, I think we are all here to make sure that every Alzheimer's patient and every family affected by Alzheimer's has access to the lowest, most affordable prescription drugs possible, which is why we are so pleased to be ushering in today's piece of legislation.
Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford).
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Ms. STEVENS. Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Crow).
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Ms. STEVENS. Madam Chair, I yield myself 30 seconds.
As a subtle point of clarification, today, as we embark on a historic moment, we are looking to pass the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now legislation, not the invest in R&D act. Embracing the status quo for the millions of Americans who are counting on us is certainly fully and wholly unacceptable.
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Ms. STEVENS. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Kirkpatrick).
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Ms. STEVENS. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rouda).
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Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 30 seconds.
Mr. Chairman, it is a fact that pharmaceutical drug companies spend more on marketing than they do on R&D.
It is a fact that life expectancy in this country is going down, and it has gone down for the third year in a row.
It is a fact that we are in a moment of crisis, and now is the time for us to pass the Lower Drug Costs Now Act.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Mrs. Lee), who is my good friend.
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Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Slotkin), who is my dear friend.
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Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rose), my friend.
Mr. ROSE of New York. Mr. Chair, before I came to Congress, my job was to make sure that those without healthcare and those who could barely afford it, could have access.
Every day, we would see doctors and nurses do the impossible in the worst system. And without fail, we all would wonder why no one would do anything to change it. Well, today we are. This bill does not cater to a base. This bill does not cater to Big Pharma, but this bill does cater to that family tonight who is going to have to choose between paying for prescription drugs or putting food on the table. This bill caters to the American people.
Today, Big Pharma loses, and the American people win. Because what we are doing today is giving Medicare the power to negotiate skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs. This historic legislation also creates new out-of-pocket limits on prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries. It reinvests savings so that we can create new breakthrough treatments and cures at NIH, and it provides $10 billion in funding to combat the opioid epidemic.
For decades, Big Pharma and corporate PACs could count on their lobbyists and politicians to keep them safe at the expense of the American people. Not anymore. Today, the American people win. I urge all my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
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Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Speaker of the House.
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Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman from Texas is prepared to close, I am prepared to close.
Mr. Chairman, we have heard compelling argument today. We have heard compelling argument around the need and the reason to lower the costs of prescription drugs now. We are taking bold and reasonable steps today to bring down the costs of prescription drugs in this country. It is a significant and historic day that ushers in a beacon of hope for so many.
The answer from our Democratic majority today is solutions, solutions based on fact, solutions based on the guiding principle of the people, who we represent, to deliver for them.
The question is, when will we do something? Today, our legislation, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, that is what we are going to be passing, lowering drug costs now for the people who cannot wait, for the child of parents who are pushed to the brink, for the older American who is afraid to go to the pharmacy to pick up their prescription drug because of what it might cost, for the senior who is afraid to go to the doctor just to get that prescription, for the one- third of Americans who forgo their prescription drugs because of their costs.
President Truman said that America is not built on fear. America is built on imagination. America is built on courage. And America is built on the willingness to do the job at hand.
That, my friends, is what our majority is doing here today, tackling a solution for the millions of people, the countless number of people, whose voices only make their way into this Chamber by those who represent them, not the large multinational company that has more money than it knows what to do with. It is for the individual, hardworking American, which is why, today, I ask my colleagues to join me in passing the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act for every American, for the people, by the people.
This is a historic and proud day, Mr. Chairman, and this is what we came here for.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
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