Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. CROW. Madam Chair, I rise today to speak in favor of H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, and I am eager to vote for this landmark piece of legislation today.

I am proud that we are here boldly taking a stand against the influence of special interests in Congress and a stand for the American people, to help them afford critical lifesaving medications.

Back home in Colorado's Sixth Congressional District, when I am hosting townhalls or roundtables with families, college students, or seniors, I hear the same thing: Prescription drugs are too expensive, and Congress needs to act now.

Currently, as we stand here, one in three Coloradans can't afford to pay for their basic medications and are having to either ration their medication or stop taking it altogether. This needs to stop now.

Thousands of Coloradans are diagnosed with cancer every year, and the treatments for these patients cost $100,000 or more. Instead of working to increase access and lower costs, the pharmaceutical companies are price gouging these patients, our constituents, across the country. This needs to stop now.

I am proud to have worked with my freshman colleague, Representative Porter, to introduce H.R. 4663, the Freedom from Price Gouging Act, which has been included as a provision in H.R. 3. Our provision would hold these bad actors accountable and prevent them from raising the cost of prescription drugs past the rate of inflation. The CBO recently found that this measure would save American taxpayers $38 billion over the next decade.

Importantly, H.R. 3 gives the Federal Government authority to negotiate prices for insulin and other lifesaving drugs. As I stand here today, 300,000 Coloradans with diabetes will save up to 75 percent on their insulin under H.R. 3. It also caps the exorbitant amount that seniors have to pay for drugs that simply improve the quality of their life.

As I stand here today, hundreds of thousands of Coloradans with heart disease, asthma, arthritis, and cancer will directly benefit from H.R. 3.

On top of the drug pricing provisions, this bill invests billions in savings back into our healthcare system. $10 billion would go to our Nation's community health centers, which serve over 29 million Americans from underserved communities.

It also invests $10 billion into the NIH and $2 billion into the FDA to promote research and drug safety. It invests another $10 billion to respond to our Nation's opioid epidemic, which has destroyed far too many American families.

We cannot wait any longer while our neighbors' and family members' lives are at risk and while pharmaceutical companies continue to fill their pockets, making tens of billions of dollars, historic profits.

Americans rightly expect us to deliver on our promise to fight and reduce the cost of prescription drugs. That is why I will cast my vote as a ``yes'' today to deliver relief for my constituents and the American people.

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