Chris Wright: “I thank Ms. Foxx for yielding. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 3. This Congress, we have seen on multiple…”

“I thank Ms. Foxx for yielding. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 3. This Congress, we have seen on multiple occasions that Democrats and Republicans are able to agree on and move powerful and beneficial legislation when we put aside politics in favor of bipartisan pragmatism. Members on both sides of the aisle agree that rising drug prices are a major concern for all Americans, and you would think we would be able to deliver for the American people on this issue. Unlike the radical bill before us, H.R. 19, the Lower Costs, More Cures Act, contains bipartisan solutions and has a real chance of being signed into law. Sadly, we are wasting the taxpayers' time debating a hapless Federal takeover of America's innovative biotech industry that will result in more harm than good. H.R. 3 represents the first step of a government takeover, all under the guise of helping. But threatening companies is not helping; restricting future cures is not helping; threatening the jobs of 89,000 Texans employed by the biotech industry is not helping. This bill would slap manufacturers with a 95 percent excise tax for not negotiating its prices with the Federal Government. That is not negotiating; that is dictating. Speaker Pelosi's price-setting legislation gives manufacturers a stark choice: comply or exit the U.S. market entirely. Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm. Public officials should do the same. If one thing is clear to me, it is that H.R.…”