What would you think of the idea of making retaliation itself a punishable offense?

There are few prosecutions. There are fewer convictions.

I believe, in the committee on a number of the options and alternatives that have been put forward in various bills.

I would just suggest that this issue of retaliation is significant.

I have heard concerns from my constituents that some drug plans have what I refer to as a Fail First Policy in which a beneficiary may be prescribed a more expensive medication but first has to use a lower cost drug or a plan-preferred medication.

I don't understand the difference in treatment.

we need to address the portion of the fiscal year 2013 budget shortfall with some sort of supplemental OCO request.

Why don't I just quickly go down the panel?

And I think the fact that we have market-based pricing rather than government price controls is a significant part of the reason that that is the case.

I was proud to vote for that legislation, and I think that it is possibly--no, I am going to go out on a limb here and say it is the only entitlement program in history where the actual experience has produced much lower costs both for the government and for beneficiaries than was initially estimated.

On the one hand, you look at the VA system, where government has used its purchasing power for years to negotiate prices.

But what those surveys show is that about 40 percent of the beneficiaries think that there are too many--

With respect to the vital research and development on new drugs that the pharmaceutical industry does, isn't the American consumer really subsidizing that for the rest of the world?

I mean, most countries do have controls on the cost of medications.

We thank Chairman Jeff Miller and Ranking Member Mike Michaud for the opportunity to present a statement for the record.

the impact of these budget shortfalls are serious and unacceptable.

I want to know how to, as I said, breathe life into it.

I have made a proposal with some co-authors about setting up an administrative process inside the executive branch that would notify Congress about what groups are actually our enemies.