Devin Nunes: “I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding to me. I want to speak in opposition to H.R. 3. Saying that drug costs are…”

“I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding to me. I want to speak in opposition to H.R. 3. Saying that drug costs are too high for many Americans, Republicans and Democrats can agree on that. That is why we spent the better part of a year working toward a bipartisan solution to lower out-of-pocket prescription drug costs and crack down on overpriced drugs. Sadly, Democrats abandoned that effort in favor of the socialist policies in H.R. 3. For Democrats, the answer is always more government, and H.R. 3 is no exception. The bill gives the government sweeping new powers to allow government bureaucrats to arbitrarily set drug prices. Democrats keep calling it negotiation. Here is how negotiation works under H.R. 3. The Federal Government will tell a drug company what the drug price is going to be. If the drug company doesn't like it, they have two options: pay a 95 percent tax on their revenue or leave the U.S. market. That doesn't sound like negotiation to me. The Congressional Budget Office claims this will result in such low drug prices that some of the lifesaving cures won't even come to market. Under this arrangement, there is very little incentive for drug companies to invest the time and money it takes to create new cures and treatments. We know it takes $2.6 billion and 10 to 15 years, on average, to bring one drug to market. This bill's arbitrary action against drug companies carries a steep cost to the American people in the form of fewer future cures.…”