Lori Trahan: “I want to thank my colleague from Florida for yielding. Today, the House considers historic legislation to lower…”

“I want to thank my colleague from Florida for yielding. Today, the House considers historic legislation to lower prescription drug prices and deliver a transformational expansion to Medicare under H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019. The namesake of this bill inspired many Members of this body, myself included, to act boldly on behalf of working families like the one I grew up in. It is time to flip the status quo on a system that has pocketed billions off the backs of patients like my dad who suffer from chronic diseases like MS. I am proud to have championed a provision which added a critical lever of transparency and accountability by requiring a GAO study on the negotiation program, essentially ensuring that there is no unfair manipulation or gaming at play. While I regret that my amendment to support baseline knowledge of addiction among prescribers was not made in order, I look forward to supporting this important bill. I am grateful to leadership, my colleagues, and the committees of jurisdiction for bringing us all here to this point today.”