Virginia Foxx: “All of us in this Chamber have heard the troubling stories of mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers…”

“All of us in this Chamber have heard the troubling stories of mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, friends, and colleagues who suffer every day because they can't afford their medications. That is why Congress started a collaborative and bipartisan process to tackle this issue earlier this year. In October, this bipartisan collaboration was cut abruptly short by Speaker Pelosi with the introduction of H.R. 3, which was written in secret without Member input or the regular committee process. Instead of a bipartisan solution, we are left with H.R. 3, which is nothing more than a Democrat downpayment on a government-run healthcare system that would eliminate private insurance and implement government- controlled rationing of prescription drugs. I serve as the senior Republican on the Education and Labor Committee. H.R. 3 is the latest string in a series of radical Democratic bills that I have seen in the committee and in the House that promote unprecedented government interference in private markets and increased regulatory red tape. Proposals that can and should be bipartisan, such as addressing the skills gap, pension reform, and now drug pricing, are being rewritten by Democratic leadership, which is held hostage by their most leftwing Members. An amendment adopted during our committee markup proves just that point.…”