Jeff Fortenberry: “I thank both leaders, first of all, for this debate. This is absolutely critical, and here is why: The other day, I went…”

“I thank both leaders, first of all, for this debate. This is absolutely critical, and here is why: The other day, I went to the doctor--a kind of a common ailment. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic. I said, ``Doc, let's check the price before we use the credit card.'' He said, ``Don't worry about it. It is going to be about $6. It is commonly used.'' But guess what? The list price was about $430. It used to be $6 in 2011; now, it is $430. We have a problem. We have a big problem in America. A very big Democrat, a very big Republican problem. I want to commend my Democratic colleagues for raising the issue, for putting this on the agenda, for making an attempt to propose something. There is strong disagreement with the nature of the policy proposal, but there ought to be unification around the idea that we have to do something. I commend my Republican colleagues for putting together a bill of all the bipartisan initiatives that are around here that we can agree on. So what is going to happen is we are going to get stuck again, really, really quickly. This bill now has a chance of going into law, the bipartisan bill. There is some opposition to it, and it could be fleshed out further. The President has called for negotiations. This is an important part of all of us. So let's get back to work after we get past this moment. Mr. Chair, I thank everyone for a spirited and good debate.”