On the recordJanuary 23, 2018
very shortly, the Senate is going to take two votes on the President's nominees. The first is to confirm Jerome Powell as the next Fed Chair. Once that vote wraps up, the Senate will vote on whether to begin debate on the nomination of Alex Azar to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. This is one of the key roles in our entire Federal Government in caring for America's sick and vulnerable. Let me begin by saying that Mr. Azar does not come with the staggering ethical challenges of his predecessor, the first Trump HHS nominee, Tom Price. Here is my concern: Mr. Azar's nomination is a clear symbol of the President's broken promises on prescription drugs and pledge to secure better and more affordable healthcare for all Americans. At the outset of my remarks, I am going to start with the issue of skyrocketing prescription drug prices that now clobber millions of Americans at pharmacy windows across America. It is one thing for a Presidential candidate to have claimed he would just be too busy working to have time to golf and then spend almost 1 out of 3 days in office golfing. It is another thing altogether to promise cheaper prescription drugs to sick and vulnerable Americans who empty their pockets to pay for their medications only to abandon them completely once you are in office.…
