Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, I rise in support of H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. In his name, the days of putting profits over people must come to an end. Madam Chair, to my colleagues across the aisle, why do they consider this to be a partisan idea? Drug companies owe a fiduciary duty to make profits for their shareholders, but as Members of Congress, we have a much more important shareholder: the American people. When we try to pass good bills to drive down drug prices, Big Pharma throws the weight of its lobby to kill them. They talk about innovation and research and development without disclosing that they spend more on marketing than they do on innovation, without disclosing that they could lose $1 trillion in sales and still be the most profitable industry. One vial of insulin in America should not cost 10 times what it costs in Canada. People like my constituents Danielle Thrapp and her son Brandon should not have to worry about the price of insulin. People like my constituent Mitchell Lenett shouldn't have to worry whether his 14-year-old daughter Carly, who has type 1 diabetes, will be able to afford her insulin when she is no longer on his health insurance plan. That is why this bill is so important. The Secretary of HHS must be able to negotiate lower drug prices for the highest cost prescription drugs, something other countries with far lower drug prices have long been able to do. The Congressional Budget Office tells us that H.R.…”