John Cornyn: “I am glad the Presiding Officer is in the Chair because, committed as I know she is to solving real problems, the…”

“I am glad the Presiding Officer is in the Chair because, committed as I know she is to solving real problems, the legislation that we are going to pass here momentarily by unanimous consent has been 7 years in the making but will actually address the problem of high drug prices. In the last few years, I have heard, certainly, from my constituents in Texas about the struggle to obtain their medication at affordable costs. It is not because no treatment exists or because they don't have insurance or because it is a brandnew drug that just hit the market. Many patients can't afford prescriptions they have been taking for years because the prices continue to go up, and there is little evidence of anything to justify those price increases. I have heard heartbreaking stories about patients leaving their prescriptions unfilled simply because they can't afford them, rationing doses of blood pressure medication, and traveling across the international border to Mexico to get certain medications at lower prices. The problem is, when you go to Mexico to get your medication, it may look like the same medication you take in the United States, but chances are it may well be counterfeit, so that is a real problem in and of itself. These challenges have been compounded by high inflation under President Biden's policies. We know everything has gone up in cost--an average of 20 percent over the last 3 years for groceries, gas, rent.…”