Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, for those insured who rely on insulin or who are fortunate enough to win the lottery to have their drugs selected to be negotiated, this is a valuable piece of legislation. But for 30 million Americans who are uninsured, they are denied any guarantee of lower prices. Inexplicably, this rule rejects a proposal by me and 28 of our colleagues to provide relief for the uninsured. It bars all of my amendments to improve H.R. 3, including those that addressed outrageous new drug launch prices; price spike protection, which price spikes are occurring at an alarming rate, by the thousands; and ensuring negotiation for those drugs where the taxpayers are actually picking up the tab to finance the research that produces the drug. Of all of these, the most troubling concerns the uninsured. USA Today just published a powerful op-ed by Nicole Smith-Holt. It is entitled: ``My Son Died From Rationing Insulin. Democrats' Drug Pricing Plan Still Wouldn't Help Him.'' She writes of her son, age 26, who aged out of his parents' insurance and had a job with no benefits. She expresses the same concern that a group of Michigan high schoolers recently wrote me in a compelling letter that they are raising money to help those who lack insurance buy their drugs, saying: ``Drug manufacturers should not be able to determine who does and who does not get better. Everyone deserves to be healthy . . . .`' And everyone deserves to be helped by our legislation, but some are left out.…”