On the recordDecember 12, 2012
I yield myself 1 minute. The ranking member spoke of a group called the Alliance for Sensible Atmospheric Policy. I wish this were sensible, Madam Speaker. This is the most nonsensical thing I have ever encountered. Look, America's asthma patients are not blowing a hole in the ozone above Antarctica. I get the fact that Mr. Waxman and I have to give up our hair spray. I get that. Too much CFCs. You've got it. I get the fact that our underarm deodorant had too many CFCs and we had to have a different propellant. But we're talking about an effective treatment for a very vulnerable group of patients--2 o'clock in the morning, someone who has asthma who might have run out of their medicine, or maybe they encountered something that caused their airways to react, what choice do they now have? They go to the emergency room, spend $1,500 for a breathing treatment. This is not something that was held behind the counter by the pharmacist. This was out on the open shelf available to anyone at any hour of the day or night. Asthma patients need access to this type of medication. I would welcome the fact that other companies would want to create a low-cost, available product for asthmatics to use as a rescue inhaler. I reserve the balance of my time.
