Political Quotes

“Mr. President, let me be as clear as I can be. That is, the American people--whether they are Democrats, Republicans, or Independents--are sick and tired of paying, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. The American people are sick and tired of being ripped off by giant pharmaceutical companies who make huge profits every year while charging us outrageous prices that the American people cannot afford. A few months ago, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee--the HELP Committee--that I chair held a hearing on the extraordinarily high prices of prescription drugs in the United States, and this is what we learned. We learned that Merck, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, made $14.5 billion in profits last year charging Americans struggling with diabetes $6,900 for Januvia, when the same exact product can be purchased in Canada for $900 and in France for $200. Here you go: $6,900 in the United States, $900 in Canada, $200 in France. This is not a generic. This is the exact same product. We found that this same company--which, by the way, could afford to spend $7 billion last year on dividends and a $52 million compensation package for its CEO--$52 million for its CEO--charges Americans struggling with cancer $191,000 for Keytruda, while the same exact drug can be purchased in Canada for $112,000, $91,000 in France, and $89,000 in Germany.…”