This evening, the House is debating H.R. 3, Speaker Pelosi's radical drug pricing scheme that will eliminate choice and competition, jeopardize innovation, investment, and access to future cures, and impose unprecedented government interference in private, market negotiations.
On the House floor, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Republican Leader of the Education and Labor Committee, delivered the following remarks (as prepared for delivery):
"All of us in this chamber have heard the troubling stories of mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, friends, and colleagues who suffer every day because they can’t afford their medications.
"That is why Congress started a collaborative and bipartisan process to tackle this issue earlier this year.
"In October, this bipartisan collaboration was cut abruptly short by Speaker Pelosi with the introduction of H.R. 3, which was written in secret, without Member input or the regular Committee process.
"Instead of a bipartisan solution we are left with H.R. 3, which is nothing more than a Democrat down payment on a government-run health care system that would eliminate private insurance and implement a government-controlled rationing of prescription drugs.
"I serve as the senior Republican on the Education and Labor Committee. H.R. 3 is the latest string in a series of radical Democrat bills that I’ve seen in the Committee and in the House that promote unprecedented government interference in private markets and increase regulatory red tape. Proposals that can and should be bipartisan, such as addressing the skills gap, pension reform, and now drug pricing, are being rewritten by Democrat Leadership, who are held hostage by their most left-wing members.
"An amendment adopted during our Committee markup proves just that point. Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s amendment pushes this radical bill even further to the left by requiring the Secretaries of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury to study and issue regulations on extending government price controls to private health care plans.
"The mandate for additional price controls suggested in this amendment tells private companies how much they can increase their prices each year or forces them to pay a fine. House Democrats aren’t satisfied with only setting prices in government programs, and they continue to find ways to expand the already radical scope of H.R. 3 to the private market as well.
"Since the Education and Labor Committee markup, this issue has been a key area of disagreement between moderate and progressive Democrats, but Speaker Pelosi yet again caved to the demands of her Progressive Caucus and agreed to keep the amendment in the final bill.
"The flawed and extreme approach taken by H.R. 3 includes troubling and unprecedented government interference in private, market negotiations. Governments don’t negotiate, they dictate, so this radical scheme will eliminate choice and competition, and jeopardize innovation, investment, and access to future cures.
"Breakthrough cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s, cancer, sickle cell disease, and others will be at risk.
"In fact, if we pass H.R. 3, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says we could see up to approximately 38 fewer cures for deadly diseases over the next 20 years. The Council of Economic Advisers says up to 100 fewer cures over the next ten years.
"If those estimates aren’t concerning enough, just look at real-world examples for proof. Countries that have adopted drug-pricing systems like those included in H.R. 3 face decreased access to innovative new medicines, increased wait times for treatment, and supply shortages for in-demand drugs.
"Democrat supporters of this bill have said fewer cures in exchange for government-controlled prices is ‘worth it.’ This is shameful. Democrats may be okay with fewer cures. I am not.
"The American people deserve better from Congress. They deserve a real solution that will lower the cost of prescription drugs without jeopardizing access to new treatments and cures.
"That is why House Republicans have introduced H.R. 19, the Lower Costs, More Cures Act. This bill contains measures that have bipartisan support in the House and the Senate, and it can become law this year. Specifically, H.R. 19 will help lower out-of-pocket costs, protect access to new medicines and cures, strengthen transparency and accountability, and champion competition.
"Yet, House Democrats are ignoring this bipartisan, commonsense legislation. Clearly, they prefer politics over progress."
