Energy and Commerce Committee Adopts Schakowsky Amendment on Lowering Drug Pricing

Washington D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Schakowsky released the following statement after the Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved her amendment stating that Congress should “take administrative actions and enact legislative changes that will lower the cost of prescription drugs for consumers and reduce the burden of such cost on taxpayers”. The amendment was included in the FDA Reauthorization Act, also known as the User Fee Agreements.

“I'm glad that the Committee members on both sides of the aisle voted for my amendment and agreed that we need to work to lower the soaring drug prices that American families are facing. After years of my Republican colleagues refusing to take any action to lower drug prices, this is a welcome development. In fact, they have actually acted to raise prices by prohibiting Medicare from negotiating to lower drug prices.

“Now we have to do more than just talk - we need to act. The test will be whether we pass legislative solutions that lower drugs -- serious proposals that provide overdue price relief to families. The policy ideas already exist, we just have to be bold enough to get them accomplished – I support allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, banning “pay-for-delay” payments that keep generics off the market, and increasing drug price transparency so we can finally understand how drugs are priced and why those prices continue to skyrocket.

“I have introduced two pieces of legislation that the Energy and Commerce Committee could and should consider right away. First, H.R. 2439, the FAIR Drug Pricing Act, is a common-sense, bipartisan bill supported by a wide array of consumer and industry groups, including AARP, the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, the American College of Physicians, and the AFL-CIO. In the Senate, the bill was introduced by Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ). The bill is simple: if pharmaceutical companies raise the cost of their drugs by 10% in a year, or 25% in three years, they should have to tell the government and the American people the reason for this increase. My bill would make sure that is the case.

“In addition, I have also introduced a larger, comprehensive bill to completely reform our drug pricing system. That bill, H.R. 1776, Improving Access to Affordable Prescription Drugs Act, proposes a laundry list of fixes to the prescription drug price epidemic. It would improve transparency, reduce government-sponsored monopolies for high-cost drugs, put an end to practices that delay generic drugs from coming to the market, cap out-of-pocket costs for patients, require Medicare to negotiate for the cost of prescription drugs, end the tax-break for direct-to-consumer advertising, deter drug corporations from drastically raising the price of their drugs, and allow for safe re-importation of prescription drugs.

“Our constituents are begging us to take action, and we cannot wait another minute while hardworking families are crushed by skyrocketing drug prices. Now that my colleagues have decided to ‘talk the talk’ on drug prices, I hope they’ll join me in ‘walking the walk’.”