Rep. Susie Lee Joins Frontline Democrats in Pressing House Leadership to Include Provisions to Lower Prescription Drug Costs in the Build Back Better Act
WASHINGTON – Rep. Susie Lee joined fourteen of her colleagues in writing a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer urging immediate action to address the high cost of prescription drugs in the United States. Prescription drug reform was not included in the original framework of the Build Back Better Act released last week, but Rep. Lee is still fighting for its inclusion in the final legislative text, which is currently being negotiated. In their letter, the Members called on Leadership to stand up to Big Pharma and provide relief to the American people, who pay the highest drug prices in the world.
"As majority-makers in competitive districts, we promised our constituents that we would come to Washington to fight on their behalf for lower drug prices. We cannot turn back now on our promise to the American people," the lawmakers wrote.
"With the Build Back Better agenda, we have a perhaps once in a generation opportunity to change the status quo and make good on our promise that no one should have to choose between affording their prescription drugs or food or housing," the members continued. "The public is on our side. Big Pharma is not." The full text of the letter can be found below and is linked here:
Dear Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer:
Thank you for your leadership and continued efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs. As majority-makers in competitive districts, we promised our constituents that we would come to Washington to fight on their behalf for lower drug prices. We cannot turn back now on our promise to the American people. We urge you in the strongest terms possible to include legislative language in the Build Back Better Act that will be voted on by the full House to accomplish this.
For too long, the pharmaceutical industry has raked in extraordinary profits, while Americans routinely pay more than three times what people in other countries pay for the same medicines. As a country, we spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year on prescription drugs, and yet our constituents must often choose between purchasing prescribed medications or putting food on the table. It is unacceptable that anyone in the wealthiest country in the world cannot access the medications they need to stay alive.
With two lobbyists per Member of Congress, we know that Big Pharma is deeply invested in the status quo. Our current system forbids Medicare from negotiating the prices it pays for prescription drugs. As a result, millions of Americans are forced to spend thousands of dollars a year on their medications – or go without.
In many cases, as with insulin, these medications have been on the market for decades. In 1991, a bottle of Humalog insulin cost $21. Today the average list price is over $300. That is inexcusable. In these instances, we are not paying for research and development. By allowing the cost of drugs like insulin to rise year after year, we are financing soaring executive salaries, stock buybacks and outrageous profit margins on the backs of our seniors.
With the Build Back Better agenda, we have a perhaps once in a generation opportunity to change the status quo and make good on our promise that no one should have to choose between affording their prescription drugs or food or housing. The public is on our side. Big Pharma is not.
Soon, we must go back to our districts and explain what we've done in Washington to make our constituents' lives better. We ran on upsetting the status quo and lowering out-of-pocket costs for healthcare and prescription drugs. If we fail, we'll need to explain to them why we let Big Pharma win, why we let entrenched special interests take precedence over the American people.
You have dedicated your careers to lowering the cost of healthcare. We stand with you in your continued efforts. The moment is now. We must deliver on our promise to lower the amount of money our constituents pay for prescription drugs. We must demonstrate that we work for the American people and not the pharmaceutical industry. Our constituents are counting on us.
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