10.5.2020
During a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing today, Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) again slammed pharmaceutical executives for saddling American families and seniors with exorbitant prescription drug costs.
“I don’t trust the industry to do the right thing,” said Congressman Sarbanes. “We need to put more guardrails in place and this hearing is about that.”
Sarbanes continued: “This is why Elijah Cummings started this inquiry originally, and we’re going to keep following through. And there’s gonna have to be major restructuring of how the industry operates going forward. I know you’re trying to duck and cover here, but you better anticipate that that’s coming because the American public is fit to be tied about the high prices of prescription drugs.”
Sarbanes concluded: “We proposed a bill last December, House Democrats did – this is common sense legislation that would allow Medicare to negotiate directly with drug manufacturers for lower prices, just like the VA and the Department of Defense are able to do…. And Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans have stood in the way of this. They blocked the door to better opportunity for consumers and patients for years now, but we’re not giving up.” We’re gonna keep the heat on. We’re gonna keep pushing. And we’re gonna do it.”