Pelosi Remarks at Press Event on Lower Drug Costs Now Act

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Pelosi joinedHouse Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone Jr., Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott and health care advocates for a press event on H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. Below are the Speaker's remarks:

Speaker Pelosi. Good morning, everyone. Again, a good morning it is, because of our purpose here, today.

Last year, House Democrats promised in our For The People agenda, that we would lower the cost of health care by lowering the cost of prescription drugs.

This week, we are delivering on that promise with H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act.

On behalf of the House Leadership, Mr. Hoyer is with us and you'll hear from, I want to thank Chairman Pallone, Chairman Neal, Chairman Scott for their leadership in this legislation: the most transformative expansion of Medicare since Medicare's inception.

We thank Caroline Corum and Jim Riordan, our stars today, our VIPs, for their courage to tell their stories about what this legislation would mean in their lives.

When I travel the country – I've said this over and over again – I have seen grown men cry about how they cannot meet their families' needs because of the crushing burden of prescription drug costs. People cutting pills in half. People not taking their medication. And many times, the fathers are saying, ‘I can't help my child or my wife' or this – we need relief from this, and that is exactly what we're bringing.

The burden touches every family, hurting not only their health, but their financial health.

H.R. 3 delivers dramatic cost reductions for seniors and families across America. Our distinguished Chairmen will talk about that.

There is every reason in the world for Republicans to join us to pass this bill. Even the President has supported its key provisions:

On Medicare negotiations, he said: ‘When it comes time to negotiate the cost of drugs, we are going to negotiate like crazy.' I hope so.

And, on international benchmarking, saying: ‘It's unacceptable that Americans pay vastly more than people in other countries for the exact same drugs, often made in the exact same place. This is wrong, this is unfair, and together we will stop it.'

We invite the President to join us, in honor of our beloved Chairman Elijah Cummings, our North Star, who worked across the aisle and down Pennsylvania Avenue to lower health care costs.

Now, in honor of Chairman Cummings and our nation's children, we are proud to pass H.R. 3 and lower the costs now, for all Americans.

And, now, I am pleased to yield to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland, the Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives, Mr. Hoyer.

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Speaker Pelosi. Thank you, Jim. Thank you so much.

Leader Hoyer. Well done.

Speaker Pelosi. Thank you to Jim and to Caroline for their very compelling messages because we can talk about substance – policy and the rest, but nothing is more eloquent than their personal stories. Caroline, thank you for telling us why you are here today, for yourself and for your patients. Jim, thank you for specifically spelling out the cost of all of this and the cost to health of not having the full coverage that you need.

Our colleagues – our Chairmen – have very eloquently spelled out the provisions of the bill, I will just add one thing, $[10] billion to fight the opioid epidemic, very important in this as well.

And our other Chairman, Mr. Neal, is right now marking up a bill in the Ways and Means Committee, but we thank him too, for the leadership of Chairman Neal and his committee members working on this important legislation.

If our colleague, Elijah Cummings, were with us, as many of us have heard of him say frequently, he saw health care costs take a grave toll on families and children, whom he called – he called children our ‘living messengers to a future we will never see.' In honor of Chairman Cummings and our nation's children, we are proud to pass H.R. 3 and lower health care costs now for all Americans. I thank our Chairmen, but I especially thank our special VIP guests. Mr. Hoyer, I am sure, joins me in that?

Leader Hoyer. Jim and Caroline, right? And all of you.

Speaker Pelosi. Yes, Mr. Riordan and Mrs. Corum for their beautiful testimony.

If I just may take a moment to say how proud we are of the participating groups. The reason we will be successful for this legislation is partially because of the input that we have had from so many people about how to make this really work for people, to get results soon for the American people. But the outside mobilization was, is essential to our success in passing it and then passing on to the Senate and hopefully to the President.

So, we are very proud to have the endorsement of AARP, the participating groups today, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, Alliance for Retired Americans, which Jim – Mr. Riordan – is a member, American Physical Therapy Association, American Public Health Association, Center for Medicare Advocacy, DACH Medical Group, Health Care Voter, HUB Project, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, Patients for Affordable Drugs, Protect Our Care, United Methodist Church, Voices for Progress, to name a few.

But those are some of the groups who are with us, many more out there, mobilizing around this important, transformational legislation to make a very big difference in the, not only the health but the economic health of America's working families.

Again, let us thank Mr. Riordan and Mrs. Corum for their presence and for their courage.

Thank you all.

Thank you.