Emanuel: Insert Competition into Rx Drug Pricing

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) delivered the following statement on the House floor during the rule consideration to H.R. 2427, the Pharmaceutical Market Access Act of 2003, a bill that would allow Americans to get prescription drugs at the same prices as in Canada or Europe.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this unfair rule.  People from around the world come to America for first class medical care, but Americans need to travel around the world for affordable medications.  The legislation we are debating today is about inserting competition into drug pricing, to ensure that Americans no longer have to pay a 25 to 40 percent premium over the prices paid in other countries.

A recent Families USA study found that the prices of the 50 drugs most commonly used by seniors increased by an average of three and a half times the rate of inflation over the past year.  And between 2000 and 2003, seniors expenditures on prescription drugs increased by 44 percent. For too long, price gouging of our seniors has gone on, subsidizing the discounts that the French, Germans, English, and Canadians enjoy.  Americans have subsidized the research and development for pharmaceutical companies, through NIH drug research and through the tax benefits that pharmaceutical companies enjoy. 

We’re about to embark on the largest expansion of an entitlement in 40 years, spending $400 billion of taxpayers’ money.  We owe it to our taxpayers to ensure that they are getting the best bang for their buck.

I want to speak about the myth of safety concerns that has arisen around this bill: first - today, we import $14.8 billion of FDA approved medications from around the world, and nobody screams about safety.  Lipitor, the famous cholesterol drug, is made in Ireland.  And people in Europe get this drug cheaper than folks in America—and Lipitor was developed by a company based in Michigan.

Also, there is a myth that Donna Shalala claimed that reimportation was not safe when she was Secretary of HHS.  I spoke to Donna Shalala on Friday and she reminded me of what she really said – that reimportation could absolutely be done safely if the funding was provided to set up the system to do it.  When people tell you that something ain’t about money, well, folks, it’s about money.

I understand how this system works.  There’s a pharmaceutical lobbyist and a half for every member of Congress.  They have spent $200 million in contributions, entertainment, lobbying expenses – all focused on us.  But meanwhile, our seniors are being overcharged by approximately $200 billion.

The question before us tonight is – “Are we going to put more priority on the 200 million focused on us, or the 200 billion that our constituents are losing?”

I know why we all came here.  We ran for a set of ideas and a set of values.  If you believe in competition, protecting taxpayers, and ensuring that the special interests do not have a voice louder than the people we represent, then you need to vote against this rule and support reimportation.