FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 26, 2003HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE REFUSES TO ALLOW VOTE ON LARSON AMENDMENT TO GOP PRESCRIPTION DRUG BILL
WASHINGTON, D.C.- In an early morning vote today, the House Rules Committee refused to allow an amendment to H.R. 1, the GOP prescription drug bill, offered by U.S. Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01) designed to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare participants. The amendment would have created a consortium led by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. These agencies would use their collective buying power to determine the maximum price that the companies could charge Medicare prescription drug providers for the covered drugs, resulting in significant savings for the 40 million seniors enrolled in Medicare.
Larson stated:
