Amodei Votes Against Partisan Bill to Eliminate Cures, Supports Bill Promoting Innovation & Low-Cost Options for Patients
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Logan Tucker, 202-225-6155
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Mark Amodei (NV-02) today released the following statement after voting against H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, a partisan prescription drug proposal that would eliminate lifesaving cures, will not be considered in the Senate, and will not be signed into law. This legislation passed out of the House with a recorded vote of 230-192.
“When it comes to prescription drug costs, the challenge is to fix the issue without killing the industry. Unfortunately, H.R. 3 would result in fewer cures and less access to prescription drugs – including life-saving treatments. While Speaker Pelosi is trying to pass this legislation off as a “negotiation” that would lower drug prices for the American people, it’s actually a government mandate. Under the bill, drug companies would sell prescription drugs at a price arbitrarily set by government bureaucrats who would set a maximum price for the drug. If a manufacturer refuses to comply with that price, the government will tax the drug manufacturer’s overall revenue at 65 percent, a rate which keeps rising until it hits a 95 percent tax rate. In short: do what I say or go out of business.
“Unlike H.R. 3, which is a sweeping expansion of government control over patients’ health care, the House also voted today on a bipartisan alternative to lowering prescription drug costs. Offered as a substitute amendment to H.R. 3, H.R. 19, the Lower Costs, More Cures Act, would actually lower the cost of prescription drugs through provisions that will encourage the innovation of new cures, promote more low-cost options for patients, and crack down on drug companies who attempt to cheat the patent system. More specifically, H.R. 19 would place a cap on seniors’ out-of-pocket drug costs for the first time ever, make insulin more affordable, and cut the cost of drug administration for Medicare beneficiaries by as much as half.
“As a supporter and cosponsor of H.R. 19, I commend my colleagues who voted in favor of this legislation that includes more than 40 provisions with demonstrated bipartisan support and has the potential to actually be signed into law.
“Political show-votes like H.R. 3 do nothing but provide fodder for somebody’s campaign commercial without actually addressing the problem. It’s a unique cynicism that tells seniors and sick people, ‘this is the way to go’, when everyone dealing with the issue disagrees.
“Finally, let’s not forget when former Senator Harry Reid was the Majority Leader in the Senate, and Barack Obama was President of the United States, and we constantly heard the House should quit sending bills over to the Senate that it will never take up and the president isn’t going to sign. The Democrats were absolutely right then, and should take their own advice now.”
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