Grassley: It’s Time to Pass Bipartisan Drug Pricing Legislation

Prepared Floor Remarks by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa

It’s Time to Pass Bipartisan Drug Pricing Legislation

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

 

Three years ago, I began a bipartisan effort to lower prescription drug costs.

 

Following Finance Committee hearings that I chaired, a bill mark-up and bipartisan negotiations, I introduced with the senior senator from Oregon the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act, also known as Grassley-Wyden.

 

We passed it out of the Finance Committee on a bipartisan vote, 19 to nine.

 

I have never stopped working to advance a bipartisan, negotiated and balanced drug pricing bill.

 

Drug prices are rising and more Americans are having a harder time paying the higher costs.

 

AARP says brand name drugs that seniors use are going up more than twice the rate of inflation.

 

New data from the National Health Interview Survey estimate 3.5 million seniors had difficultly affording their medications.

 

I hear stories about rising drug costs all the time at my 99 county meetings.

 

For example: Iowans tell me about the rising cost of their insulin or how they worry about paying for the out-of-pocket costs in the donut hole.

 

No matter how you look at it – drug costs are going up and Americans are paying more. 

 

For 12 months, President Biden and the Democrat majority has focused on a partisan reckless tax and spending spree, and they have not made any progress in passing drug pricing reform.

 

By every public account, those talks have stalled.

 

Today, the senior senator from West Virginia said their bill is “dead.”

 

Instead of spending more time on bills that do not have the votes – we could pass bipartisan legislation to lower drug costs today.

 

It would meaningfully lower prescription drug costs.

 

Let’s not waste another minute.

 

Grassley-Wyden remains our best chance to lower prescription drug costs in a bipartisan manner.

 

And I urge my colleagues to work with me to pass Grassley-Wyden.

 

It caps out-of-pocket expenses at $3,100.

 

Eliminates the donut hole.

 

Caps rising drug prices in Medicare at the inflation price index.

 

My bill ends uncapped taxpayer-funded subsidies to Big Pharma.

 

It brings more sunshine, competition and oversight to Big Pharma too.

 

It saves $72 billion for seniors and $95 billion for taxpayers. 

 

In addition to Grassley-Wyden, I have four prescription drug bills that have passed the Judiciary Committee with unanimous support.

 

These bills bring more competition, let more affordable drugs come to market and end anticompetitive behavior by Big Pharma.