[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 76 (Thursday, May 10, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H3889-H3890]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES

  (Mr. TONKO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, prescription drug prices are skyrocketing. 
Every day, constituents tell me about outrageous prices they are forced 
to pay for medications just to stay healthy.
  Janice from Albany, in my district, wrote me last year about a drug 
she takes to manage her mental illness. Her monthly cost went from $9 
to $342.
  Irene from Hagaman has said her monthly prescriptions have jumped 
from $35 to $250.
  Regina from Rexford saw the monthly cost of her rheumatoid arthritis 
medicine jump from $2,800 to $3,700 in just one year. That is a bad 
deal.
  Every Member of this body has heard these stories. Despite these 
cries for help from our constituents, Congress has failed to act. 
President Trump made lowering prescription drug prices a centerpiece of 
his campaign. What has he done about it?
  America leads the world in developing new and innovative lifesaving 
cures, something we should be proud to continue; but many of our own 
citizens don't have real access to those innovative treatments. That is 
a bad deal. Drug pricing is complex, but in the richest Nation on 
Earth, no one should have to go bankrupt to obtain lifesaving medicine. 
We have to do better.

[[Page H3890]]

We need greater transparency, more aggressive negotiation, no more pay-
for-delay on generic drugs, and more. Democrats have a better deal to 
offer the American people.

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