[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 172 (Wednesday, October 30, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H8606]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               ADDRESS RISING COST OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Madam Speaker, since January, House Democrats have 
gotten to work, passing legislation that brings down healthcare costs 
and protects the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.
  We have gone to court to fight against the Trump administration's 
efforts to gut protections for folks with preexisting conditions. We 
have already sent a package of legislation to the Senate that will 
drive down the price of prescription drugs. We are still waiting on 
Mitch McConnell to take up these bills, but we are not stopping there.
  In the coming weeks, we will also bring to the floor the Elijah 
Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, H.R. 3, the single most significant 
piece of legislation to reduce drug costs, that empowers patients and 
consumers against the powerful pharmaceutical cartels in this country.
  This legislation levels the playing field of working people in this 
country, a country that pays more for prescription drugs than anyplace 
else in the world.
  Our constituents want a government that works for the people of this 
country. It is time for my Republican colleagues and Leader McConnell 
to get the message: Stop standing in the way. Work with us so we can 
get the job done and pass this important legislation that will address 
this very serious issue, the rising cost of prescription drugs.

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