[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 178 (Thursday, November 7, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6467-S6468]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Violence Against Women Act
Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, one of my top priorities has been to
reauthorize and modernize the Violence Against Women Act. A survivor
myself, I recognize that VAWA provides the right resources to tackle
head-on domestic violence and sexual abuse in our communities in Iowa
and throughout the United States.
My good friend and colleague Dianne Feinstein, ranking member on the
Judiciary Committee, agreed to work with me on this important topic.
For months, Senator Feinstein and I and our staffs have worked closely
and in good faith with one another with this shared goal in mind. We
have met numerous times, held discussions, and negotiated in a way that
has produced real progress.
But just this week, after months of work and mountains of effort
toward a bipartisan bill, it all came to a screeching halt. Once again,
the Democrats are putting politics ahead of people and have decided to
move forward on the House-passed VAWA bill. The House bill is a
nonstarter and is chock-full of partisan political talking points that
take us further away from rather than closer to a bill we can get over
the finish line.
I am all too aware of how this town works. Election-year politics are
in full swing, and the grim reality is Democrats cannot afford to be
seen giving Republicans a win. The far-left agenda of the House has
hijacked the process. It sounds petty and it sounds unbelievable, but,
folks, that is the reality.
You would think that supporting survivors and preventing abuse would
be placed ahead of petty politics.
I want to be clear. I remain hopeful that we can continue to work in
a bipartisan way to get this law reauthorized.
Soon, I plan to respond with a good-faith proposal of my own. This
bill will support survivors and hold abusers accountable. It is also a
bill that I believe can pass the Senate and get the President's
signature.
I invite my colleagues across the aisle to join me in this very, very
important effort.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss an issue that I
hear from families all across Michigan, the rising cost of prescription
drugs. Recently, I held roundtables in several communities across
Michigan to hear directly from families, local health providers, and
medical professionals about the increasing cost of prescription drugs.
I want to share a few of those stories.
I heard from Diane in Grand Rapids, whose son, Jared, suffered a
severe asthma attack that tragically resulted in his death. He was just
25 years old. Diane said her son had insurance, but it was not enough
and he tried stretching out usage of his asthma medication to deal with
ever-rising costs. Diane shared just how unimaginable her pain was to
lose her child to a condition
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that should have been manageable, with affordable life-sustaining
medications.
I heard from Rachael from Greenville who has three children with Type
1 diabetes, but insurance denied coverage for her children's insulin,
making it simply unaffordable. So Rachael's family drove across the
border into Canada where she said they were able to purchase insulin
for $71 per box, compared to about $600 for the exact same insulin in
Michigan. Rachael is rightfully angry that she needed to travel to
another country simply to get her children the insulin they need to
stay alive.
Sheron from Detroit told me about the financial challenges of
treating sarcoidosis, a rare disease, while also fighting triple-
negative breast cancer. Sheron said that insurance was going to charge
her $5,000 for medication she could easily take at home, but it would
completely cover it only if she went to the hospital. The last thing
Sheron wanted to do was trek to the hospital as she coped with the side
effects of chemotherapy.
And I heard from Jeanette from Burton, who had a nearly $500 co-pay
for a prescription while undergoing treatment for thyroid cancer, but
without the help of a charitable patient group, she could not afford
the medication. While working to get assistance, she went without her
medication and could have suffered serious complications.
Unfortunately, these are not isolated stories, and these are not
isolated individuals. Too many Michiganders are struggling with rising
prescription drug costs, and the consequences can be literally life-
threatening. Between 2012 and 2018, prices for brand-name drugs in the
United States have increased 68 percent, making critical medications
out of reach for most families.
The list price in 2017 for a 1-year supply of Humira--the No. 1
selling brand-name drug that treats arthritis, psoriasis, and Crohn's
disease--was over $58,000. That is more than the annual median income
for people in the State of Michigan.
The price of insulin has spiked in recent years, growing by 55
percent since 2014. That is simply outrageous, and it is simply
unacceptable. Guided by the stories from Michigan families and medical
professionals, I am working to examine and tackle the rising cost of
prescription drugs.
Earlier this week, through my work as ranking member of the Senate
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, I announced I am
conducting an investigation into the skyrocketing costs of prescription
drugs. I am also investigating the growing shortages of critical
medications affecting hospitals and patients throughout the country.
Unaffordable prescription and hospital-administered drugs--and the
increasing number and length of drug shortages--have become an
economic, national security, and public health crisis for Michigan, as
well as for the rest of the country.
Through my investigation, I am working to: 1, identify solutions to
address increasing drug costs; 2, evaluate the effect of drug shortages
on patient care; 3, examine the national security implications of our
growing reliance on drugs manufactured overseas, primarily in China and
India.
This investigation builds on some of my previous efforts, including
my call for the Food and Drug Administration to share information on
the Administration's efforts to counter drug shortages--and my bill
advancing in the Senate to lower healthcare costs for seniors through
Medicare Part B. For many people in Michigan and across the country,
being able to afford your medicine is a matter of life and death, and
we must take action.
We must allow certainly for safe drug importation from Canada, but
let me be clear: Going to Canada is not a solution. You need to be able
to purchase affordable, quality, safe prescription drugs in the United
States.
We must improve competition, end price gouging, increase price
transparency, and hold drug companies accountable.
We must enable Medicare to negotiate drug prices for seniors. We must
eliminate drug shortages to ensure that all patients can get the
medication they need when they need it, and we must work to bring more
affordable generic medications to the market.
Families in Michigan and across the country are counting on us.
Families should never be forced to choose between paying their bills or
getting the medication they need. But sadly, that is the choice that
too many families are facing today.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.