[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

[[Page S6468]]

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.