[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 13, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S1899]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 151--CALLING ON THE PRESIDENT AND THE SECRETARY OF 
  HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TO TAKE ACTION TO LOWER PRESCRIPTION DRUG 
                                 COSTS

  Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Warren, and Mr. Booker) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 151

       Whereas the United States is facing a pandemic, and 
     economic crisis, caused by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 
     (COVID-19) that threatens the health and financial well-being 
     of nearly every family in the United States;
       Whereas even before the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers and 
     patients in the United States were charged higher prices for 
     prescription drugs than consumers and patients in other 
     countries around the world;
       Whereas families in the United States continue to face 
     financial hardship from unaffordable out-of-pocket costs and 
     higher premiums that have been exacerbated by an economic 
     crisis and losses in employer-sponsored health coverage;
       Whereas 8 in 10 individuals in the United States say the 
     cost of prescriptions is unreasonable, and nearly 3 in 10 
     individuals across the United States are rationing their 
     medicine due to high prescription drug costs;
       Whereas the prescription drug cost crisis has put families 
     at risk for poor health outcomes, increasing the likelihood 
     of complications from a severe case of COVID-19 for those 
     families;
       Whereas even before the COVID-19 pandemic, people of color, 
     including Black, Brown, and indigenous people, were 
     disproportionately impacted by high prescription drug costs, 
     which was due in part to a higher prevalence of chronic 
     conditions in those populations that require expensive 
     prescription drugs;
       Whereas people of color, including Black, Brown, and 
     indigenous people, are dying at much higher rates as a result 
     of COVID-19, and other diseases, for which affordable 
     prescription drugs can and should be available;
       Whereas any price gouging by pharmaceutical companies is a 
     root cause of health disparities in the United States;
       Whereas nearly 1 in 3 individuals in the United States 
     facing increased prescription drug costs spend less on basic 
     necessities, including groceries, to account for that 
     increased prescription drug cost;
       Whereas approximately 25 percent of the monthly premium for 
     a health care consumer in the United States goes to 
     prescription drug costs;
       Whereas more than 1 in 4 health care consumers decline 
     other medical tests or procedures, or put off a visit to the 
     doctor's office, because of increased prescription drug 
     costs;
       Whereas pharmaceutical companies abuse monopoly control 
     granted by the Federal Government, in the form of patents and 
     regulatory exclusivities, to limit competition and raise 
     prescription drug costs;
       Whereas 8 out of 10 new drug patents are for slight 
     modifications to existing drugs, not for innovating new drug 
     products;
       Whereas 9 out of 10 of the largest pharmaceutical companies 
     spend more on sales and marketing than on researching new 
     drugs;
       Whereas each of the 356 drugs approved by the Food and Drug 
     Administration between 2010 and 2019 was developed through 
     taxpayer-funded research conducted by the National Institutes 
     of Health;
       Whereas the 18 pharmaceutical companies on the S&P 500 
     spent more money on stock buybacks and dividends than on 
     research and development between 2009 and 2018;
       Whereas the pharmaceutical and medical products industry 
     spent $295,000,000 on lobbying in 2019, more than any other 
     industry and nearly double the next closest industry;
       Whereas the pharmaceutical industry employs more lobbyists 
     than there are Members of Congress;
       Whereas the 25 largest pharmaceutical companies in the 
     United States achieve an average profit margin above 20 
     percent, more than twice the average profit margin of the 
     other 500 largest companies in the United States;
       Whereas pharmaceutical spending growth in the United States 
     is projected to outpace inflation for the foreseeable future;
       Whereas pharmaceutical companies raised the price of 245 
     drugs in the first 5 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 
     the average price increase being 23.8 percent;
       Whereas 61 of the 245 prescription drugs that saw price 
     hikes during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic were 
     being used to treat COVID-19, and another 30 drugs were 
     undergoing clinical trials for use against that virus;
       Whereas nearly 9 in 10 adults in the United States said 
     they were concerned the pharmaceutical industry would use the 
     pandemic to raise prescription drug prices;
       Whereas the United States spends twice as much money on 
     prescription drugs when compared to other economically-
     comparable countries, including Canada, France, and the 
     United Kingdom, despite purchasing fewer drugs per 
     individual;
       Whereas adults in the United States consistently rank the 
     pharmaceutical industry as their least liked industry, with 
     the industry being ranked less favorably than the oil, 
     banking, and airline industries;
       Whereas 8 out of 10 adults in the United States say 
     prescription drug costs are unreasonable and driven by the 
     desire for profits by pharmaceutical companies;
       Whereas the President can license generic competition with 
     patented products when it is in the public interest, 
     including to combat abusive price gouging by large 
     pharmaceutical companies;
       Whereas the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
     (referred to in this preamble as the ``Secretary'') can 
     require reasonable pricing in return for receiving Federal 
     funding and other support for research and development; and
       Whereas the President and the Secretary can lower 
     prescription drug prices under existing law and authorities: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the authority of the President and the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this 
     resolution as the ``Secretary'') to lower prescription drug 
     prices;
       (2) calls on the President and the Secretary to take 
     administrative action to lower prescription drug prices under 
     existing law and authorities, including--
       (A) Federal Government use, pursuant to section 1498(a) of 
     title 28, United States Code;
       (B) march-in rights, pursuant to section 203 of title 35, 
     United States Code;
       (C) royalty-free rights, pursuant to sections 202(c)(4) and 
     209(d)(1) of title 35, United States Code;
       (D) the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, 
     established by section 1115A(a)(1) of the Social Security Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 1315a(a)(1)); and
       (E) all other existing law and authorities; and
       (3) encourages the President to use existing law and 
     authorities to align prescription drug prices in the United 
     States with drug prices in other economically-comparable 
     countries, including Canada, France, the United Kingdom, 
     Japan, and Germany.

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