[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 113 (Monday, July 11, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S3189]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Prescription Drugs

  Madam President, there is also this talk about the Democrats in favor 
of a tax hike. Let me put this in perspective. The Democrats are trying 
to achieve something that the vast majority of the American people want 
desperately: Find a way to control the spiraling cost of prescription 
drugs.
  I can't think of a single issue more popular with the American 
people--Democrats, Republicans, and Independents--and so the Senators 
have been working on it. Senator Shaheen, Senator Schumer, Senator 
Manchin, and others have been discussing ways to reduce the cost of 
insulin to no more than $35 a month. Wouldn't that be a break for the 
millions of diabetic Americans who many times have to cut the amount of 
insulin that they use because they can't afford it, to have affordable, 
lifesaving medicine? Isn't that something we all should applaud? And 
doesn't it reduce costs overall for us to bring down the spiraling cost 
of prescription drugs?

  The Senator from Kentucky talks a lot about the cost American 
families are facing. We know that is a fact. One of the first things 
they will identify is the cost of prescription drugs. We want to do 
something about it. The Senator from Kentucky has said no, he won't 
support this effort to corral in these costs of prescription drugs as 
long as there is an increase in taxes.
  It turns out the increase in taxes were the Trump tax cuts for the 
wealthiest people in America. Yes, I think they ought to pay more in 
taxes, and if their paying more in taxes means that families pay less 
for prescription drugs, sign me up for it, and sign most Americans up 
for it. The notion of tax hikes on the wealthiest people in this 
country does not strike me as inflationary; it strikes me as common 
sense if it is then turning into lower prescription drug prices for 
American families.