[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 132 (Thursday, July 31, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5128-S5129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3385. Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Ms. Cantwell) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2296, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2026 for military activities 
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for 
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military 
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which 
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. _____. PRESCRIPTION PRICING FOR THE PEOPLE.

       (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
     ``Prescription Pricing for the People Act of 2025''.
       (b) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
     ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
       (A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and
       (B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
     Trade Commission.
       (c) Study of Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Intermediaries and 
     Merger Activity.--
       (1) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the 
     appropriate committees of Congress a report that--
       (A) addresses at minimum--
       (i) whether pharmacy benefit managers--

       (I) charge payers a higher price than the reimbursement 
     rate at which the pharmacy benefit managers reimburse 
     pharmacies owned by the pharmacy benefit manager and 
     pharmacies not owned by the pharmacy benefit manager;
       (II) steer patients for competitive advantage to any 
     pharmacy, including a retail, mail-order, or any other type 
     of pharmacy, in which the pharmacy benefit managers have an 
     ownership interest;
       (III) audit or review proprietary data, including 
     acquisition costs, patient information, or dispensing 
     information, of pharmacies not owned by the pharmacy benefit 
     manager and use such proprietary data to increase revenue or 
     market share for competitive advantage; or
       (IV) use formulary designs to increase the market share of 
     higher cost prescription drugs or depress the market share of 
     lower cost prescription drugs (each net of rebates and 
     discounts);

       (ii) trends or observations on the state of competition in 
     the healthcare supply chain, particularly with regard to 
     intermediaries and their integration with other 
     intermediaries, suppliers, or payers of prescription drug 
     benefits;
       (iii) how companies and payers assess the benefits, costs, 
     and risks of contracting with intermediaries, including 
     pharmacy services administrative organizations, and whether 
     more information about the roles of intermediaries should be 
     available to consumers and payers;
       (iv) whether there are any specific legal or regulatory 
     obstacles the Commission currently faces in enforcing the 
     antitrust and consumer protection laws in the pharmaceutical 
     supply chain, including the pharmacy benefit manager 
     marketplace and pharmacy services administrative 
     organizations; and
       (v) whether there are any specific legal or regulatory 
     obstacles that contribute to the cost of prescription drug 
     prices; and
       (B) provides--
       (i) observations or conclusions drawn from the November 
     2017 roundtable entitled ``Understanding Competition in 
     Prescription Drug Markets: Entry and Supply Chain Dynamics'' 
     and any similar efforts;
       (ii) specific actions the Commission intends to take as a 
     result of the November 2017 roundtable, and any similar 
     efforts, including a detailed description of relevant 
     forthcoming actions, additional research or roundtable 
     discussions, consumer education efforts, or enforcement 
     actions; and
       (iii) policy or legislative recommendations to--

       (I) improve transparency and competition in the 
     pharmaceutical supply chain;

[[Page S5129]]

       (II) prevent and deter anticompetitive behavior in the 
     pharmaceutical supply chain; and
       (III) best ensure that consumers benefit from any cost 
     savings or efficiencies that may result from mergers and 
     consolidations.

       (2) Interim report.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the 
     appropriate committees of Congress an interim report on the 
     progress of the report required by paragraph (1), along with 
     preliminary findings and conclusions based on information 
     collected to that date.
       (d) Report.--The Commission shall submit to the appropriate 
     committees of Congress a report that includes--
       (1) the number and nature of complaints received by the 
     Commission relating to an allegation of anticompetitive 
     conduct by a manufacturer of a sole-source drug;
       (2) the ability of the Commission to bring an enforcement 
     action against a manufacturer of a sole-source drug; and
       (3) policy or legislative recommendations to strengthen 
     enforcement actions relating to anticompetitive behavior.
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