Billy Long: Democrats are sacrificing medical innovation during pandemic to prop up failed Obamacare

(From Seventh District Congressman Billy Long)

In last week’s “Long’s Short Report”, I went into great detail about how the Trump Administration is eliminating roadblocks and paving the way for medical innovation during this global pandemic. 

Unfortunately, it appears that House Democrats are trying to undo our progress by rolling out legislation that discourages medical advancement. Their commitment to fighting President Trump at every turn and repeated attempts to capitalize on the coronavirus has become the new normal, and American innovation is paying the price.

Their latest attempt, H.R. 1425, gives Washington, D.C. the power to set the prices of drugs, completely ignoring non-partisan data that proves such policies would result in fewer cures for Americans. 

In November of last year while we were considering H.R. 3, the “Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act”, we received very credible non-partisan analysis from the Congressional Budget Office that showed this legislation would ultimately lead to fewer cures for Americans and would do little to actually lower the cost of prescription drugs. (You can read more about H.R. 3 here) 

And yet, Speaker Pelosi pressed on. Now, in the middle of a global pandemic, Democrats are once again pursuing legislation that cripples medical advancement at a time when the stakes are higher than ever.

Thanks to Operation Warp Speed, America is a global leader in COVID-19 drug research with nearly 280 drugs in different stages of development. 

Consequently, the world is waiting for the United States to find a cure and cannot afford for partisan legislation to disrupt that progress. 

However, this bill, which allows the government to confiscate up to 95% of a drug manufacturer’s revenue if it refuses to accept prices set by Washington bureaucrats, will do just that, and could lead to many drug companies simply pulling their medications from American markets. This controlling policy could erase all the progress and federal-private partnerships the Trump Administration has facilitated and could make us wait longer for a coronavirus vaccine or drug therapy.

If that’s not bad enough, the bill also elects to reinvest the “savings” into entitlement expansions, choosing to prop up partisan programs already on life support instead of saving programs like Medicare for future generations. Obamacare has proven to be deeply flawed, yet Democrats have elected to expand it by creating a new entitlement program and cutting off access to lower cost coverage options that have been a lifeline for many Americans. It also coerces states into expanding Medicaid by cutting current funding to states like Missouri that have not expanded Medicaid.

Democrats are so desperate for President Trump to fail that they have decided sacrificing medical innovation during a global pandemic is a reasonable price to pay in their misguided pursuit to save failed policies from the previous administration. 

Juxtapose that with what we did hand in hand with the Democrats when we realized there were 10,000 diseases and only 500 cures. When Republicans were in the majority, we were able to unanimously pass the 21st Century Cures Act 51-0 out of Committee, an unheard-of feat. That bill was signed into law by the President and it actually lowered the costs of drugs and medical devices, and that’s exactly the kind of bipartisanship we need now.

 H.R. 1425 would completely undo all of the progress we’ve made and postpone cures when we need them the most. I believe that Congress has a duty to protect the American people by eliminating roadblocks that delay COVID19 treatments, which is why I cannot support this bill and will do everything in my power to stop it.