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House Panel Rejects Drug Pricing Plan 09/16 06:16
A House committee dealt an ominous if tentative blow Wednesday to President
Joe Biden's huge social and environment package, derailing a money-saving plan
to let Medicare negotiate the price it pays for prescription drugs.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A House committee dealt an ominous if tentative blow
Wednesday to President Joe Biden's huge social and environment package,
derailing a money-saving plan to let Medicare negotiate the price it pays for
prescription drugs.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee vote to drop the proposal from its
piece of Biden's signature 10-year, $3.5 trillion spending plan was not
necessarily fatal. The separate House Ways and Means Committee kept it alive by
approving nearly identical drug-pricing language.
Even so, the provision's rejection by one committee underscores the clout
that moderates looking to curb new spending -- or any small group of Democrats
-- have as Biden and party leaders try pushing the entire package through the
narrowly divided Congress.
Facing unanimous Republican opposition, Democrats will be able to lose just
three House votes and none in the 50-50 Senate to send the overall measure to
Biden. That's a precarious margin for what will be an enormous bill laced with
numerous politically sensitive initiatives on spending and taxes.
The committees' votes on pharmaceutical drugs came as Biden held
face-to-face meetings with two moderate Democratic senators who've said the
overall size of the $3.5 trillion proposal is too big. The separate sessions
with Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia
underscored a stepped-up White House drive to avoid Democratic defections.
The Energy and Commerce vote on the drug-pricing language was 29-29, with
three moderate Democrats joining Republicans to oppose it: Reps. Scott Peters
of California, Kathleen Rice of New York and Kurt Schrader of Oregon. Tie votes
in Congress are usually insufficient to keep legislative provisions alive.
Henry Connelly, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said
lowering drug costs "will remain a cornerstone" of the party's push for the
overall bill, Biden's top domestic priority.
Democrats are counting on the drug-pricing provisions to pay for a modest
but significant part of their $3.5 trillion plan to bolster the safety net,
address climate change and fund other programs. Proponents say it could save
$600 billion over the coming decade.
The legislation would authorize Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical
companies, using lower prices paid in other economically advanced countries as
a yardstick. The savings produced would be used to expand Medicare coverage by
adding dental, vision and hearing benefits.
The Energy and Commerce vote showed "real concerns with Speaker Pelosi's
extreme drug pricing plan," Debra DeShong, top spokesperson for the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said in a statement. The
industry says the drug negotiation plan would lead to price controls that
reduce investment in research into promising new cures and treatments.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a leading champion
of the drug-pricing effort, said there was "no excuse" for Democrats to bow to
"the extremely greedy and powerful" pharmaceutical industry. "The American
people will not accept surrender," he added.
Biden's talks with Sinema and Manchin came as centrists' unrest over the
overall bill's cost has prompted a delicate hunt by party leaders for a topline
figure that moderate and progressive lawmakers can endorse.
"Today's meeting was productive, and Kyrsten is continuing to work in good
faith with her colleagues and President Biden as this legislation develops,"
said Sinema spokesman John Labombard said. His assessment was a positive sign
in a process that has seen the party's progressives and moderates stake out
conflicting demands.
Biden and Democratic leaders endorsed the $3.5 trillion figure, but in
recent days have been more cautious about its ultimate size. The enormous
package faces unanimous opposition from Republicans, who say its proposals are
wasteful and would wound the economy.
The measure would push utilities to produce cleaner energy, expand Medicare
coverage, create new child care and family leave programs and provide free
pre-kindergarten and community college.
There would be a slew of tax breaks to help families cope with the costs of
health care and raising children. Much of it would be paid for by boosting
taxes on the wealthy and corporations.
By Wednesday evening, all 13 House committees with pieces of the overall
social and environment bill had completed their work, meeting a goal set by
Democratic leaders.
House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth, D-Ky., said in an interview
Tuesday that his panel would be ready next week to combine all 13 sections and
send the overall bill to the full House. That might be delayed as lawmakers
wait for the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to produce a cost estimate
for the legislation, Yarmuth said.
The Senate has yet to produce its own legislation, but leaders and other
senators have been in talks with the House. Differences remain over taxes,
health programs and other issues.
Democratic leaders would love to send completed legislation to Biden for his
signature in the coming weeks, but many think resolving the policy and
political complications the party faces will take much longer. White House
press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday that they expect Congress to
move the legislation before an international climate conference in November.
Manchin has been an especially outspoken critic of the overall bill. He's
called for a "pause" on the legislation, and said Sunday that he could not
support $3.5 trillion, suggesting instead a topline figure in the $1 trillion
to $1.5 trillion range.
Progressives, who initially demanded a $6 trillion plan, have said cutting
the package to Manchin's range would be unacceptable.
The House Ways and Means Committee approved its part of the overall bill
24-19, with moderate Florida Rep. Stephanie Murphy the only Democratic voting
no. She cited "spending and tax provisions that give me pause" but expressed
optimism about supporting a final version.
That panel's revenue package includes $2.1 trillion in higher taxes, mostly
on the rich and corporations. It also claims savings from its drug-pricing
language, stronger IRS tax enforcement and an assertion that the legislation
itself would spark economic growth.
Democrats ridiculed that claim when Republicans used it to claim past GOP
tax cuts would be paid for.
Democrats would raise the top income tax rate rise back to 39.6% on
individuals earning more than $400,000, or $450,000 for couples. There would be
a 3% surtax on wealthier Americans with adjusted gross income beyond $5 million
a year.
The proposal would lift the corporate tax rate from 21% to 26.5% on
companies' annual income over $5 million.
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