Congressman Horsford Calls on House Leadership to Deliver for Seniors and Lower Drug Prices through the Build Back Better Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Congressman Steven Horsford (D-NV-04) and a coalition of fourteen Democratic members of Congress sent an urgent letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on Sunday, urging House leadership to include critical provisions on prescription drug pricing in the final legislative text of the Build Back Better Act.

"Since my first day in office, I've heard countless stories of my constituents rationing their medication and begging their doctors for free samples of the treatments they need to stay alive. We cannot allow pharmaceutical companies to make record profits by squeezing the last dollar out of seniors and people in need," said Congressman Steven Horsford. "Americans are counting on Congress to make real progress to lower drug costs, and the families of Nevada's Fourth District deserve nothing less. Prescription drug pricing reform must be in the final text of the Build Back Better Act."

"Nevada seniors want one thing from Congress right now — lower prescription drug prices," said Maria Moore, AARP Nevada State Director. "We thank Rep. Horsford for standing up for all Nevada seniors by sending this letter. Our 340,000 members in Nevada are sick of decades of the pharmaceutical industry's influence in Washington and want lower drug prices now."

The full letter is below and can be found here.

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer:

Thank you for your leadership and continued efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs. As majority-makers in competitive districts, we promised our constituents that we would come to Washington to fight on their behalf for lower drug prices. We cannot turn back now on our promise to the American people. We urge you in the strongest terms possible to include legislative language in the Build Back Better Act that will be voted on by the full House to accomplish this.

For too long, the pharmaceutical industry has raked in extraordinary profits, while Americans routinely pay more than three times what people in other countries pay for the same medicines. As a country, we spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year on prescription drugs, and yet our constituents must often choose between purchasing prescribed medications or putting food on the table. It is unacceptable that anyone in the wealthiest country in the world cannot access the medications they need to stay alive.

With two lobbyists per Member of Congress, we know that Big Pharma is deeply invested in the status quo. Our current system forbids Medicare from negotiating the prices it pays for prescription drugs. As a result, millions of Americans are forced to spend thousands of dollars a year on their medications – or go without.

In many cases, as with insulin, these medications have been on the market for decades. In 1991, a bottle of Humalog insulin cost $21. Today the average list price is over $300. That is inexcusable. In these instances, we are not paying for research and development. By allowing the cost of drugs like insulin to rise year after year, we are financing soaring executive salaries, stock buybacks and outrageous profit margins on the backs of our seniors.

With the Build Back Better agenda, we have a perhaps once in a generation opportunity to change the status quo and make good on our promise that no one should have to choose between affording their prescription drugs or food or housing. The public is on our side. Big Pharma is not.

Soon, we must go back to our districts and explain what we've done in Washington to make our constituents' lives better. We ran on upsetting the status quo and lowering out-of-pocket costs for healthcare and prescription drugs. If we fail, those on the other side of this issue will need to explain to Americans why they let Big Pharma win, why entrenched special interests take precedence over the American people.

You have dedicated your careers to lowering the cost of healthcare. We stand with you in your continued efforts. The moment is now. We must deliver on our promise to lower the amount of money our constituents pay for prescription drugs. We must demonstrate that we work for the American people and not the pharmaceutical industry. Our constituents are counting on us.