Washington, D.C. — Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), Republican Leader of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, gave the below opening remarks at this week’s hearing.

Dr. Burgess’ Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

“Thank you, Madame Chair. We are convened here today to discuss the important topic of drug pricing. Every one of us has heard passionate, personal stories from our constituents about the ever-increasing cost of prescription drugs. I am committed to addressing this issue and lowering out-of-pocket costs for patients. In December 2017 as chairman of this subcommittee, I asked our witness panel at a drug supply chain hearing to point out flaws in our system and come to the table with solutions. Unfortunately, there was a lack of solutions shared, but we still pushed forward with bipartisan discussions and legislation.

Throughout last Congress and this Congress, we have held thoughtful, bipartisan hearings with robust witness panels to offer analyses of different drug pricing problems and legislation. Regrettably, we are holding a quickly-assembled partisan hearing on this topic today.

This committee has a history of working in a bipartisan manner to improve generic and biosimilar competition. For example, I worked with Chairwoman Eshoo on the Purple Book Continuity Act, which has passed the House, and I think we can both agree that this is a better bill because we shared ideas and worked together. Additionally, we have passed CREATES, which will prohibit drug manufacturers from gaming the system and refusing to sell samples to generics manufacturers. CREATES will directly address one of the Revlimid issues that Mr. Fowler mentions in his testimony, and we must build on that foundation to address other aspects of this market dynamic.

I hope going forward, we will be able to continue a bipartisan dialogue instead of being shut out of conversations altogether.

I support bipartisan solutions to lower drug prices for American patients. I also appreciate that we have had bipartisan conversations about modernizing Medicare Part D this Congress, including capping beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket costs. I would like to continue those conversations and welcome committee activity that enables productive discussions.

H.R. 3 is a proposal that was drafted behind closed doors by Speaker Pelosi and is being forced through this committee by the chairman. This committee has a long history of working together to address complex issues across the health care system, including drug pricing. Until last week, that was still the case this Congress.

This committee has fought long and hard to achieve bipartisan success in establishing pathways for new and innovative drugs and cures to come to the market and get into the hands of patients faster.

Through FDA user fee reauthorizations and 21st Century Cures, we have built a framework that spurs innovation to improve the health, well-being, and lives of patients and their loved ones.

Speaker Pelosi said “the issue of the cost of prescription drugs is one subject that can make grown men cry,” but how about a cure for a life-threatening illness for your loved one? Earlier this year, Dr. Francis Collins of the National Institutes of Health went on national television and said that we have a cure for sickle cell disease. The relief of such great human suffering is priceless, yet we do need to have 21st century payment mechanisms for our 21st Century Cures, and we need to ensure that such payment mechanisms do not impede innovation.

While we should ensure that government money is spent wisely, that should not come at the cost of limiting patients’ access to care. As a physician, I am uncomfortable with the idea of government action restricting American patients’ access to life-saving medications.

In the early days of my medical practice in the 1980s, I used to gripe with other doctors that there were treatments available in Europe that were not yet available in the US. Thanks to the establishment of user fees and other significant work done by the Energy and Commerce to clear the regulatory bottleneck and speed the drug approval process over the past four decades, American doctors now have more pharmaceutical tools available to treat their patients than those in other countries.

I think I can speak for other Members of this committee, and the American people in saying that we should work together to fix drug prices. Thank you, Madame Chair – I yield back.”

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