Democrats Attack American Medical Research
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding drug pricing:
“One of the things Washington Democrats appear most eager to do with their one-party control of government is resurrect their war on America’s world-leading medical innovation sector.
“In a statement just last week, President Biden praised fellow Democrats for having ‘beaten back’ the industry behind most of the world’s lifesaving treatments and cures. And as things stand right now, it appears our colleagues intend to work from a familiar left-wing playbook in the coming weeks.
“Washington Democrats are working right now to find ways to put more bureaucracy between American patients and the treatments they’ll rely on. They want to put socialist price controls between American innovators and new cures for debilitating diseases.
“With one-party, Democrat control of government, they might get away with it. But our colleagues need to think again. Even just the medicine-related parts of their partisan plans would have hugely negative consequences for our country.
“The American people know that government can’t magically make things cost less by passing laws saying things should cost less.
“There’s no Washington magic wand – trust me – or else we’d have every American driving $1 pickup trucks and eating $1 steaks, just by passing a law setting those prices at one dollar!
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch, Madam President. The bill for made-up price controls always comes due.
“In this case, the invoice will be delivered to the American people who are living with actual health challenges.
“The price of bigger government will be fewer lifesaving cures. Less innovation in the future.
“What Washington Democrats want to do right now would bleed hundreds of billions of dollars in potential R&D out of American industry.
“Pouring cold water on the next breakthroughs in the fight against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
“Prescription drug socialism would have devastating and compounding effects. By one analysis, price controls like the ones Washington Democrats want to ram through could cost more than 330 million cumulative years of life expectancy. That’s enough to shorten every American’s life by a full year.
“Two years ago, in 2020, America’s medical innovators were busy blowing away expectations and responding to a once-in-a-century pandemic with lifesaving therapeutics and vaccines in record time.
“Two years later, in 2022, Democrats have decided that what these same innovators need is heavy-handed Washington micromanagement from the same politicians who couldn’t even keep baby formula on store shelves.
“Our country is contending with historic inflation. Our economy is on the brink of recession. And Washington Democrats want to gamble with the health of the American people.
“It doesn’t get much more reckless than that.”
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