Indivisibles,
Let’s talk about what’s going on with prescription drugs reform right now.
First, the obvious. We all know prescription drug costs are way, way too
high in this country. Pharma companies get mountains of money from
taxpayers to manufacture drugs mostly developed by public research. Then
they use their monopoly power to gouge those same taxpayers on drug
prices. Big Pharma makes eye-popping profits while seniors skip meals to
pay for the drugs they need. It’s a racket and it has to stop.
Democrats have been promising to allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug
prices for more than a decade. They ran on prescription drugs reform in
2018. They ran on it again in 2020. There’s a reason for that --
prescription drugs reform is MASSIVELY popular. Approval ratings for
prescription drug pricing reform are right up there with approval ratings
for adorable fluffy puppies like this one.
[1]alt text: 90% of Democrats and 80% of independent voters approve of
this puppy
The path to reforming this situation lies in the big recovery package
that’s currently being debated in Congress. And here’s where we hit the
problem.
The pharma companies have spent the last several months absolutely
FLOODING Washington D.C. and members of Congress’ home districts with
money -- campaign contributions, ads, you name it. They know they can
already count on Republicans to have their backs, so they’re trying to
peel off enough Democrats to prevent the Democratic party from acting.
And they won one battle earlier this month. Before a bill is voted on by
the whole House, the language is drafted and voted out of the relevant
committee. And in Energy and Commerce -- one of the committees responsible
for drafting the bill language -- three House members -- Rep. Kathleen
Rice of New York, Rep. Kurt Schrader of Oregon, and Rep. Scott Peters of
California all voted to prevent Medicare from negotiating on drug prices.
All the Republicans in the committee also opposed this, of course (they’re
Republicans!) and so that meant that strong prescription drug pricing
reforms couldn’t pass out of the committee.
This was a very disappointing setback. And frontliners -- the Members of
Congress in purple and red districts, with uphill races next year -- were
the [ [link removed] ]first ones to call it out and to demand that the ultimate recovery
package include the reforms. They want to pass this legislation, because
they need to deliver on their campaign promises. After all, the best way
to win in 2022 is to go big, go bold, and pass policies that make a
difference in people’s lives.
"This isn’t a fight between progressives and moderates. It’s a fight
between people who want to deliver on the Democratic agenda and make
Americans’ lives better and people who want to keep getting big old
Pharma checks."
But it’s not over, and I want to talk about what happens next.
The folks who voted against this in committee probably thought it would
fly under the radar. Members of Congress expect that their constituents
will pay attention to their votes on a few huge pieces of legislation, but
they usually think the stuff they do in committee will fly under the
radar.
That’s why local Indivisible groups are so crucial. Indivisibles know
their reps and watch them like hawks -- and we at the national level work
together to make sure they’ve got the latest intel and support for their
actions.
In Oregon, five local Indivisible groups sprang into action to share their
disapproval with Rep. Schrader in a coalition letter calling him out for
pocketing big money from Big Pharma. This week, [ [link removed] ]Indivisible Clackamas
CD-5 hosted another rally outside his office -- this time working with
local partners groups like Our Revolution, Health Care for All, American
Federation of Teachers, Rhythm Nation, and more. Wednesday's rally brought
over fifty locals out on the sidewalk in front of Rep. Schrader's office,
and featured local leaders and activists like Milwaukie Mayor Mark Gamba
and this 9-year-old, who knows what’s up:
[ [link removed] ][IMG]
In New York, Rep. Rice tried to explain away her vote with [ [link removed] ]a word salad
letter to constituents. New York Indivisibles weren’t having it.
Indivisible groups like Indivisible Nassau County joined with prescription
drug activists across New York to protest outside her office. At the rally
in front of her office, a rolling billboard passed by with a piece of
simple truth for all of Rep. Rice's constituents to see: “Rep. Kathleen
Rice voted to keep your drug prices high.” In addition to the calls and
rally, Indivisibles in NY-04 have taken over their Twitter pages with a
#FullPriceRice campaign that calls out Rep. Rice's hypocrisy for breaking
her campaign promise from just a year ago to lower drug prices for her
constituents.
Despite the disappointing vote in the Energy and Commerce Committee, House
Democrats have used another committee to add the stronger prescription
drug reforms language back into the final recovery bill. And in just a
little while, that bill will come to the floor. When it gets there, these
reps - and others, often in blue districts, who’ve gotten way too
comfortable with pharma money -- will have to vote on it again. But thanks
to the actions of Indivisibles on the ground, they’re going to know: they
can vote the wrong way, but they can’t do it without real blowback from
real people.
And of course, this is just one industry out of many that are currently
doing their best to derail the recovery bill. Big Pharma isn’t the only
group trying to buy off Democrats. Big Oil is balking at necessary climate
action and the ultra-wealthy across the board are funding a lobbying spree
to ensure their free ride doesn’t end. The days ahead might be choppy, but
we know Indivisibles will be ready at every turn to expose the corporate
influence and demand their Representatives and Senators deliver for
people.
[ [link removed] ][IMG]
If you want to be part of ensuring that our recovery is inclusive,
[ [link removed] ]click here to call your member of Congress today and demand they move
the reconciliation package forward. This is important no matter who your
elected official is -- every one of them needs to hear that their
constituents demand a recovery package that will help us all.
In solidarity,
Leah Greenberg
Co-Executive Director, Indivisible
[ [link removed] ][IMG]
[ [link removed] ][IMG]
[ [link removed] ][IMG]
You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]
