November 15, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 183 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H8884]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              AFFORDABLE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS FOR AMERICANS

  (Mr. KILDEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, yesterday was World Diabetes Day.
  Diabetes is a disease that affects millions of Americans, including 
my own daughter, Katy, who was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic when she 
was 8 years old, almost 20 years ago.
  We have to do more to make sure that hardworking families have access 
to affordable prescription drugs, often, lifesaving drugs.
  Sadly, under the Trump administration, the President has rolled back 
access to healthcare and undermined the Affordable Care Act, raising 
prices for lifesaving drugs and eliminating protections for those with 
preexisting conditions. That is the aim of this administration.
  One in five Americans are skipping doses, cutting pills in half, and 
skipping their insulin because they just don't have the money it takes 
to keep themselves healthy.
  It costs about $5.60 to produce a vial of insulin. Americans 
sometimes have to pay hundreds of dollars just to have that drug that 
was brought into this country, invented in the 1920s, and hasn't 
changed substantially.
  We have to make sure to pass H.R. 3, which will make sure that 
Americans have access to prescription drugs at an affordable price. It 
is the right thing to do. Congress has to act.

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