Click here to view Senator Lee’s first round of questions
Lee, Klobuchar Hold Antitrust Subcommittee Hearing on CREATES Act, Bipartisan Legislation to Address Rising Prescription Drug Prices
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, held a subcommittee hearing on bipartisan legislation to address rising prescription drug prices. Last week, Lee, Klobuchar, and Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act to deter pharmaceutical companies from blocking cheaper generic alternatives from entering the marketplace.
"Nearly everyone has a story about sticker shock at the pharmacy counter, or anger at learning the drug they need isn’t covered by their health insurance,” Lee said. “Unfortunately complex regulatory environments are being abused by some firms to avoid competition and keep prices high. Our CREATES Act aims to lower prices and increase access by creating two causes of action by which generic competitors can end such abuse."
“Today’s hearing was an opportunity to discuss the need to take action on our bipartisan legislation to protect American consumers from the anticompetitive practices used by some brand-name pharmaceutical and biologic companies,” Klobuchar said. “We examined how these harmful practices result in unjustified inflation that drives up prescription drug costs for everyone. By working to ensure that those decisions are driven by competition, not anti-consumer actions from pharmaceutical companies, the CREATES Act prevents companies from strategically blocking generic approval. This would potentially save consumers billions of dollars in prescription drug costs and allow consumers to focus on their health, rather than the cost of their prescriptions.”
The CREATES Act would empower Medicare to negotiate for the best possible price of prescription medication, allow the safe import of drugs from Canada, and crack down on deals that prevent affordable generics from reaching the market. The legislation, a version of which was introduced in the House last year, is strongly supported by the Generic Pharmaceutical Association of America (GPHA), consumer groups including AARP, Consumers Union, Public Citizen and Families USA; the American College of Physicians; the American Hospital Association; the AFL-CIO; and the National Coalition on Health Care.
An outline of the CREATES Act can be found here, and text of legislation can be found here.
http://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=press-releases&id=22C9F4E4-899A-475F-BE52-4FB7DC6ADA11
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Lee Defends Americans’ Constitutional Rights On Senate Floor
WASHINGTON – Following yet another vote that would have curtailed Americans’ constitutional rights without adequate due process, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) spoke on the Senate floor Wednesday about the proper balance between security and liberty.
“Whenever government act, it does so inevitably, unavoidably, and necessarily at the expense of individual freedom, liberty, and autonomy,” Lee said. “This doesn’t mean that every act by government is bad. Quite the contrary. We need government. We need it to protect us from those who would undermine our liberty, those who would interfere with it, those who would harm us personally, whether physically or in some other way.
“But just as it doesn’t mean that every act by government is bad, we should also not be too quick to leap to any conclusion that any and every act of government is good. We have to balance liberty, privacy, and autonomy with our corresponding needs for security and physical protection.”
You can watch the entire speech here.
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Lee Commends Supreme Court Check On President’s Power
WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement Thursday in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v Texas.
“Today the Supreme Court fulfilled its constitutional duty to act as a check on the power of the President,” said Lee. “President Obama may have thought he could use a pen and a phone to steamroll the democratic process, but the Supreme Court has reminded him that there is a proper way to change our laws. This reminder is even more crucial given that Hillary Clinton has promised to end almost all deportations categorically. In the meantime, I will continue to work with my colleagues to achieve real, step-by-step reform of our immigration system.”
http://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=BC75E7B8-74BB-429A-909B-59A266609F7C
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Lee Statement on ‘Brexit’ Vote Results
WASHINGTON—Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement on the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union:
"The decision by the British people to leave the EU is a rejection of centralized power and unaccountable bureaucracy, a sentiment widely shared by many Americans. Our relationship with the United Kingdom has been one of the most successful in the history of the world and now more than ever we must respect the will of their people. This relationship can and should be preserved, which is why I plan to introduce legislation both requiring the United States to honor our current agreements with the United Kingdom until new bilateral agreements can be negotiated, and directing the U.S. Trade Representative to begin negotiations on new bilateral agreements as soon as possible."
http://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=press-releases&id=B6A767FA-A1AB-41F9-AC47-C47167982028
