Sharice Davids: McConnell blocking drug price help that has blessing of Trump, House

At a recent roundtable I held on the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs, a panelist and cancer survivor asked a simple question: Does anyone have $13,000 to spend every month on prescription drugs?

Not many Kansans I know do. Nor should they have to. Yet so many folks in our community know the pain of picking up medication they simply can't afford at the pharmacy counter.

That's why I was proud to stand up to the big drug companies last week and vote to pass House Resolution 3, the Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, to lower the cost of prescription drugs for families across Kansas' 3rd District.

If passed into law, this bipartisan legislation would give Medicare the power to negotiate with drug companies for lower drug prices, and also make those lower prices available even to those with private insurance. Nonpartisan analysts found the bill would lower drug prices by up to 55% and save taxpayers and patients hundreds of billions of dollars.

An overwhelming majority of Americans support these commonsense measures. The AARP has said this legislation is a "bold step to lowering prescription drug prices and improving Medicare for seniors and families across the country." Earlier this year, President Donald Trump praised the act and expressed his willingness to work with Congress in a bipartisan manner to get it passed.

Unfortunately, drug companies are fighting tooth and nail to block this game-changing bill from becoming law. They've already funneled millions into dark money groups that are spreading debunked claims in an effort to tear down this potentially lifesaving piece of legislation.

Meanwhile, during our "Call with Your Congresswoman" on health care last week, I listened as Kansans shared stories of rationing insulin and fearing bankruptcy because of the overwhelming cost of their cancer medication. That is outrageous, dangerous and unacceptable.

Sadly, Senate leaders are refusing even to bring HR 3 up for a vote, giving special interests and their lobbyists exactly what they paid for. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell already pronounced the bill dead upon arrival in the Senate. And that gets at the heart of what is broken about our political system.

I ran for Congress to give Kansans a real voice in Washington, D.C. — not to let our priorities be drowned out by special interests. If we're going to tackle the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs, along with so many other issues that are at the top of our community's mind, we need to reform our system and make it work for the people, not special interests and corporations.

That's why the first piece of legislation I signed onto after taking office was a package of anti-corruption bills that would prevent those special interests from spending unlimited amounts of money in elections and strengthen ethics laws for members of Congress. I was proud to join my House colleagues in passing that legislation earlier this year. But to no one's surprise, McConnell has not brought these bills to the Senate floor, either.

I'll keep fighting every day to put pressure on Senate leaders to do what's right for Kansas. Folks in our community have a lot of daily pressures to deal with. Worrying about the rising cost of lifesaving medications shouldn't be one of them. They deserve elected leaders who will fight for them, not special interests, and that is exactly what I will continue to do.

Sharice Davids represents Kansas' 3rd District in the U.S. House of Representatives.