Dear Friend,

I look forward to voting the Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3) out of committee tomorrow.  The bill will allow Medicare to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs and extend the lower costs to families who rely on private insurance.  Local representatives from Florida AARP, Organize Florida and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation joined me recently at a press conference at the Jan Platt Library in support of HR 3.  I also appreciated hearing from neighbors regarding the high cost of prescription drug during my telephone town hall with Families USA.  Thank you for sharing your personal stories.  Here are the details of the bill:

• Ends the ban on Medicare negotiating directly with the drug companies, and creates powerful new tools to force drug companies to the table to agree to real price reductions, while ensuring seniors never lose access to the prescriptions they need.
• Makes the lower drug prices negotiated by Medicare available to all Americans, including those with private insurance, not just Medicare beneficiaries.
• Stops drug companies ripping off Americans while charging other countries less for the same drugs, limiting the maximum price for any negotiated drug to the average price in countries like ours, where drug companies charge less for the same drugs – and admit they still make a profit.
• Creates a new, $2,000 out-of-pocket limit on prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries, and reverses years of unfair price hikes above inflation across more than 8,000 drugs in Medicare.
• Reinvests in innovation and the search for new cures and treatments, using some of the savings from lowering the unjustified drug prices that are bankrolling Big Pharma’s stock-buybacks to reinvest billions of dollars in the search for new breakthrough treatments and cures at NIH.

To read more about H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, click here.

Climate update: On Thursday, the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis will hold a hearing entitled “Solving the Climate Crisis: Cleaner, Stronger Buildings.” We can avoid the worst impacts of climate change if we take bold action to reduce carbon pollution in how we build and operate buildings, homes and communities… and save money too.  House Democrats have prioritized rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure as part of taking climate action now - reducing carbon pollution and improving resilience in buildings across the nation are critical steps in these efforts.

Democrats also have scheduled votes on the following bills this week:

H.R. 1815, SEC Disclosure Effectiveness Testing Act – This bill would require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to evaluate the effectiveness of materials that brokers and investment advisers provided to nonprofessional retail investors. It also requires involved parties to provide information on their fees, conflicts of interest and disciplinary history. The bill would put an end to practices that leave retail investors flying blind, including many seniors in Florida, and often affect their ability to have a secure and independent retirement – AARP is a sponsor of the legislation.

H.R. 3624, Outsourcing Accountability Act of 2019 – This bill would require publicly traded companies that file annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose the number of workers they employ overseas and within the U.S. For years, American workers have been laid off while their jobs are quietly shipped overseas. If passed, H.R. 3624 will ensure companies can no longer lay off workers without consequence – they will be required to disclose the number of domestic and foreign workers employed, increasing transparency for our nation’s workforce.

It was great to see everyone at home during the district work period!

Sincerely,