Schakowsky Statement on President Trump's Nomination of Alex Azar to HHS

Statement

Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, a Chief Deputy Whip and Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus' Health Taskforce, issued the following statement in response to President Trump's nomination of Pharmaceutical Executive Alex Azar for Secretary of Health and Human Services:

"Soaring prescription drug costs keep American families up at night -- far too many men and women across the country worry about whether they will be able to afford the medications their families need. Instead of taking meaningful action to bring prescription drug costs down as he has promised, President Trump has now nominated a price-gouging pharmaceutical executive to lead our country's top public health agency.

"Last month I sent a letter urging President Trump to not nominate Mr. Azar to lead HHS. In the letter, Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Raul Grijalva, Mark Pocan and I told the President that nominating Mr. Azar to this post would "send a very clear signal that [the Trump] Administration is happy to put the pharmaceutical fox in charge of the health care henhouse.' Today, President Trump has broken yet another promise, added another alligator to the swamp, and only increased Americans' anxieties about being able to afford their health care costs."

Source