Regulatory Accountability Act of 2011

Floor Speech

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Mr. BOSWELL. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

My motion to recommit will provide both parties with the opportunity to come together to save hundreds of millions of dollars, rein in Federal spending, and support America's seniors, America's troops, and America's veterans.

Let me be clear. The passage of this amendment will not prevent the passage of the underlying bill. If it's adopted, my amendment will be incorporated into the bill and the bill will be immediately voted upon.

The amendment is direct and incredibly important. Simply put, it will prevent the underlying bill from creating regulatory hurdles for low-cost drugs. Day in and day out, we talk about spending in this country and, particularly, in this Congress. Well, my amendment gives the Chamber the chance to rein in one of the greatest culprits of our out-of-control spending--health care.

Today, health care spending is more than 17 percent of our Nation's GDP, a number so massive that a 5-point reduction would save Americans $870 billion. Medicare part D covers 29.5 million Medicare beneficiaries. So how do we pay for prescription drugs? Eighty-three percent of Medicare part D funds come from our Nation's general revenue, and CBO has estimated that America's Medicare part D spending will total approximately $53 billion in 2012. That's quite an incentive to pay for drugs wisely and efficiently. This amendment helps us do just that.

First, it protects current and future regulations that lower the cost of pharmaceuticals from being hindered by the underlying bill. We have done too much to support America's seniors and improve health care today to let regulations increase costs on our citizens or jeopardize their access to care.

Nationwide, we have provided greater access to health services for Medicare beneficiaries and reduced their costs by allowing access to discounted drugs in Medicare part D. We sent checks to seniors this year who hit the part D doughnut hole, and we made a commitment to close it by 2020. We must continue to aid our seniors and reduce the cost of their medicine, but we must also reduce this cost for our Nation.

The second part of the amendment ensures that this bill will not prevent the Secretaries of Defense, Veterans Affairs, or Health and Human Services from negotiating for lower drug prices. Military health care covers the needs of more than 9 million individuals, ranging from Active Duty, their families, and veterans. Fortunately, the Secretaries of the Department of Defense and the VA have the authority to negotiate with companies on the price of drugs. We must protect their ability to serve the millions of needs of military members--Active Duty and retired--and their families who have served our Nation.

Not only will this amendment defend the right of these agencies to ensure the best prices for our veterans and military families, it will protect any future provision that would provide the Secretary of Health and Human Services that same power to serve nearly 30 million Medicare part D beneficiaries and make medicine more affordable.

Our constituents know what a driving force health costs are in our Nation's spending crisis. They feel it every day in their own homes and do all they can to get by.

My own constituent, Jan, in Des Moines, recently wrote to tell me that she is ``concerned about the prices of medicine in our country, as it's often the biggest part of most citizens' out-of-pocket health care costs.''

Echoing her concerns in a small town, Donna wrote, ``Countless Americans can't afford to buy medications in the U.S. and yet cannot afford to go without them.''

These constituents and many more told me that if we could pass legislation to lower the cost of medicine that ``it would be extremely popular with your constituents, and it would be easy to garner bipartisan support.''

I agree with my constituents. We should do this. I hope that you will support this, bring it back, and let's pass it, and let's be sure that we do the best we can to help our seniors, our military with military families, and our veterans.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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