Congress
Senators unveil bipartisan plan to lower drug costs
Sens. Josh Hawley and Peter Welch are teaming up on bipartisan legislation aimed at lowering drug costs by barring drug companies in the U.S. from charging higher prices than the international average.
While their bill is different from what the Trump administration is proposing to help finance the GOP’s megabill of tax cuts and extensions, border security investments and more, it underscores the cross-party and populist interest in cracking down on pharmaceutical companies. The White House is pushing a proposal to reduce spending in Medicaid by aligning what the safety net program pays for drugs with the lower prices paid abroad.
In a statement shared first with Blue Light News, Hawley, a Missouri Republican, tied the bipartisan legislation to President Donald Trump’s efforts during his first term to link drug prices in the United States to those in other high-income nations.
“This bipartisan legislation would continue that work to end a drug market that favors Big Pharma, make prescriptions affordable again, and empower Americans to get the care they need,” Hawley said.
Where congressional Republicans ultimately end up on drug pricing as part of their yet-to-be-finalized policy package remains to be seen. While the White House is pushing what it is calling a “most favored nation” plan, Speaker Mike Johnson poured cold water on the idea during an interview last week.
Hawley, meanwhile, is a key vote to watch on the Republicans’ sweeping party-line bill — and as part of the Senate’s debate on that measure, lawmakers will be able to offer unlimited amendments on nearly any proposal. He said that “if Republicans want to save money on health care costs in reconciliation, this is where to start.”
In addition to prohibiting pharmaceutical companies from selling drugs within the United States at a higher price than the international average, it also would impose a penalty if companies violate the prohibition.
“Big Pharma’s price gouging has made that a reality for many Americans, forcing them to pay four or five times more for the same lifesaving medications as folks in other countries — it’s unacceptable,” said Welch, a Vermont Democrat.
The legislation would go after the list price of drugs, but most Americans don’t pay the list price when getting prescriptions filled. That’s because health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers are able to negotiate lower costs.
The pharmaceutical industry is expected to fiercely oppose such a move, having previously argued that so-called international reference pricing and other similar “government price controls” would lead to significant barriers to accessing treatments for patients, including longer wait times for medications.
The Congressional Budget Office found last year that an international reference pricing policy based on prices in several other high income countries, including Canada, France and the United Kingdom, would reduce average drug prices in 2031 by more than 5 percent.
The Senate’s plan to get out of town is coming together.
Majority Leader John Thune teed up a final vote on the Russia sanctions legislation for this morning, as well as a confirmation vote for dozens of nominees and a procedural step on a stopgap funding bill.
But there’s still a number of questions that need to be answered if Thune wants to adjourn for recess by the end of the day:
— BLANCHE’S FATE: President Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general needs to secure at least one more vote to be confirmed before the break.
It looks like it’s all up to Sen. Bill Cassidy after Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced Friday morning she is opposed. Thune indicated Thursday night Blanche’s fate was uncertain and that leaders were “still working to get the final vote.”
— SAVE AMERICA ACT: Thune said to expect a vote related to the SAVE America Act as well as an initial vote on a budget blueprint for a third party-line spending bill — which includes elements of Trump’s election security legislation.
The decision to hold the budget vote comes after two Republican senators, granted anonymity to speak candidly, told Blue Light News Thursday they believed Sen. Mike Lee or another member of the GOP’s right flank would have otherwise forced a vote on the framework.
But as we’ve previously reported, Republicans don’t believe the budget resolution has the votes within the conference to be adopted — meaning the expected initial vote today will fail to clear a simple majority threshold.
And it’s not clear Lee or like-minded senators will be satisfied and allow for lawmakers to adjourn for recess without more action on the elections measure. The senator has made similar threats over the past year but has never followed through.
— TIME AGREEMENT: GOP leaders need to strike an agreement to finish other business, including passing the stopgap government funding bill and advancing a college sports bill.
At this point, any single senator could still object to expediting the chamber’s agenda, which would derail Thune’s goal of getting members out of town by the end of the day.
“We’ve been having these conversations with Democrats trying to figure out what’s the path,” Thune said.
“We’ll see how it goes,” he added.
What else we’re watching:
— GOP EXPECTS CRYPTO BILL DELAY: The Senate will leave for the chamber’s August recess without holding a vote on a landmark cryptocurrency bill, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. Thune may still file cloture on the bill, but it likely won’t come to the floor until lawmakers return to Washington next month, two of the people said.
— COLLEGE SPORTS BILL STUMBLES: Sens. Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell’s legislation to impose new guardrails on college sports is looking increasingly unlikely to hit the floor this week. Eleven senators objected to expedited consideration of the Protect College Sports Act after Thune filed cloture earlier this week, two people familiar with discussions told Blue Light News.
— OGLES OUSTED: GOP House leaders lost an incumbent — and a perennial headache — with Rep. Andy Ogles’ primary defeat in Tennessee Thursday night. His loss to former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher represents the second Trump-endorsed candidate to lose a primary this week.
Jordain Carney, Mia McCarthy, Andrew Howard and Jacob Wendler contributed to this report.
Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination is on the brink after Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced Friday that she would oppose confirming him.
The Alaska Republican said in a statement that she did not believe Blanche, who has been serving as acting attorney general since April, would act to rein in President Donald Trump and reverse the “politicization—even weaponization” of the Justice Department that has “accelerated” under Trump.
“The country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration,” she said. “I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed, but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case.”
Blanche’s fate is now thought to come down to Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who has been increasingly critical of the president since losing his renomination campaign to a Trump-backed Republican earlier this year.
Cassidy met with Blanche alongside Murkowski Wednesday afternoon but hasn’t yet said how he will vote. Blanche has to win his support in order to be confirmed, given unified opposition from Democrats and opposition from Murkowski and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
The extended absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky for health reasons has also left Republicans short of a vote.
Murkowski cited Blanche’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and the settlement agreement reached between Trump and the IRS under his watch as well as DOJ’s “repeated targeting” of Trump’s political enemies.
Senate Republicans rejecting Blanche would be a significant blow to Trump, who has pressured GOP senators to support Blanche over the past week as his nomination has been in limbo. And it would come as he’s already fuming at the conference, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, over their inability to end the legislative filibuster and pass the elections bill known as the SAVE America Act.
The Senate is aiming to leave town Friday for a five-week recess. They’ve got to finish a mountain of work first.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday night the chamber is hoping to pass a stopgap funding bill as well a long-stalled Russia sanctions bill Friday. They are also set to confirm dozens of nominees and — Republicans hope —Todd Blanche as attorney general if he can win the support of Sens. Lisa Murkowski or Bill Cassidy.
Thune indicated Blanche’s fate was still uncertain and that leaders were “still working to get the final vote.”
Republicans will also hold an initial vote on a budget blueprint for a third party-line spending bill, Thune said, as well as a vote related to the SAVE America Act.
“I would expect that would be in whatever the final tranche of votes [is],” Thune said about an initial vote on the budget resolution.
Senate Republicans, as Blue Light News previously reported, don’t believe the budget resolution has the votes within the conference to be adopted. Instead, the Senate is expected to hold an initial vote that will fail to clear a simple majority threshold.
The decision to hold that vote comes after two Republican senators, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said Thursday that they believed Sen. Mike Lee of Utah or another member of the GOP’s right flank would force a vote regardless on the framework, which they are able to do under the chamber’s rules.
Any single senator could still object to expediting the chamber’s agenda, which would derail Thune’s goal of getting members out of town by the end of the day Friday.
The majority leader teed up a final vote on the Russia sanctions legislation for Friday morning, a confirmation vote for dozens of nominees and another procedural step on a stopgap funding bill.
Leadership is hoping they’ll get a deal later in the day to finish other business, including passing the CR, advancing a college sports bill, confirming Blanche and voting on the budget resolution.
“We’ve been having these conversations with Democrats trying to figure out what’s the path – so we’ve tried to set up a series of votes to deal with all the unfinished business with one exception, so anyways we’ll see how it goes,” Thune said.
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