Press Releases

(As prepared for delivery)

Good morning and welcome Secretary Azar. Thank you for joining us for this important hearing.  I think we all understand that you have been very busy this week with various competing priorities, including a number of hearings here on Capitol Hill. I appreciate you and your staff working with the committee to make your appearance today possible. 

Americans, including my constituents in western Massachusetts, have deep concerns about their ability to afford and access the health care they need. 

Their prescription prices continue to skyrocket and they worry that Republicans will succeed in their court case to strike down protections for people with pre-existing conditions. They also fear that, at some point, the Medicare benefits they earned won’t be there for them. 

This Committee has been hard at work in the 116th Congress trying to address these concerns and to strengthen our health care system. So far, we have tackled the issues of lowering drug costs, protecting Americans with pre-existing conditions, putting an end to surprise medical billing, fighting the opioid epidemic, reducing youth vaping, and combating the maternal mortality crisis. We’ve also taken steps to increase opportunities for Americans to earn good jobs in health fields that need talented workers. 

President Trump’s proposed budget is in direct contrast to this work. His plan makes funding cuts designed to destabilize consumer protections under the Affordable Care Act, slashes funding for vital health programs, and creates more barriers for families trying to make ends meet.  

Overall, the President’s budget cuts $1.6 trillion from health care programs over the next decade, including Medicare, Medicaid, and programs that train doctors and support hospitals. 

Notably, the President’s budget puts Medicare on the chopping block, cutting close to half a trillion dollars from the vital program that 10,000 Baby Boomers join every day. This cut would lead to more hospital closures in underserved communities, like rural and urban areas.  Members of this committee are particularly attuned to the health care challenges that rural and underserved areas around the country already face. To this end, I hope the Administration will support the bipartisan effort of the Rural and Underserved Taskforce, led by my colleagues Representatives Sewell, Davis, Arrington, and Wenstrup.  I want to thank my colleagues for coming together to tackle these important issues.

The President’s budget also includes close to a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicaid that would devastate vulnerable families and individuals. Medicaid has become a middle-class benefit as long-term care becomes less and less affordable. And as the opioid crisis continues to ravage communities across our country, it is unfathomable to cut nearly a trillion dollars from the biggest source for funding substance abuse services. 

All of these sweeping cuts are being proposed amidst growing concern about the coronavirus. The CDC has stated that it is not a question of if, but when, an outbreak will occur in the U.S. and that the coronavirus could cause severe disruptions to Americans’ lives.  

While the President expressed an openness to accept additional funds from Congress, I remain deeply concerned about both the President’s meager request for supplemental coronavirus funding. We need to work together to ensure that there are sufficient resources to prepare for and stem this tide.

Health care is the number one issue on our constituents’ minds.  My objective here in Congress is to create policies that provide American workers and their families with high-quality, low-cost health care.  Unfortunately, the President’s budget directly undermines that effort. We can and we should do better. 

Despite all this, I remain hopeful that we can come together to work for the good of the American people.  Secretary Azar, I know that you and President Trump have both said that Americans pay way too much for drugs that are made available at much lower prices in other countries.  I agree.  And I think it’s time for us to come together to address this issue.  

As you know, the House passed H.R. 3 earlier this Congress.  This transformative prescription drug pricing legislation provides close to $500 billion in drug savings and expands Medicare to include dental, vision, and hearing coverage for beneficiaries. Americans shouldn’t pay more than patients in other countries do for the same drugs. 

I know that my Republican colleagues have ideas on this issue and that the Senate also has a proposal. But we are still waiting for the President to weigh in here.  And so, Secretary Azar, I hope you can take back to the President that we are ready to get to work.  We are ready to hear his proposal, to get in a room, and to hammer out a solution for the American people.

And with that I will recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. Brady, for an opening statement.

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