5th District Congresswoman Jahana Hayes is responding to a social media ad from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce alleging the House-passed Lower Drug Costs Now Act would result in 3,000 Connecticut jobs to be lost. Hayes is defending her vote in favor of the bill.
She says it's fair that big pharma, or the Chamber, wouldn't like the vote, but that she doesn't work for them. Hayes says cutting jobs is a choice, and these companies can redistribute their 163% profit margins in a way that saves jobs.
According to the non-partisan congressional budget office, the measure will save Americans $500 billion over the next ten years.
For those who say it is not up to government to negotiate the price of drugs, Hayes says pharmaceutical companies cannot be trusted to self regulate. In 2019, the price of 3,400 drugs were boosted on average 17% or 5 times the rate of inflation. Instead of using their multi-billion dollar tax breaks to either lower prices or invest in research, Hayes says Big Pharma used the money for stock buybacks and multimillion dollar bonuses for CEO’s and executives.
