Wildfire Smoke Relief Act

Mr. President, the three most important words of our Constitution are the first three: ``We the People.'' That is what our entire vision of our form of government is about.

There was a lot of discussion among the Founders about how we make sure we don't end up with the equivalent of a King here in the United States of America because with a King, you get a government by and for the King and the King's circle, the powerful circle at the top, rather than the people.

Unfortunately, that vision in America is being challenged--challenged because we have a fundamental concentration of power through dark money in campaigns and gerrymandering through voter suppression and intimidation. The result is a shredding of the vision of our Constitution.

We have a responsibility in the Senate to fix that, and that is why we should be considering the For the People Act that takes on gerrymandering, voter suppression, and dark money. If we want evidence of just exactly how corrupted the system has become, go no further than to look at drug companies gouging Americans on drug prices.

Today I am introducing the End Price Gouging for Medications Act to stop the pharmaceutical companies' greed and give Americans much needed relief.

The average American spends about $1,000 per year on medication. That is 11 times what they spent in 1960. More than half of Americans take at least one prescription medication--about 60 percent of us. One- quarter of them say they or family members have not filled a prescription or have cut pills in half or have skipped doses because of the cost, and those costs just keep going right on up.

January through June 2018, there were price increases on 4,412 drugs and decreases on just 46. That is a ratio that approaches 100 to 1. For every 100 drugs that go up in price, 1 comes down a little. We are clearly failing to tackle this problem.

I hear it from my constituents back in Oregon. Bonnie Davis from Creswell, who is a senior citizen on a fixed income and has been diabetic for 30 years, was prescribed two new kinds of insulin in December: BYDUREON, which costs $1,927 for a 3-month supply, and Lantus SoloSTAR, which costs $1,952. She will pay more than $5,000 out of pocket by the end of the year. In 1972, insulin cost just $1.49 per vial. What an incredible difference on a product that has been around forever.

Her two adult children are living in Germany. They thought about coming back to the United States of America but decided not to for one simple reason: the cost of healthcare in the United States of America and specifically the cost of medications.

I come from Douglas County, a little timber county in Southern Oregon. Leslie Rogers comes from that county. She comes from Roseburg, a town where I went to first grade. Leslie shared his daughter Gloria's story at one of my townhalls. Gloria suffers from a rare genetic condition called West syndrome. She lives, therefore, in near constant fear of seizures and cystic fibrosis. It is treatable.

It is treatable with a drug called ACTH. It was invented in the 1950s. Previously, it cost $40 a vial--$40--but in 8 years, the cost has grown to $45,000. Yes, you heard that right--from $40 to $45,000. That is more than a thousandfold increase.

The company that makes the drug bought the rights to and blocked a $200 synthetic ACTH treatment used in Canada to prevent it from coming to the United States. They are making a lot of money by blocking a generic synthetic competitor.

Leslie Rogers says: ``Hospitalization and treatment drove my family to the edge of bankruptcy, and my daughter was left tube fed and suction dependent due to treatment delays fighting with insurance over the drug price.''

How would you feel if your daughter or your son were left in a situation of being tube fed and suction dependent because you couldn't afford the drug because the drug had increased in price 1,000 times?

The cost of another drug used to treat the disease, Vigabatrin, has also skyrocketed after makers saw what the first company was able to get away with. It cost about $1,500 a month 3

years ago, and $1,500 is a lot. How much does it cost today? It costs $26,000 per month. That is roughly a twentyfold increase.

Leslie Rogers notes: ``This price gouging has led to thousands of children since we first spoke to suffer the same fate as my daughter-- severe brain damage, cerebral palsy, reliance on tube feedings, and many have died.''

Let's be clear. Price gouging in America isn't just about the pocketbook; it is about health, and it is about life or death for many people.

This situation doesn't exist in other countries. The whole entire price regime is different. Let's take, as an example, HUMIRA, a common drug for rheumatoid arthritis. Here in the United States, it is about $2,700 per dose. In the United Kingdom, it is $1,362. Why does it cost twice that in the United States of America for this drug, this common drug? Then there is CRESTOR, which is used to treat high cholesterol? It is $216 in the United States, and it is $32 in France. Crudely, that is a sevenfold increase in the United States over France. Why do we pay seven times as much as the people in France? There is also HARVONI that is used to treat hepatitis C. It cost $13,000 in Japan and $30,000 in United States. That is three times as much. Why do we pay three times what they pay in Japan for this drug? There is also JANUVIA that is used to treat type 2 diabetes. It costs $34 in Australia and $331 in the United States of America--a tenfold increase. Why do we pay 10 times as much as people in Australia?

There is an answer to the question--the question of why we pay so much for HUMIRA, for CRESTOR, for HARVONI, and for JANUVIA. Very simply, other governments negotiate the price: If you want to sell it in our country, we negotiate the price.

We don't. Now, what is the reason why we don't? Why don't we pick up and do for Americans what the Government of Australia does for Australians, or the Government of the United Kingdom does for its citizens, or the Government of France does for their citizens? Why don't we do it for our citizens--the same good work in negotiating the price that other governments do? What is wrong with our government? What is wrong with this Chamber?

It is corruption. It is the absolute corruption of money in campaigns.

So who are we serving here in this Chamber? Are we serving the people or are we serving the drug companies? That is the question every Member of this Chamber should struggle with.

In the United States, drug companies set the price, and we don't negotiate. In fact, the U.S. Government has set a law saying the U.S. Government can't negotiate. Why would we do that? Why would we do that to ourselves? Why would we do that to the people of this country who cannot afford the drugs because we make them far more expensive than anywhere else in the world?

Well, we shouldn't. That is why I have introduced the End Price Gouging for Medications Act. On behalf of the people of America, we need to end the drug gouging.

Now, I do a lot of townhalls. I do one in every county every year. There are 36 counties in Oregon. It is open hour for people to ask questions. They are blue counties, and they are red counties. Twenty- two of my 36 are about as red as the reddest counties you will find in America.

I ask the people: How many people here at this townhall like getting gouged on drugs? Nobody does. How many people like paying 2 or 5 or 10 times more than the citizens of other developed countries? No one likes it.

America is united--rural America, urban America, blue America, red America, young America, old America. America is united to end this drug gouging.

So why don't we act?

I challenge my colleagues: Come here and work for the people of the United States of America rather than the drug companies' profits. It is time to stand up. Stand up against those companies.

This plan is quite simple. It says you can't sell the drug for more than the median price of what you sell it for in Australia, Japan, Canada, and the largest European countries. It is that simple. Median price in those markets. If you want to raise your prices in America, you have to raise your prices in those countries. That way we all get a fair deal. This would stop the drug gouging of Americans overnight.

This is quite simple, but you may ask how is it enforced? How do you make sure that this happens?

Well, it is this. The difference between the reference price, or the median price in those countries, and the price the drug company sells their product at--if they sell it for more than the median price, the penalty is five times the difference. If they sell it for $1,000 more per dose over the median price, the penalty is $5,000. That gets people's attention. Drug companies don't want to be paying massive penalties.

And where do the fines go? They go to the NIH for drug research and development. There is all this myth that we are not going to invest in drug development. The basic science is done by NIH, and this would fund

Mr. President, today I am introducing the Wildfire Smoke Relief Act of 2019 with the ultimate goal of providing Federal emergency assistance to at risk individuals in areas with unhealthy air quality caused by wildfire smoke. By actively preparing for the effects of wildfire smoke inhalation, this bill attempts to ensure the long term health and security of all of those affected by wildfires.

In 2018, over 2,000 fires burned nearly 900,000 acres in the State of Oregon. The result of these fires was weeks and weeks of wildfire smoke. In Southern Oregon alone, there were 39 days with unhealthy air quality directly caused by smoke from wildfires. People need proper air filtration equipment, and in extreme cases, to seek refuge in a smokeless area. Communities are being choked by wildfire smoke, and each year wildfires are becoming more destructive than the previous.

Vulnerable populations like children, the elderly, pregnant women, and low-income families are disproportionately affected by wildfire smoke. Additionally, those with chronic heart or lung conditions are at a similarly heightened risk. Symptoms from smoke inhalation can develop within a relatively short time of exposure, and according to research, is akin to smoking several packs of cigarettes per day. Symptoms vary and can include poor development of lungs in children, shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain, nausea, reduced lung capacity, bronchitis, headaches, and visual impairment.

The bill would authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide assistance to at risk individuals by providing smoke inhalation prevention equipment and low-cost home improvements when air quality causes unhealthy air quality levels or three consecutive days. Smoke inhalation prevention equipment would include an air filter, a face mask or respirator, a portable air filtration unit, and other low cost equipment used to keep smoke out of a house.

In severe cases, the Wildfire Smoke Relief Act would authorize FEMA to provide transitional sheltering assistance for at risk individuals. In these extreme cases FEMA can arrange alternate, cost-efficient housing arranged for at-risk people to escape the smoke.

Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined by Senator Jeff Merkley in introducing the bill today and look forward to working with my colleagues toward enactment of the Wildfire Smoke Relief Act in the 116th Congress.

Mr. President, today I am introducing the Wildfire Smoke Relief Act of 2019 with the ultimate goal of providing Federal emergency assistance to at risk individuals in areas with unhealthy air quality caused by wildfire smoke. By actively preparing for the effects of wildfire smoke inhalation, this bill attempts to ensure the long term health and security of all of those affected by wildfires.

In 2018, over 2,000 fires burned nearly 900,000 acres in the State of Oregon. The result of these fires was weeks and weeks of wildfire smoke. In Southern Oregon alone, there were 39 days with unhealthy air quality directly caused by smoke from wildfires. People need proper air filtration equipment, and in extreme cases, to seek refuge in a smokeless area. Communities are being choked by wildfire smoke, and each year wildfires are becoming more destructive than the previous.

Vulnerable populations like children, the elderly, pregnant women, and low-income families are disproportionately affected by wildfire smoke. Additionally, those with chronic heart or lung conditions are at a similarly heightened risk. Symptoms from smoke inhalation can develop within a relatively short time of exposure, and according to research, is akin to smoking several packs of cigarettes per day. Symptoms vary and can include poor development of lungs in children, shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain, nausea, reduced lung capacity, bronchitis, headaches, and visual impairment.

The bill would authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide assistance to at risk individuals by providing smoke inhalation prevention equipment and low-cost home improvements when air quality causes unhealthy air quality levels or three consecutive days. Smoke inhalation prevention equipment would include an air filter, a face mask or respirator, a portable air filtration unit, and other low cost equipment used to keep smoke out of a house.

In severe cases, the Wildfire Smoke Relief Act would authorize FEMA to provide transitional sheltering assistance for at risk individuals. In these extreme cases FEMA can arrange alternate, cost-efficient housing arranged for at-risk people to escape the smoke.

Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined by Senator Jeff Merkley in introducing the bill today and look forward to working with my colleagues toward enactment of the Wildfire Smoke Relief Act in the 116th Congress.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.