Jim McGovern

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, yesterday the Committee on Rules reported a rule, House Resolution 774. The rule provides for the consideration of H.R. 5376, the Build Back Better Act, under a closed rule. The rule provides 2 hours of debate equally divided among and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Budget and the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means. The rule self-executes a manager's amendment from Chairman Yarmuth and provides one motion to recommit. Finally, the rule extends recess instructions, suspension authority, and same day authority through December 3. Madam Speaker, when Franklin Roosevelt stood before the American people in Chicago, Illinois, and accepted the Democratic nomination for President nearly 90 years ago, he promised them a New Deal, one built on equality and fairness. That work is bigger than a single President or a single era, and it continues to this day. All these years later, this Congress is working to fulfill that promise. We will be considering a bill that will transform the lives of most people in this country for the better. The Build Back Better Act will help Americans access stronger and more affordable healthcare, better family care, and will set up a stronger response to the climate crisis. It will lower prescription drug costs, capping the cost of insulin at $35. It will establish paid family and medical leave and provide universal and free pre-K. Madam Speaker, I have talked to so many of my constituents who are sick and tired of working hard but falling behind. All they want is a country and a Congress that looks out for their interest and puts their needs first. That is what the policies contained in this bill will do. These are the kind of priorities that make me proud to be a Democrat. They are the kind of advancements that the American people have been demanding for decades. The Build Back Better Act finally turns the page on four decades of failed trickle-down economics. It invests in the people who built this country; in our workers, the middle class, and everyone fighting hard to get there. And at a time when the wealth gap between the richest and the poorest families in this country has more than doubled, this bill will stem the rising tide of income inequality by asking those at the very top to pay what they owe, to pay their fair share. It is bold. It is consequential. And it will transform the lives of so many Americans. By expanding the child tax credit, more than 35 million families with children will see their taxes go down. Older Americans and those with disabilities will also see expanded access to home care as part of this bill. People working two or three jobs to make ends meet--17 million of them--will have hope for a better future with access to an education that extends beyond high school. Parents of three- and four-year-old kids can breathe a sigh of relief as they gain access to universal pre-K, meaning that they can go to work safe in the knowledge that their kids are learning while they are earning. Nine million Americans will save money on their premiums through changes to the Affordable Care Act, and folks in States that have been cut out of healthcare--four million of them--will finally get healthcare because this bill closes the Medicaid coverage gap. By making the biggest investment ever to combat climate change, the Build Back Better Act will advance environmental justice and give more communities a fighting chance to respond to this crisis. There are resources here to cut pollution, grow small businesses, improve care for our veterans. This bill accomplishes all of this while being fully paid for. It finally demands that the largest corporations and the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share. And importantly, it keeps the President's promise not to raise taxes on those making under $400,000, not even one single penny. This is a seismic shift after my colleagues on the other side of the aisle exploded the deficit to give tax cuts to the rich and the well- off. And let me just say to all those Republicans who have been urging action on the COVID-caused supply chain issues, you should join us and support this bill because there are provisions here to bolster our supply chain and prepare for the next pandemic and future supply chain issues. Madam Speaker, I will put the values contained in this bill against the priorities of my colleagues on the other side any day of the week. It is about damn time that the wealthy were asked to pay their fair share. It is about damn time that workers and small businesses get a tax break. And it is about damn time that we focus on the middle class for a change. My Republican friends may stand here today and complain about the process, but the truth is 13 committees of jurisdiction have spent more than 165 hours marking up this legislation. They considered more than 850 amendments. And all that was before the Committee on Rules did its work. Before the Committee on Rules met, not once, but twice, and talked about this bill--even before it was final. The committees have done their work. Members in this Congress, in this House and all across the Capitol have debated this bill over and over and over again. The American people are demanding action. Now is the time. Time for us to make real the promises of the New Deal. Time for us to put our government back on the side of working people in this country. And time for us to deliver the agenda that the American people voted for last November. Madam Speaker, I thank Members on both sides of the aisle, and especially staff. I know that this has been a long day and a long week. We have our differences, but I thank all of my colleagues for their patience. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Morelle), a member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the distinguished chairwoman for the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to amend the pending resolution with an amendment that I have placed at the desk.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the distinguished chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, in a moment I will ask to amend the rule to correct a clerical error in the Rules Committee report. The amendment reinserts the text of the manager's amendment posted on our website yesterday which was inadvertently omitted from the copy of the report filed today. This is purely a clerical fix. Amendment Offered by Mr. McGovern

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio), the chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Khanna), my friend.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a November 4 Vox article titled, ``This May Finally Be the Year Congress Lets Medicare Negotiate Drug Prices.'' [Nov. 4, 2021] Vox: This May Finally Be the Year Congress Lets Medicare Negotiate Drug Prices (By Dylan Scott) Democrats in Congress have managed to revive a prescription drug reform proposal that would allow the party to finally deliver on a campaign promise they've been making for 15 years: letting Medicare negotiate drug prices and lowering drug costs for patients. The breakthrough was the result of negotiations with a few moderate members of the Democratic conference who were uneasy with an earlier version. That version was briefly dropped from the Build Back Better Act, Democrats' wide-ranging social spending bill. Nothing can be considered final until both the House and the Senate pass the legislation, but the new draft of the Medicare drug negotiations proposal appears to make some concessions to centrists who share the drug industry's concerns about the effect of price controls on medical innovation. Still, the new plan would also be a rare loss for the pharmaceutical industry, which fervently opposes every version of such a proposal and has lobbied aggressively to stop it. Under the revised plan, the maximum price Medicare would pay would be 75 percent of what commercial US insurers pay on average for drugs that have been on the market between 9 and 12 years, with the maximum decreasing the longer the drug has been available. Democrats had originally set a maximum price of 120 percent of the average of what other wealthy nations pay for the same drug. The change should lead to drug makers losing less revenue, the goal of moderates, though no CBO score is yet available. Fewer drugs would also be subject to negotiation. Under the new plan, the government would start by negotiating the cost of 10 drugs in 2025, before gradually ramping up to 20 after a few years. Under the original plan, the government would have negotiated the price of 25 drugs immediately and that number would have eventually increased to 50. The plan now also includes a moratorium on negotiations for drugs that have been on the market for less than 9 years (for small-molecule drugs) or 12 years (for biologics). Drug companies would be penalized for price hikes that are higher than inflation under the new proposal, a holdover from prior versions of the plan. Overall, the new plan would save the government about half as much money ($250 billion, by the White House's estimates) as the original plan ($450 billion). That has forced Dems to cut down their health care spending plans, for example, by nixing a progressive proposal to add dental and vision benefits to Medicare. Nevertheless, Democrats can take the savings from their new drug pricing plan and use it to lower drug costs for seniors. The Build Back Better Act would set a hard cap on how much seniors who enrolled in Medicare's prescription drug benefit pay for prescription drugs: $2,000 out of pocket annually. It would also require private Part D plans to cover more of the cost of expensive drugs, which experts say may motivate those plans to try to extract lower prices from drug makers on medications not included in the new government-led negotiations. The new proposal also adds a provision that requires all insurers to cover insulin, so patients pay only $35 a month of their own money for the medication. Democrats have finally built sufficient momentum to approve Medicare negotiations for the first time. They have wanted to do this since at least 2003, when Medicare Part D was first created. While the party still has a long way to go on figuring out what comes next in its health care agenda, this was one priority they knew they wanted to get done. And with the moment of truth upon us, it looks like they will.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. With the Build Back Better bill, we are on the verge of finally allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, which will bring down the cost substantially for consumers. This has been decades in the making and is overwhelmingly supported by the American people. There is even a provision that caps insulin costs in this bill to just $35 a month. This is a big deal for so many of our constituents. We are making history here today. This bill will transform people's lives for the better. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Johnson), the distinguished chairwoman of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished majority leader.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished Speaker of the House.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, I don't know what my Republican friends find so offensive about making historic investments in healthcare and family care and combating climate change. Maybe we just have different values. Maybe they are just angry that we are investing not in the wealthy as they did, not in large corporations as they did, but in our workers, and in the middle-class families all across the Nation. I am proud that we are finally allowing drug prices to be negotiated, proud that we are establishing universal free pre-K. I am proud that we are making the biggest expansion in healthcare coverage in a decade; proud that we are making the most transformative investments in caregiving in American history; and I am proud that we are making the biggest investments to combat climate change ever. I didn't run for office to help the well connected or just to hold the title. I came here to actually get something done for workers, for students, and for the next generation so we are not saddling them with a planet whose climate is out of control. I ran for office to pass big, bold, transformative legislation like this. This is the agenda the American people voted for in November. They demanded a clean break from the Republicans. They entrusted a Democratic Congress and a Democratic White House to use their power to change people's lives for the better. Today, we are delivering. I know it took a while to get to this point, some ups and downs, and I know this isn't everybody's idea of a great and wonderful and fun Friday night, but it is testament to this President, to the Speaker, and to the Democrats on both sides of the Capitol. We are on the doorstep of delivering once-in-a-generation legislation that builds on the New Deal and the promise that President Roosevelt made over 80 years ago. I urge all of my colleagues to seize this chance to vote for this rule and the underlying legislation so that the American people can truly have a fair shot in the 21st century. The system, as it exists, is still rigged against workers, against too many families, against too many who are struggling in our country. Let us change that reality. Let us pass the infrastructure bill, the BIF bill, and then let us pass the Build Back Better bill and let's transform this country for the better. I am proud to be here today to advocate for this legislation.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution, as amended.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 44) providing for a joint hearing of the Committees on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Senate to receive a presentation from the Comptroller General of the United States regarding the audited financial statement of the executive branch, as amended.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I don't have to tell you that these are partisan times. We don't often get to consider something that is supported by both Democrats on the Rules Committee and Republicans on the Rules Committee. Not only that, an idea that was also recommended by the truly bipartisan Select Committee on the Modernization of the Congress. That is what we have before us with H. Con. Res. 44, the Fiscal State of the Nation Resolution. This measure from Congresswoman Rice of New York is coming before us at an especially important time, a time that finds us discussing matters like the debt ceiling, government spending, transportation, and reconciliation legislation. It requires the director of the Government Accountability Office to deliver an annual address to a joint hearing of the House and Senate Budget Committees on the financial position and condition of the Federal Government. Members of the media would be able to cover the hearing so the American people and not just the Members of Congress can better understand the realities about what we face today; all with the goal, Madam Speaker, of promoting greater transparency surrounding our Nation's fiscal health. That way, we have more clarity as Congress makes spending decisions in the months and years ahead that will impact every single American. A companion measure has already been introduced in the United States Senate, since the House alone cannot tell our friends on the other side of the Capitol what to do; although, I must admit, sometimes I wish we could, Madam Speaker. There are more than 100 cosponsors of this resolution. As I said earlier, the Select Committee on the Modernization of the Congress has already recommended this concept in their final report of the 116th Congress. I think that is because of a simple reason: We all want to make the most informed spending decisions and develop the most sensible ways to combat our debt. You can't properly address these issues unless you fully understand them. With this resolution, through the work of the House and Senate Budget Committees, we can all better understand the fiscal reality that we face. Don't get me wrong, Madam Speaker, I am sure we will still have many debates on this floor about what to do in response. I sure as hell would never support anything that punishes the very Americans who can least afford it. For example, when we talk about fiscal health, I want us to acknowledge that America's tax code rewards wealth and power at the expense of working families. There has been a dramatic reduction in taxes paid by the very rich in this country over the last 60 years. So when some say all we need to do is cut, cut, cut, I have to say I get a little confused. I think cutting Medicare, privatizing Social Security, and slashing funding for important programs that help working families is an awful idea. Instead, I want those at the top to contribute their fair share and pay it forward so everyone else can access the opportunities and possibilities they get to enjoy. Let me also say, taking on big problems will cost money. But in the long run, the consequences of an action oftentimes will be more expensive. Hunger is an issue that I deeply care about. It is estimated to cost Americans over $160 billions every year in lost productivity and poor healthcare outcomes. In contrast, it would cost us just a fraction of that number to completely end hunger in America. By investing in solutions up front, we can often save a boatload of money and pass on those savings to the American taxpayer. Now, many Members on my side feel the same way. But I get it. Many of my Republican friends probably view things differently. We can have those debates here on the floor and in the relevant committees. But because of this resolution, hopefully, Democrats and Republicans and Members of the House and Senate would at least be dealing with the same set of facts. John Adams called facts stubborn things, and I have to tell you, Madam Speaker, he was absolutely right. But sometimes, it can feel like each side uses different statistics to talk past each other. This measure will, hopefully, help ground our discussions about fiscal policy, so I urge all of my colleagues to join with the more than 100 Members of this body who support this resolution and with the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, which recommended this idea. Let's allow Members of the House and Senate to hear directly from the GAO so that we can follow the facts and make better informed decisions about our Nation's bottom line. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from the State of Washington (Mr. Kilmer), who is the distinguished chairman of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I would just remind the gentleman this is a bipartisan bill put forward by a bipartisan commission, and I am glad to hear him talking about the debt. I wish some of my colleagues would have talked about it when they controlled the House and the White House, but the debt that we are talking about was accumulated by Republican Presidents and Republican Congresses and Democratic Presidents and Democratic Congresses. President Biden has only been in office 9 months, and the spending that he is proposing is to be fully paid for, with a recognition that we do not want to see an increase in our deficits and our debt. But this is a bipartisan moment, and we should celebrate it. But maybe I am sounding a little eccentric when I say that. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I would just say to the gentleman I would hate to hear what he would say if he actually opposed the bill. But the bottom line is the bills that we are trying to move through this Chamber right now that would be transformational are fully paid for. I just can't be lectured by anybody who advocated for a tax cut bill that benefited mostly the wealthy and well-off in this country that was not paid for at all and that added $2 trillion right to our debt. So spare me the lectures. I reserve the balance of my time, Madam Speaker.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, this is a bipartisan resolution. It was presented to us by a bipartisan select committee. I think we should all appreciate this particular moment. It is about making sure that Congress is provided a presentation of the facts about our Nation's fiscal health as we make decisions that will impact America's bottom line. Democrats and Republicans could then fight it out over the next steps. We have different priorities and different values on a lot of things. But there should be no disagreement about this resolution right now. And, surely, even in this day and age, we can all still agree on the need to get the facts in the light of day for us and the people who we represent. Again, I want to thank Congresswoman Rice from New York for her leadership on this issue, and I want to thank my colleague on the Rules Committee Congressman Burgess for cosponsoring this legislation. There should be no controversy over this. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 727 and ask for its immediate consideration.