Several Democratic senators considering a presidential run in 2020 have released bills focused on lowering prescription drug prices, STAT News reports.
Four things to know:
1. Six Democratic senators likely to enter the 2020 presidential race have voiced anti-pharma rhetoric and calls to lower drug prices during the past month. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said any legislator who wants to win their respective races in 2020 will have to voice their opinion on the issue.
"Anybody who wants to be successful in 2020, at whatever level in whatever race, is going to have to address this issue. The political landscape in this country is changing dramatically," Mr. Blumenthal said.
2. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., released three proposals aimed to regulate drug pricing during a press conference Jan. 10. The proposals come roughly one month after Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., released her proposal on the issue. Ms. Warren has officially announced her run for president in 2020.
3. Cory Booker, D-N.J., has similarly condemned the pharmaceutical industry, calling high drug prices as "a stain on the very idea of America." In a Jan. 10 interview with STAT, Mr. Booker, who stopped accepting corporate campaign contributions in 2017, said he has specifically stopped accepting contributions from biopharma executives. He also told the publication that he, along with every lawmaker who has attached their name to legislation, did so because the policy was good, not to further their respective presidential campaigns.
4. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., also reintroduced a trio of bipartisan pills she has championed for years, according to STAT.
"I don't care if different people are doing different bills — I'm tired of inaction. If more people are taking on this issue that I’ve been doing for a decade, more power to them," she said.
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