Stat News: “less than five months since they were sworn in, two GOP lawmakers who defied party orthodoxy by campaigning on that plank already appear to have abandoned it.”
Last year, now-Congressman Pete Stauber campaigned on a promise to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies to help lower the skyrocketing costs plaguing Minnesota families. Yet after just a few months in office and taking thousands of dollars from health care special interests, Stat News reports that Stauber “has not yet signed on to any of the legislative proposals that would achieve that policy” and “already appear[s] to have abandoned” the pledge.
“After less than five months in office, Congressman Stauber is already abandoning the core promises he made to Minnesotans,” said DCCC Spokesperson Brooke Goren. “Stauber’s actions reveal his priorities — he will always put big pharmaceutical companies and his Washington Republican backers ahead of Minnesota families.”
Stat News: These Republicans campaigned on a bold drug-pricing pledge. Since they won, they’ve gone silent
By Lev Facher
WASHINGTON — Just a handful of Republicans have ever endorsed the progressive idea to let Medicare negotiate drug prices.
But now, less than five months since they were sworn in, two GOP lawmakers who defied party orthodoxy by campaigning on that plank already appear to have abandoned it.
Both Reps. Dan Crenshaw of Texas and Pete Stauber of Minnesota have retreated from their campaign pledges on the issue — a sign, experts said, of both the political appeal of pledging to lower drug prices and the trepidation that comes with crossing the party line on a divisive issue. The political liability that comes with quickly abandoning a campaign-trail promise, too, could be substantial.
“My expectation is that most voters will believe they flipped because they have succumbed to the money and influence of the drug manufacturers, which creates a donor-whammy,” said Geoff Garin, a left-leaning pollster who has conducted surveys on the politics of health care for Arnold Ventures, a group largely opposed to pharmaceutical industry tactics. “Being wrong on the issue and an appearance of corruption.”
Their backpedal stands in contrast to a pair of GOP lawmakers who have held firm in their support of Medicare negotiation. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), another first-term congressman, said on the campaign trail that “allowing Medicare to negotiate prices directly would be a good start.” And his office told STAT this week that he’s still on board with that pledge — even if he hasn’t yet signed onto any of the three House bills that have been introduced to achieve that goal.
…In a campaign Q&A published by numerous Minnesota news outlets, Stauber similarly listed “allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies” as a means of lowering the national debt.
Stauber, whose office did not respond to requests for comment, has not yet signed on to any of the legislative proposals that would achieve that policy.
…“The bottom line is that the instincts of those Republicans who said they were for it are exactly right,” he said. “It’s a strong position with Republican voters who feel as deeply unhappy with the price of expensive drugs as anybody in this electorate.”
###