Sanders writes: "Instead of standing up to the power of the drug companies, who have spent nearly $4 billion on lobbying and campaign contributions since 1998, Trump has become a cheerleader for them."
Senator Bernie Sanders and his wife Jane O'Meara Sanders wave to supporters upon taking the stage on the Burlington VT waterfront during the Bernie 2016 presidential announcement, May 26th, 2015. (photo: Arun Chaudhary)
14 May 18
hat a hypocrite! During his campaign Trump promised he’d provide “health insurance for everybody,” but then supported a bill to throw 32 million Americans off of health care. He said the wealthy wouldn’t gain a nickel under his tax plan, and then signed tax legislation giving 83 percent of the benefits to the top 1 percent. Today, the president made clear that he will not keep the promises he made during the campaign to lower the outrageously high cost of prescription drugs. Instead, he has become a supporter of the pharmaceutical industry's extraordinary greed.
Instead of standing up to the power of the drug companies, who have spent nearly $4 billion on lobbying and campaign contributions since 1998, Trump has become a cheerleader for them. Unbelievably, instead of lowering drug prices in the United States, he wants to raise prices abroad – giving the drug companies even more profits. Unlike Trump, Congress needs to start listening to the American people and take real action to lower the price of prescription drugs. That means we need to pass legislation requiring Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices and allow for the reimportation of safe, low-cost prescription drugs from Canada and other countries – precisely what Trump promised during the campaign. I will continue to do everything I can to end the greed of the pharmaceutical industry and lower the outrageous cost of prescription drugs.
