Bill Flores Discusses Last Week in Washington

by Bill Flores on September 30, 2019 at 1:49 PM

I issued the following statements regarding H.R. 2203, the Homeland Security Improvement Act; H.R. 3525, the U.S. Border Patrol Medical Screening Standards Act; and the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing on Speaker Pelosi’s prescription drug plan:

H.R. 2203 and H.R. 3525
This week, the House considered two partisan political messaging bills as House Democrats double down on their open border agenda. I did not support these bills as they fail to address the root causes of the continued crisis along our border. The mis-named Homeland Security Improvement Act would create a duplicative position for a federal bureaucrat to make it harder for law enforcement to rescue minors from human traffickers and smugglers, which would further undermine and demoralize federal agents tasked with securing our border. The U.S. Border Patrol Medical Screening Standards Act would redirect already limited border security funding resources to establish a new electronic health record system for illegal immigrants. It is hard to believe that House Democrats voted to prioritize facilitating a new health record system for illegal immigrants ahead of improving the medical record system for our nation’s veterans. Rather than wasting time on partisan bills that will not pass in the Senate, we should be working on bipartisan solutions that truly address the crises along our border by fixing our broken immigration system and securing our border.

Speaker Pelosi’s Prescription Drug Plan
Too many Americans are finding that the rising cost of prescription drugs is getting worse and straining their families’ finances. Through most of 2018, Republicans and Democrats were working together on bipartisan solutions that promote competition, lower out-of-pocket costs and establish transparency and accountability in drug prices. After real-world solutions passed out of the Energy and Commerce Committee and were ready to go to the House floor, Speaker Pelosi decided to put politics over progress by putting forth an inflexible, socialist, government-controlled approach to nationalize the prescription drug industry.

During this week’s Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing, I raised serious concerns that Pelosi’s partisan plan would drive innovation to China and other markets. This offshoring of investment, jobs and innovation in turn will compromise the safety of prescription drugs. As the Democrats jam their socialist bill to the House floor, it is important that the American people are fully aware of the damage that the Pelosi plan will inflict on access to life-saving medical innovation. Democrats need to come back to the table and work with Republicans on bipartisan solutions that promote competition and drive down costs. This type of solution will ultimately pass in the Senate and be signed by President Trump.