Cornyn Dares Schumer to Block Drug Pricing Bill in Public

Yesterday on the floor, I discussed the Minority Leader’s opposition to my bipartisan drug pricing bill with Sen. Blumenthal (D-CT). Excerpts of my floor remarks are below, and video can be found here.

Senator Schumer is blocking this bill from passing in the Senate. He's blocking one of his own members’ bills and one to lower prescription drug prices, of all things.

While the American people suffer from the crush of high costs at the pharmacy, he stonewalls. And it's to the detriment of just about everybody, except one group: the army of special interests who have been fighting my bill since day one when it has been introduced.

They are ecstatic that the Democratic Leader is blocking this bill, but I’m not. And I don't think the rest of the Senate is, either, because this is a noncontroversial, bipartisan bill.

So the only thing that Democrats are doing by continuing to hold up this bill is carry water for one of Washington's most prominent special interest groups, and as long as they do, it will be to the detriment of the American people.

Unfortunately, politics once again has overwhelmed our collective good judgment and good sense. I know the Democratic Leader doesn't want any bills to pass that Republicans can use to tell their constituents that they're listening to their concerns and acting on those concerns in the run-up to the next election. He doesn't really care about the merits of the legislation, or that it would help New Yorkers.

If the Democratic Leader is going to block the bill… I want them to see him do it and to hold him accountable for his misguided politics.