Biden touts prescription drug cost cuts in Build Back Better as bill faces uncertain Christmas deadline in Senate

In a Monday speech, President Biden sought to emphasize the benefits of the prescription drug pricing plan in his Build Back Better agenda, the fate of which remains uncertain as the plan continues to face pushback from moderate Democrats in the Senate.

“I’m committed to using every tool I have to lower prescription drug costs for Americans, consistent with the drug companies getting a fair return on their investment,” Biden said in remarks delivered from the White House. “To really solve this problem, we need the Senate to follow the House of Representatives’ lead and pass my Build Back Better bill.

“... We need Congress to finish the job, to come together and make a difference in people’s lives,” Biden added.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., sent a letter to his caucus Monday affirming his plan to try to pass the $1.8 trillion legislation — which would overhaul the nation’s policies on family leave, climate, health care and taxation — by Christmas. In the letter, Schumer warned of “more long days and nights, and potentially weekends.” Congress must also address the need to raise the debt ceiling or risk running out of money to pay the nation’s debts ahead of the holiday recess.

While Monday’s White House event promoted provisions of the Build Back Better plan that would lower the cost of prescription drugs, the administration has itself sometimes misrepresented what the insulin portion of the plan would do, saying it would cap the price of the drug at $35 per month. While the plan would limit insurance copays for insulin to $35 for those with health insurance, it would not reduce the cost for the roughly 30 million Americans without it. Biden noted that during his remarks Monday, saying the administration was working to expand the number of people enrolled in insurance plans that would then limit their insulin costs.

Biden said in October he had been able to close the deal with 99 percent of his party except for “two people,” referring to Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. The pair pushed for a bipartisan infrastructure deal supported by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a number of pro-business groups that hoped its passage would stall any broader domestic programs. Due to the 50-50 split between parties, Democrats cannot pass a bill without Republican support unless they’re united.

Last week, CNN reported that Manchin had expressed skepticism about the possibility of the Christmas deadline for Build Back Better. The centrist member of the caucus has spent much of the year refusing to commit to the larger spending plan and has called for a “pause” in the process. Manchin has also said he has problems with many of the provisions passed in the House version of the bill, including paid family leave. In an interview with CNN last week, Sinema said she was continuing to negotiate but wouldn’t commit to a “yes” vote, saying, “I am always prepared to vote and to vote for what’s right for the interests of Arizona.”

Polling from Yahoo News and YouGov in November found that while Biden’s overall domestic plan was popular, approval for it dropped as it got smaller. The proposal to negotiate with drug companies to lower the costs of prescriptions was supported by 77 percent of Americans and has been a Democratic campaign promise for years. Due toopposition by Republicans and more conservative Democrats who are supported by the pharmaceutical industry, the overhaul has never been able to pass.

For months, the Congressional Progressive Caucus said it would not pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill until it could do so at the same time as the Build Back Better plan. In early November it relented, passing the infrastructure plan after receiving assurances that its Democratic colleagues would pass the domestic spending bill. While Build Back Better did pass the House on Nov. 19, its fate in the Senate is not guaranteed.

Six progressive Democrats did vote against the bipartisan deal, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who said the climate provisions were too light and that Build Back Better contained “the majority of the [Biden] agenda.”

“I want to protect our party from the disappointment and collapse in turnout from communities like mine that occurs when we tell them we did things we didn’t do,” Ocasio-Cortez said.