CIFE maintains it’s original position opposing House Speaker Pelosi’s drug pricing plan, H.R.3. CIFE recently signed on to the Americans for Tax Reform Coalition letter. The letter articulates the threats to the free market that Pelosi proposes in her plan. We believe that this legislation discourages companies from bringing life-saving medicines to market and punishes competition. Further, we know that there more suitable alternatives to heatlhcare reform, and we ask our lawmakers to seek a bipartisan solution. Patients do not need politics, and that is why 70 organizations, including CIFE have formally rejected Pelosi’s plan by signing onto the Americans for Tax Reform Coalition letter.
Dear Members of Congress:
We write in opposition to the prescription drug pricing bill offered by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that would impose an excise tax of up to a 95 percent on hundreds of prescription medicines.
In addition to this new tax, the bill imposes new government price controls that would decimate innovation and distort supply, leading to the same lack of access to the newest and best drugs for patients in other countries that impose these price controls.
Under Speaker Pelosi’s plan, pharmaceutical manufacturers would face a retroactive tax of up to 95 percent on the total sales of a drug (not net profits). This means that a manufacturer selling a medicine for $100 will owe $95 in tax for every product sold with no allowance for the costs incurred. No deductions would be allowed, and it would be imposed on manufacturers in addition to federal and state income taxes they must pay.
The alternative to paying this tax is for the companies to submit to strict government price controls on the medicines they produce. While the Pelosi bill claims this is “negotiation,” the plan is more akin to theft.
If this tax hike plan were signed into law, it would cripple the ability of manufacturers to operate and develop new medicines.
It is clear that the Pelosi plan does not represent a good faith attempt to lower drug prices. Rather, it is a proposal that would crush the pharmaceutical industry, deter innovation, and dramatically reduce the ability of patients to access life-saving medicines.
We urge you to oppose the Pelosi plan that would impose price controls and a 95 percent medicine tax on the companies that develop and produce these medicines.
Sincerely,
Grover Norquist – President, Americans For Tax Reform
James L. Martin – Founder/Chairman, 60 Plus Association
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis – President, 60 Plus Association
Marty Connors – Chair, Alabama Center Right Coalition
Bob Carlstrom – President, AMAC Action
Dick Patten – President, American Business Defense Council
Phil Kerpen – President, American Commitment
Daniel Schneider – Executive Director, American Conservative Union
Steve Pociask – President/CEO, The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research
Lisa B. Nelson – CEO, American Legislative Exchange Council
Michael Bowman – Vice President of Policy, ALEC Action
Dee Stewart – President, Americans for a Balanced Budget
Tom Giovanetti – President, Americans for a Strong Economy
Norm Singleton – President, Campaign for Liberty
Ryan Ellis – President, Campaign for Liberty
Andrew F. Quinlan – President, Center for Freedom & Prosperity
Jeffrey Mazzella – President, Center for Individual Freedom
Ginevra Joyce-Myers – Executive Director, Center for Innovation and Free Enterprise
Peter J. Pitts – President, Center for Medicine in the Public Interest
Olivia Grady – Senior Fellow, Center for Worker Freedom
Chuck Muth – President, Citizen Outreach
David McIntosh – President, Club for Growth
Curt Levey – President, The Committee for Justice
Iain Murray – Vice President, Competitive Enterprise Institute
James Edwards – Executive Director, Conservatives for Property Rights
Matthew Kandrach – President, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy
Fred Cyrus Roeder – Managing Director, Consumer Choice Center
Tom Schatz – President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
Katie McAuliffe – Executive Director, Digital Liberty
Richard Watson – Co-Chair, Florida Center Right Coalition
Adam Brandon – President, Freedomworks
George Landrith – President, Frontiers of Freedom
Grace-Marie Turner – President, Galen Institute
Naomi Lopez – Director of Healthcare Policy, Goldwater Institute
The Honorable Frank Lasee – President, The Heartland Institute
Jessica Anderson – Vice President, Heritage Action for America
Rodolfo E. Milani – Trustee, Hispanic American Center for Economic Research, Founder, Miami Freedom Forum
Mario H. Lopez – President, Hispanic Leadership Fund
Carrie Lukas – President, Independent Women’s Forum
Heather R. Higgins – CEO, Independent Women’s Voice
Merrill Matthews – Resident Scholar, Institute for Policy Innovation
Chris Ingstad – President, Iowans for Tax Relief
Sal Nuzzo – Vice President of Policy, The James Madison Institute
The Honorable Paul R LePage – Governor of Maine 2011-2019
Seton Motley – President, Less Government
Doug McCullough – Director, Lone Star Policy Institute
Mary Adams – Chair, Maine Center Right Coalition
Matthew Gagnon – CEO, The Maine Heritage Policy Center
Victoria Bucklin – President, Maine State Chapter – Parents Involved in Education
Charles Sauer – President, Market Institute
Jameson Taylor, Ph.D. – Vice President for Policy, Mississippi Center for Public Policy
The Honorable Tim Jones – Leader, Missouri Center-Right Coalition
Brent Mead – CEO, Montana Policy Institute
Pete Sepp – President, National Taxpayers Union
The Honorable Bill O’Brien, The Honorable Stephen Stepanek – Co-chairs, New Hampshire Center Right Coalition
The Honorable Beth A. O’Connor – Maine House of Representatives
The Honorable Niraj J. Antani – Ohio State Representative
Douglas Kellogg – Executive Director, Ohioans for Tax Reform
Honorable Jeff Kropf – Executive Director, Oregon Capitol Watch Foundation
Daniel Erspamer – CEO, Pelican Institute for Public Policy
Lorenzo Montanari – Executive Director, Property Rights Alliance
Paul Gessing – President, Rio Grande Foundation
James L. Setterlund – Executive Director, Shareholder Advocacy Forum
Karen Kerrigan – President and CEO, Small Business Entrepreneurship Council
David Miller & Brian Shrive – Chairs, Southwest Ohio Center-right Coalition
Tim Andrews – Executive Director, Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Judson Phillips – President, Tea Party Nation
David Balat – Director, Right on Healthcare – Texas Public Policy Foundation
Sara Croom – President, Trade Alliance to Promote Prosperity
Kevin Fuller – Executive Director, Wyoming Liberty Group
