Senate Judiciary Panel Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) talks with reporters as he heads for a meeting at the Capitol October 02, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Morsel Somodevilla | Getty Images
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley said Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is leading for his colleagues’ apparent lack of enthusiasm about his bipartisan bill to lower drug prices.
When asked by lady of the fourth estates during a briefing why more Senate Republicans haven’t supported the legislation, the Senate Finance Committee chairman mean because McConnell “asked them not to.”
“The president wants it!” Grassley said, according to a recording of the briefing.
Grassley and McConnell would rather reportedly been at odds over the bipartisan measure, which has support from President Donald Trump and myriad Senate Democrats.
When asked for comment, a spokesperson for McConnell directed CNBC to a report where McConnell is excerpted saying the Senate’s path forward on drug costs is still “under discussion” and he is “looking to do something on drug prize.”
Grassley and ranking Democrat Ron Wyden, of Oregon, advanced the broad drug pricing bill through committee in July. Looking to increase more Republican support, the lawmakers unveiled a revamped version of the bill earlier this month. The bill would judge changes to Medicare by adding an out-of-pocket maximum for beneficiaries and capping drug price increases at the rate of inflation, among other measures.
High health-care costs have become a rare bipartisan issue, drawing support from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress and the Trump management.
The House last week approved Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s sweeping drug pricing legislation, which would grant the U.S. government to negotiate lower prices for certain drugs. That bill is also unlikely to be taken up in the Senate, where McConnell has earlier ruled out any action on it.
This week, lawmakers tacked on numerous health-care provisions to a year-end spending bill that stores the federal government through the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. The legislation now heads to the Senate, where it’s demanded to pass later this week. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Trump intends to ideogram it into law.