House Democratic leaders are pressing ahead with plans to pass their prescription drug bill this week, betting that opposition from a rebellious faction of progressive lawmakers will dissolve ahead of Thursday’s vote.
Top Democrats on Tuesday voiced confidence that the sweeping legislation would speed through a series of procedural hurdles, even amid threats from liberals to stall the effort if Speaker Nancy Pelosi refuses to make final tweaks.
“I’m very optimistic. We have the vast majority of the caucus,” said Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a member of Pelosi’s whip team, following Democrats' caucus meeting Tuesday morning.
House progressives, led by Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett, have pressured Pelosi for months to make the bill more ambitious, including by expanding the government’s authority to directly negotiate drug prices and ensuring those prices are available to the uninsured.
Liberals warned they could tank a procedural vote on the bill — effectively holding up a major Democratic priority — after Democratic leaders last week cut a provision from Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-chair Pramila Jayapal mandating new federal regulations cracking down on drug price hikes above the inflation rate.
But in a closed-door caucus meeting Tuesday morning, top Democrats showed little openness to their demands. When Doggett rose to make his case for further changes, Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) told him that last-minute tweaks weren’t feasible or necessary, according to multiple people in the room.
Freshman Rep. Susie Lee of Nevada also said Democrats should move forward on the bill, arguing that Democrats shouldn’t “let perfect be the enemy of progress," according to one person in the room.
Democratic leaders have so far resisted any further changes to the legislation, in part over worries it could cost support from a more moderate wing of the caucus that includes dozens of vulnerable lawmakers key to retaining control of the House next year.
Many of those lawmakers campaigned on lowering drug prices, and have agitated for weeks for a vote on the drug bill by the end of the year — while also warning any tweaks pushing the proposal further to the left could put their votes in jeopardy.
“Make my day,” Rep. Kurt Schrader, a centrist Democrat from Oregon, said of progressives’ threat to hold up the bill. “I think the speaker understands the politics better than some of our progressive colleagues.”
Pelosi’s senior health adviser, Wendell Primus, huddled with Jayapal and progressive caucus co-leader Mark Pocan Tuesday morning to negotiate an agreement ahead of a House Rules Committee hearing later this afternoon.
Pocan told POLITICO that progressives were scheduled to meet again with Pelosi this afternoon, just ahead of the Rules hearing.
Pocan and Jayapal did not say whether top Democrats would offer any concessions to win their support.
“They’ve known our priorities for quite a while now, and we just want to make sure that we have some resolution today,” Pocan (D-Wis.) told reporters. “We just need an answer. An answer can be yes, an answer can be no, but we haven’t had an answer in quite a while.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told reporters she would vote no on the legislation and would like to see the progressive caucus band together to block the bill or push for more progressive changes.
Schakowsky, who is also a member of the progressive caucus, said changes have already been made throughout the legislative process to satisfy progressives, including upping the minimum number of drugs that must be negotiated from 25 to 35 over time.
Other outspoken progressives also indicated they were on board with the bill, despite any reservations about some policies.
“No one ever said this bill was the be all and end all. It’s the beginning," said Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell, also a member of Pelosi’s leadership team. "We have to do something. So it’s a first step in trying to address the issues."
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said discussions are ongoing, but he was adamant the bill would ultimately pass.
“I want to make that clear,” he said. “This is a campaign pledge we made to the American people when we asked them to vote for us in 2018.”
Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) indicated there are a variety of ideas in play that could be considered as the bill is finalized. “There’s not a draft compromise out there that we are talking about.”
“The overwhelming consensus is that this is a transformation bill and people are excited about it,” he added.
Sarah Owermohle contributed to this report.
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