By Steve Holland
CULPEPER, Va. (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday touted his plan to bring down the cost of prescription drugs as an antidote to high inflation on a day when government data showed consumer prices posted their biggest annual gain in 40 years in January.
Speaking at an event in Virginia, Biden said that proposals in his Build Back Better legislation would help bring down prices for families. The roughly $1.7 billion bill, which includes social spending and climate change provisions, is stalled and Biden has said previously that chunks, rather than the full package, could pass.
U.S. stock indexes dropped on Thursday after hot consumer price data raised fears of a hefty interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. Consumer prices in the 12 months through January rose 7.5%, the biggest jump since February 1982, according to the Labor Department.
Biden’s plan, contained within the Build Back Better legislation, would give the federal government’s Medicare program for seniors authorization to negotiate drug prices for the first time.
“The fact is that if we are able to do the things I’m talking about here, it’ll bring down the cost for average families,” Biden said.
Noting that Build Back Better had already passed the House of Representatives, Biden said, “Now we just have to get it through the United States Senate. And we’re close.
“We can do even more to lower out-of-pocket prescription costs,” he said. “Under my proposal, we will hold drug companies accountable for the absurd price increases.”
The Democrats hold a razor-thin majority in the Senate, providing little leeway given that Republicans have been opposed to allowing the government to negotiate prescription drug costs.
High inflation and fatigue over the ongoing pandemic have hurt Biden’s popularity with Americans, causing concern for his fellow Democrats, who risk losing control of both houses of Congress in the November midterm elections.
Biden was joined by Democratic Representative Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, who could face a tough re-election fight in November, and Xavier Becerra, his secretary of Health and Human Services, who has faced criticism for a low-profile role in the administration’s fight against COVID-19. Biden praised Becerra for “how much he’s helped us make so much progress in getting people vaccinated” and making healthcare affordable.
(Reporting by Steve Holland in Virginia and Jeff Mason in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler)
