By ALAN FRAM and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A House committee dealt an ominous if tentative blow Wednesday to President Joe Biden’s huge social and environmental infrastructure package, derailing a money-saving plan to let Medicare negotiate the price it pays for prescription drugs.
U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader of Oregon cast one of the key Democratic votes against the drug pricing plan.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee vote to drop the proposal from its piece of Biden’s signature 10-year, $3.5 trillion spending plan was not necessarily fatal. The separate House Ways and Means Committee kept it alive by approving nearly identical drug-pricing language.
Even so, the provision’s rejection by one committee underscores the clout that moderates looking to curb new spending — or any small group of Democrats — have as Biden and party leaders try pushing the entire package through the narrowly divided Congress.
Facing unanimous Republican opposition, Democrats will be able to lose just three House votes and none in the 50-50 Senate to send the full measure to Biden. That’s a precarious margin for what will be an enormous bill laced with numerous politically sensitive initiatives on spending and taxes.
The committees’ votes on pharmaceutical drugs came as Biden held face-to-face meetings with two moderate Democratic senators who’ve said the size of the $3.5 trillion proposal is too big. The separate sessions with Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia underscored a stepped-up White House drive to avoid Democratic defections.
The Energy and Commerce vote on the drug-pricing language was 29-29, with three moderate Democrats joining Republicans to oppose it: Reps. Scott Peters of California, Kathleen Rice of New York and Oregon’s Schrader. Tie votes in Congress are usually insufficient to keep legislative provisions alive.
Schrader, who inherited a fortune from his grandfather who was a top executive at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, has accepted large donations from big pharma during his seven terms in Congress.
Henry Connelly, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said lowering drug costs “will remain a cornerstone” of the party’s push for the overall bill, Biden’s top domestic priority.
Democrats are counting on the drug-pricing provisions to pay for a modest but significant part of their $3.5 trillion plan to bolster the safety net, address climate change and fund other programs. Proponents say it could save $600 billion over the coming decade.
The legislation would authorize Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies, using lower prices paid in other economically advanced countries as a yardstick. The savings produced would be used to expand Medicare coverage by adding dental, vision and hearing benefits.
The Energy and Commerce vote showed “real concerns with Speaker Pelosi’s extreme drug pricing plan,” Debra DeShong, top spokesperson for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said in a statement. The industry says the drug negotiation plan would lead to price controls that reduce investment in research into promising new cures and treatments.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a leading champion of the drug-pricing effort, said there was “no excuse” for Democrats to bow to “the extremely greedy and powerful” pharmaceutical industry. “The American people will not accept surrender,” he added.
Biden’s talks with Sinema and Manchin came as centrists’ unrest over the overall bill’s cost prompted a delicate hunt by party leaders for a topline figure that moderate and progressive lawmakers can endorse.
“Today’s meeting was productive, and Kyrsten is continuing to work in good faith with her colleagues and President Biden as this legislation develops,” said Sinema spokesman John Labombard said. His assessment was a positive sign in a process that has seen the party’s progressives and moderates stake out conflicting demands.
Biden and Democratic leaders endorsed the $3.5 trillion figure, but in recent days have been more cautious about its ultimate size. The enormous package faces unanimous opposition from Republicans, who say its proposals are wasteful and would wound the economy.
The measure would push utilities to produce cleaner energy, expand Medicare coverage, create new child care and family leave programs and provide free pre-kindergarten and community college.
There would be a slew of tax breaks to help families cope with the costs of health care and raising children. Much of it would be paid for by boosting taxes on the wealthy and corporations.
By Wednesday evening, all 13 House committees with pieces of the overall social and environment bill had completed their work, meeting a goal set by Democratic leaders.
Democratic leaders would love to send completed legislation to Biden for his signature in the coming weeks, but many think resolving the policy and political complications the party faces will take much longer. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday that they expect Congress to move the legislation before an international climate conference in November.
Manchin has been an especially outspoken critic of the overall bill. He’s called for a “pause” on the legislation, and said Sunday that he could not support $3.5 trillion, suggesting instead a topline figure in the $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion range.
Progressives, who initially demanded a $6 trillion plan, have said cutting the package to Manchin’s range would be unacceptable.
The House Ways and Means Committee approved its part of the overall bill 24-19, with moderate Florida Rep. Stephanie Murphy the only Democratic voting no. She cited “spending and tax provisions that give me pause” but expressed optimism about supporting a final version.
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Associated Press reporters Zeke Miller, Jonathan Lemire, Lisa Mascaro, Marcy Gordon and Alexandra Jaffe contributed to this report.
