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Big Pharma hikes up drug prices every year, most recently on over 800 prescription drugs. But did you know these price hikes are often unjustified? For too long, Big Pharma has profited on the backs of hardworking Americans. Enough is enough.
![]() PRESENTED BY![]() BY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN THE TOP![]() News — Here’s something we picked up on last night: The White House has been pressing the Democratic congressional leadership to move toward a House floor vote next week on BOTH the reconciliation package and $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. Yes, you read that right. The White House really wants a vote on reconciliation and infrastructure next week. This would give President Joe Biden and Democrats two legislative wins — desperately needed wins — right before he heads to Europe. House passage of the infrastructure bill would also give Democrat Terry McAuliffe a boost in a tight gubernatorial fight in Virginia that has political repercussions far beyond the confines of the Old Dominion. Is it possible? Yes, it’s been done before. Is it likely? Ahhh, count us as not only skeptical, but very skeptical. We can see an infrastructure vote because of the looming Oct. 31 highway funding deadline. But both seems very difficult. We do expect a serious discussion today between Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer over this hurried timetable. Pelosi is remaining in town this weekend, and we’d expect that Schumer could do the same. We’re also hearing rumbling about another possible Biden visit to the Hill next week, but that’s tentative and likely based upon what’s happening in the negotiations. Pelosi is strongly behind this White House push for floor votes by next week, and she’s been pressuring her colleagues for a while to resolve their differences on the reconciliation package. But can the Senate get there? Unclear. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) remain the big challenge. Even Biden admitted during a CNN town hall on Thursday that in a 50-50 Senate, every senator “is a president. Every. Single. One. So you got to work things out.” Yet Biden also told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that “I do think I’ll’ get a deal” before he heads to Europe. Yes, “a deal” is a far cry from passing both bills, but there’s definitely a feeling among White House officials that these long-sought goals are finally reachable. So let’s get to it. → Reconciliation: This $1.5 trillion-plus package (the total cost we hear ranges from $1.6 trillion to $1.75 trillion) is nowhere close to done at this moment. Sinema has objected to raising corporate and individual tax rates, which makes it much harder to raise the hundreds of billions of dollars that Democrats need to offset the cost of the package. Biden told CNN that Sinema “will not raise a single penny of taxes on the corporate side and or on wealthy people. Period. That’s where it sort of breaks down.” That’s not quite her position, but it’s close enough. Sinema wants to institute a new "mark-to-market" tax structure, and as Ways and Means Chair Richie Neal (D-Mass.) put it, we’re in the ninth inning, so it’s a bit late for whole-cloth tax changes. Manchin, for his part, continues to resist changes to social programs, especially Medicare. Sinema has joined Manchin in objecting to expanding Medicare to cover vision, hearing and dental programs, although Biden did say she backed the idea of helping with hearing-aid costs. And Biden floated an $800 voucher for dental work provided to Medicare recipients. He suggested there were intense talks around this entire topic, a critical one for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and other progressives. “But look, Joe — Joe is not a bad guy,” Biden said of Manchin. “He’s a friend. And he’s always, at the end of the day, come around and voted for it.” Biden mentioned some other key areas in the reconciliation talks where the administration has had to backtrack in the face of Sinemanchin opposition. For instance, Biden acknowledged during the CNN session what we and other reporters have said for days — the free community college provision is out. Biden said the paid leave provision has been trimmed from 12 weeks to four, although this is something we know House Democrats are working very hard to resolve. Ok, so what does this all mean? There’ll be a huge push by the White House, Pelosi and Schumer to wrap this up in the next few days. Can they get it all done and onto the floor in the House by, say, next weekend? We just can’t tell right now. Everything is so fluid. But as we said before, it just seems too big a lift. By the way, even after crafting a bill, leadership has to make sure it complies with the Byrd Rule in the Senate. Yes, staffers have been working on legislative text for awhile, so assembling it into a package is technically feasible. Nothing will have been scored for its budgetary impact. And pretty much everything about this process has taken longer than expected. So we just are skeptics at this point. Also from Biden on the CNN town hall: → Biden said Sinema was “as smart as the devil.” → Biden said he was open to “fundamentally altering” the filibuster, and losing the 60-vote threshold for voting rights and “maybe more.” But Biden added that if he gets into a fight about the filibuster now, he could lose “at least three votes” on the rest of his agenda. PRESENTED BY EXXONMOBIL Over the past 30 years, ExxonMobil has captured more man-made CO2 than any other company. Now we’re collaborating with others in industry to make an even bigger impact, and help society reach its net-zero ambitions. We’re one of 11 companies that have expressed interest in advancing carbon capture and storage technology in the Houston industrial area, setting out to remove about 100 million metric tons of C02 per year by 2040. ![]() Another RonJohn aide departs, raising questions about re-election ![]() Pat McIlheran, deputy chief of staff for Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), has accepted a job with a Wisconsin-based conservative think tank. McIlheran is the second senior aide to leave Johnson’s staff in recent weeks, raising questions about whether the two-term senator will run again. Johnson, 66, hasn’t announced his intentions on seeking reelection. He seems genuinely undecided about whether to do so. Ben Voelkel, Johnson’s communications director for the last four years, recently announced his candidacy to become Wisconsin’s lieutenant governor. But Johnson’s office cautioned against reading too much into the staff turnover. And Johnson will make his announcement whenever he’s ready to do so. “Pat McIlheran has been with Senator Johnson for 10 years, his dedicated service to the Johnson office and the U.S. Senate is ending but to the state of Wisconsin it will continue, as he’s accepted a position to be policy director for the Badger Institute, Wisconsin’s premier think tank,” said Alexa Henning, a Johnson spokesperson. “The Senator is very supportive of Pat’s decision and wishes him the best. “ Henning added: “Pat taking advantage of this opportunity is not related to the Senator’s reelection decision.The Senator has plenty of time to make it and he’ll take that time. Drawing any conclusion is incorrect.” A number of Wisconsin Democrats have jumped into the race to take on Johnson if he runs in 2022, including Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes; state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski; Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry; Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson; and others. But let’s note this too — Democrats thought they had a really good shot at beating Johnson in 2010 and 2016, and they came up short both times. THE MONEY GAME Pelosi and Tim Gunn raise $275K for the DCCC Speaker Nancy Pelosi and fashion guru Tim Gunn of “Project Runway” fame took part in a fundraiser for the DCCC’s newly launched LGBTQ Equality Action Committee on Thursday night. The event raked in more than $275,000 for the committee. The fundraiser was held at the Capitol Hill rowhouse of Drew Hammill and his husband Jason Mida. Hammill is Pelosi’s longtime deputy chief of staff and spokesperson. Attendees included DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.) and Democratic Reps. Eric Swalwell (Calif.), Angie Craig (Minn.), Mondaire Jones (N.Y.), Sharice Davids (Kansas), Chris Pappas (N.H.), Mark Takano (Calif.) and David Cicilline (R.I.). Steve Elmendorf, Joe Falk, Tiffany Muller, Tonio Burgos and Karen Dixon were also in attendance. PRESENTED BY EXXONMOBIL ExxonMobil is advancing climate solutions like carbon capture and storage to help create a lower-carbon energy future. FRONTS ![]() ![]() MOMENTS 9:30 a.m.: President Joe Biden will get his daily brief. 10:05 a.m.: Vice President Kamala Harris will leave for New York. She’ll fly into Westchester County Airport. 12:20 p.m.: Harris will speak at the Northeast Bronx YMCA with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra about the administration’s agenda. 1:30 p.m.: Jen Psaki will brief. 3:25 p.m.: Harris will leave Westchester for D.C. 8 p.m.: Biden will leave for Wilmington. He’ll arrive at 8:55 p.m. CLIP FILE NYT → “Justice Dept. Adds Two Top Prosecutors to Matt Gaetz Case,” by Mike Schmidt and Katie Benner → “Liz Cheney’s Consultants Are Given an Ultimatum: Drop Her, or Be Dropped,” by Jonathan Martin WaPo → “Democrats brace for cuts to paid leave program as they whittle down Biden economic package,” by Tony Romm WSJ → “Democratic Voters Want Biden’s Big Spending Deal—and They’re Getting Impatient,” by Eliza Collins and Tarini Parti AP → “McAuliffe’s backslapping political brand put to test in 2021,” by Steve Peoples in Newport News, Va. PRESENTED BY EXXONMOBIL Many climate experts around the world agree that carbon capture and storage is a critical technology to help enable a lower-carbon future. That’s why, at ExxonMobil, we’re advancing readily available climate solutions like carbon capture and storage to help reduce emissions at scale and advance climate solutions. We’re one of 11 companies that have expressed interest in advancing CCS technology in the Houston industrial area. Together, the 11 companies believe we could capture and store about 100 million metric tons of CO2 per year by 2040 from the Houston industrial area. That’s equivalent to taking more than 20 million cars off the road today. With the appropriate public and government support, we believe we could have a big impact, sooner than later. This collaborative effort is just one way ExxonMobil is working to advance climate solutions. ![]() Enjoying Punchbowl News AM? ![]() Subscribe 10 friends with your unique link (below) and get a Punchbowl News hat! Your referral link is: Or share via You currently have: 0 referrals
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Presented by Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance
Americans know who to blame for rising drug prices: Big Pharma. A majority of Republicans, Democrats, & Independents all believe Big Pharma’s focus on profits keeps drug prices high. Let’s hold Big Pharma accountable – it’s an issue we’re united on.