Senate committee expected to vote to subpoena pharmaceutical CEOs

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said his committee will hold a vote next week on whether to subpoena some of the country’s top pharmaceutical CEOs to testify about drug prices.

“One of my top priorities is to lower the outrageously high cost of prescription drugs in this country,” Sanders said during a press conference Thursday.

Sanders, who is the chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), said the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Merck have so far rejected an invitation to testify about drug prices before members of the committee.

“As a result, that puts the HELP committee, the Health, Education, Labor committee in the position of having to subpoena these CEOs in order to have them testify,” Sanders said.

In a statement obtained by The Hill, Johnson & Johnson said, “Johnson & Johnson has deep respect for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions’ work, and we have continued to engage with the Committee on its proposed prescription drug hearing. As part of this engagement, we have expressed our concerns with the hearing as it is currently planned.”

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who joined Sanders at Thursday’s press conference, said over 30% of Americans are not taking medication prescribed to them because of the cost.

“Simply put these companies care more about their wealth than they care about America’s health,” Markey said.

The CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb has agreed to testify, according to a press release from Sanders’ office.

Sanders said he thinks the committee has the votes needed to subpoena other CEOs. The vote is scheduled for Jan. 31.

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