Welcoming the CPC Executive Action Agenda, a Roadmap For Progress Now

March 17, 2022

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin), Chair of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee and Executive Board member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), released the following statement about the CPC Executive Action Agenda for the Biden Administration, which includes multiple Rep. Doggett priorities:

“Our priorities reflect what American families have repeatedly demanded: finally restraining Big Pharma monopolies and meaningfully reducing outrageous prescription drug prices. When corporations abuse their monopoly power to price gouge patients, the Administration should use existing authority to end those monopolies and permit generic competitors pay a reasonable royalty fee to the brand manufacturer and produce lower cost versions of the drug. In other instances, the Administration should set a fair list price upfront. Americans pay the very highest prices despite being the angel investors who underwrite so much of the research and development for pharmaceutical through taxpayer-financed grants. We must protect these investments by requiring reasonable prices in the initial research funding contracts—so that taxpayers are not charged twice for the innovations they funded.

Work for taxpayer accountability extends to other areas, including the abuse of the Opportunity Zone program. The only opportunity in most Opportunity Zones is an opportunity for tax avoidance, not opportunity for those disadvantaged Americans who need it most. We urge the Biden Administration to deny the wealthiest few tax windfalls for investing in high-end real estate and superyacht marinas under the guise of helping residents of low-income communities and those who need an affordable housing refuge from soaring housing costs.

After four years of Trump sabotaging nearly every facet of our lives, values, and democracy, our Nation has begun to heal. Important progress has reversed much of the damage and helped build our health and economy, but we must do much more than return to where we were. With the pandemic exposing and widening the many holes in our safety net for the most vulnerable, we must build a stronger foundation for families. Despite a nominal majority in Congress, great progress can be made by using executive authority. Even with the legislation the House approved last year, executive action would have been necessary to supplement the gaps in a bill that was repeatedly watered down to appease two Senators.

From the climate crisis to the care economy to worker power, today we are offering a comprehensive, actionable agenda to create a fairer, more equitable, and more just society that lifts up all communities and secures a better future for our children and grandchildren. It’s a roadmap forward to make lifechanging progress with the tools our President has.”

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