Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) caused waves at a committee hearing when he called out Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) over his alleged reneging on a bipartisan bill.
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, of which Sanders is the chairman, was scheduled to vote on four bipartisan bills that sought to increase access to and lower the cost of generic pharmaceutical drugs on Tuesday. However, after Sanders delivered his opening remarks, Cassidy openly accused the Vermont senator of adding several amendments that were not agreed upon by both parties, thereby “abandoning” the bipartisan legislation.
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“The solutions we have today are almost perfect examples of how we can lower drug costs without overhauling the entire healthcare system or threatening the incentives and ability to produce lifesaving drugs in the future,” Cassidy said.
Cassidy added, however, that he was concerned about the bipartisan process, saying Sanders “seems to be too inclined to abandon a carefully balanced bipartisan piece of legislation we negotiated over the last several weeks.”
He added that both sides had to make concessions, stressing the careful balance of the bills.
“I did so with the expectation that we would protect the hard work and compromise that we have put in over the last several weeks,” Cassidy continued. “To me, that meant honoring commitments in areas where we agreed to disagree. I’m informed that the chair intends to support the inclusion of several policies as amendments today that he and his staff had agreed to take off the table as part of a negotiated bipartisan deal essential to getting 60 votes on the floor.”
“As leaders crafting and announcing this deal, there is an expectation that the chair and I will uphold the commitments we made in the negotiation room,” Cassidy said. “That does not mean taking things off the table, and we can’t reach agreement only to put them back on the table when we’re here in the committee area.”
He went on to accuse Sanders of not sharing technical assistance from the Food and Drug Administration and cost scores from the Congressional Budget Office.
“That’s not the way to run the committee,” Cassidy continued. “I’m just saying that it’s not the way that I build trust with my down dais
that we’re actually working together as a team in order to get something accomplished. At some point, process matters. And I’m sorry to be a skunk in the room.”
“Without provoking a debate, I strongly disagree with Sen. Cassidy’s assertions,” Sanders responded.
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The callout led to chaos erupting, and the committee ended without a vote. There was a mutual agreement for recess until May 11.
“The bottom line here is — look, guys, I know we had disagreements today, but I think Sen. Cassidy and I, Sen. Collins, all of us want to accomplish important goals, so let’s go forward together,” Sanders concluded.
