Forget Impeachment — Democrats Want Voters to Focus on Bill to Lower Drug Costs

Even as the House Judiciary Committee was debating changes to the two articles of impeachment the full House could soon vote on, Democrats from swing districts want their constituents to think about something else: prescription drugs.

Minutes after the House passed a bill by Speaker Nancy Pelosi along party lines aimed at reducing prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients — a bill probably destined to die in the Republican-controlled Senate — the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) unveiled digital ads they intend to run in districts they flipped from red to blue in the 2018 election.

Among the six freshmen Democrats in California whose districts will be flooded with ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram are Josh Harder (D-Modesto) and TJ Cox (D-Fresno), who is perhaps the most vulnerable Democrat in the California congressional delegation.

The DCCC says the ads will be produced in both English and Spanish and will target "persuadable voters."

There's no secret what the strategy is: Democrats want constituents to know they can "walk and chew gum at the same time," even as President Trump is tweeting about "do nothing Democrats."

H.R. 3, named after the late Baltimore Democrat Elijah Cummings, would cap Medicare recipients' out-of-pocket costs for medicines at $2,000 a year. The Lower Drug Costs Now Act would use about $360 billion of the projected 10-year savings from lower drug prices to establish coverage for dental care, hearing and vision, filling major coverage gaps seniors now face.

It's supported by powerful consumer groups like the AARP. But the pharmaceutical industry strongly opposes the legislation. And Republicans say government should not be setting prices for medicines.

House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) accused Democrats of putting politics over real solutions, "catering to their progressive base by opening the door to a government takeover of our prescription drug market."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) hasn't said whether or when he'll bring the bill to the floor.

But Bay Area Democrat Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) said the policy change is long overdue.

“It is beyond outrageous that the U.S. government is not currently allowed to negotiate drug prices through Medicare. And it is shameful that Big Pharma is charging people in the U.S. hundreds of times more than what they charge in other countries."

As early as next week, the House could vote on a trade policy to replace NAFTA, a deal announced by Speaker Pelosi this week even as Democrats were rolling out two articles of impeachment.

Democrats hope the risky juggling act — negotiating with the White House even as it debates articles of impeachment — doesn't backfire by handing President Trump a victory on an issue he campaigned on.

Assuming Trump is impeached, he'll be the first president facing removal as he campaigns for re-election.