A New Jersey mayor is urging Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) to withdraw his support for Democrats’ prescription drug costs bill because of the impact it may have on New Jersey’s biopharmaceutical industry, Breitbart News has learned.
Bridgewater Township Mayor Matthew Moench (R) wrote a letter to Malinowski, dated June 9, warning H.R. 3, also known as the “Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act,” would “destroy” the industry and crush jobs in New Jersey if it were to pass.
“As with so many communities in New Jersey, biopharmaceutical companies are absolutely vital to Bridgewater Township’s economy,” Moench wrote. “But recent studies have suggested that the price fixing mechanism that is the centerpiece of H.R. 3 would destroy the industry in our state.”
He estimated that in New Jersey — a hotbed for biopharmaceutical companies including Johnson & Johnson, MSD, Sanofi, and several others — the bill would eliminate nearly 100,000 jobs.
Read a copy of the letter below:
House Democrats reintroduced the drug costs bill in April this year after it had passed the Democrat-controlled House in 2019 but failed to move forward in the Republican-controlled Senate.
The bill mainly functions as a means for the federal government to negotiate prescription drug prices with the intent of lowering costs, but Republicans and pharmaceutical companies are generally opposed to the bill because they say innovation in the industry would suffer.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) voiced her support for the bill in April, claiming it “will make a transformative difference in the lives of hard-working families who cannot afford their medicines,” though a recent Wall Street Journal report details how at least ten House Democrats want to see the bill pass with the backing of Republicans and stakeholders.
Moench wrote in his letter that “beyond the economic impacts, it is also clear that H.R. 3 would stifle the very innovation that has made our biopharmaceutical industry the envy of the world.”
Citing a White House Council of Economic Advisers estimate, he continued, “This bill would result in up to 100 fewer new drugs being introduced in the next decade. Fewer new drugs means fewer potentially life-saving treatments for New Jersey families.”
Malinowski voted for the 2019 version of the bill, but he has not publicly stated his position on the bill this session. Incidentally, the New Jersey Democrat was recently caught speaking candidly about a separate bill, President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill, admitting it included items that “probably many people would not think of as infrastructure,” a fundamental concern for Republicans despite Malinowski claiming his aim was for “unified” support of that bill.
Malinowski, who represents New Jersey’s now-battleground Seventh District — which includes Bridgewater Township — just barely edged out state Sen. Tom Keane Jr. (R-Union) by one percent in his race for reelection in 2020. Conservative groups including the National Republican Congressional Committee and the American Action Network have identified the New Jersey Democrat as vulnerable to losing in next year’s midterms.
Breitbart News reached out to Malinowski’s office for comment on H.R. 3 and Moench’s letter but did not receive a response.
Write to Ashley Oliver at aoliver@breitbart.com.
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