Transcript - Remarks: Joe Biden Discusses the Economy and Lowering Costs in Portland, Oregon - October 15, 2022 | Factba.se

Joe Biden

00:00:00 - 00:00:15 ()

Thank you, Arlette. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Hello, Portland! [Applause] Thank you all so very much for being here.

Joe Biden

00:00:15 - 00:00:29 ()

And Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, I -- and, you know, Suzanne is, you know -- she's something else. She -- Bonamici. She's -- she's doing pretty darn good. Where is she? [Applause] There you are. There you are.

Joe Biden

00:00:29 - 00:00:42 ()

I thoroughly embarrassed her yesterday by letting everybody in the world, at least in the state, know that it was her birthday yesterday. She turned 30 yesterday. [Laughter]

Joe Biden

00:00:42 - 00:00:51 ()

They're here today, and they deserve a heck of a lot of credit for the significant legislation we've gotten passed, relating to seniors particularly.

Joe Biden

00:00:51 - 00:01:08 ()

You know, the last time I was here in Portland, I talked about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the investments we're making to modernize Portland's airport, fix your roads, your bridges all across this state, and to get better water and get rid of lead pipes and Internet and so -- a whole range of things.

Joe Biden

00:01:08 - 00:01:18 ()

But, you know, today I'm here to talk about what my -- my introducer talked about -- about lower drug costs, lowering cost for Americans across the country.

Joe Biden

00:01:18 - 00:01:28 ()

And I know it's been a rough four or five years in this country for an awful lot of people. But we've got -- made a lot of progress. But folks are still struggling. We can't kid ourselves about that.

Joe Biden

00:01:28 - 00:01:48 ()

And I think -- when I think about the way my dad used to think about it -- my dad was a -- was a really fine man, and he was well read, he was -- never got to go to college, and he was a salesperson. And my dad used to say that everybody deserves a little bit of breathing room. Just a little bit of breathing room.

Joe Biden

00:01:48 - 00:02:00 ()

And we'd sit down at the end of the day, end of the month at that kitchen table and determine whether you're able to pay all the bills that month and had a little bit left over. Because you had just a little bit left over, just a little breathing room.

Joe Biden

00:02:00 - 00:02:10 ()

Well, by that, that's all about what this is about, what we're about. You know, a lot of people don't have any breathing room; it's especially the case when it comes to healthcare and prescription drugs.

Joe Biden

00:02:10 - 00:02:20 ()

That's why Senator Wyden's leadership -- and I'm not being -- not because I'm here and because he's my friend; this is no malarkey, as my mother would say.

Joe Biden

00:02:20 - 00:02:34 ()

All kidding aside, he's the chairman of the Finance Committee. He has done more to get the most significant legislation ever passed, other than the actual passage of the Medicare and Social Security, than anybody has in the United States Congress. Stand up. [Applause]

Joe Biden

00:02:34 - 00:02:50 ()

Because, look, I wrote a thing called the Inflation Reduction Act -- one of the most significant laws in history when it comes to helping families pay their bills at the end of the month.

Joe Biden

00:02:50 - 00:03:20 ()

And we talked about -- a little bit about prescription drugs today because today is an important day for those on Medicare. We pay more for our prescription drugs than any other nation in the world. And, by the way, it's the same exact drug. Not just a drug, but the same manufacturer. We pay considerably more than they do in France, Canada, Spain, anywhere around the world. And there's no sense to it. No sense to it.

Joe Biden

00:03:20 - 00:03:34 ()

For years, many of us have been trying to fix the problem. For years, Big Pharma, the pharmaceutical companies, have stood in the way. When I was a young senator, I was fighting Big Pharma, trying to get the prices reduced, but there was no way to get it done.

Joe Biden

00:03:34 - 00:03:41 ()

For years, there's been no check on how fast Big Pharma -- the big pharmaceutical companies -- can raise drug prices.

Joe Biden

00:03:41 - 00:04:01 ()

This year alone, drug companies raised the price of more than 1,200 drugs higher than the rate of inflation. This year alone. And guess what? They didn't do anything else with the drug. It's not like they found a new way to make it better. The same exact drug -- 1,200 of them.

Joe Biden

00:04:01 - 00:04:13 ()

The average price increase rose for those drugs over 30 percent. Thirty percent. It's just wrong. It's simply wrong.

Joe Biden

00:04:13 - 00:04:22 ()

But between Merkley and that other guy I just talked about -- [laughter] -- in the Senate --

Joe Biden

00:04:22 - 00:04:51 ()

Look, in [DEL: 1922 :DEL] [2022], the price for one blood pressure drug that millions of Medicare patients -- beneficiaries rely on went up one -- went up by 500 percent. Five hundred percent. Another drug used to treat autoimmune conditions increased by $1,000 this year. One thousand dollars. Those of you who are on it, you'll know what I'm telling you to be true. It's outrageous.

Joe Biden

00:04:51 - 00:04:57 ()

But this year, the American people won. And for the first time, Big Pharma lost. [Applause] Big Pharma lost.

Joe Biden

00:04:57 - 00:05:14 ()

Now, if Big Pharma tries to raise drug prices faster than inflation, they're going to have to write a check to Medicare to cover the difference. They're going to not be able to do it. They're going to cover the difference.

Joe Biden

00:05:14 - 00:05:21 ()

And, look, instead of that money going into the pockets of drug companies, it'll go into your pockets in the form of lower drug prices.

Joe Biden

00:05:21 - 00:05:30 ()

You know, there's more money at the end of the month to pay those grocery bills, get your car repaired, and buy your grandson a birthday gift. That's the important stuff.

Joe Biden

00:05:30 - 00:05:44 ()

And the Inflation Reduction Act gives Medicare -- Medicare -- the power to negotiate lower prescription drug costs for the first time. [Applause]

Joe Biden

00:05:44 - 00:06:07 ()

And, by the way, the power is you make billions of dollars off of Medicare because we purchase the drugs you make for the elderly. But guess what? This time around we're going to say, "We're only going to pay you so much for that drug. Take it or leave it. You either sell it at that price or you don't get to -- we're not going to buy it." That's when I say, "Make the price come down." That's how it's happening.

Joe Biden

00:06:07 - 00:06:19 ()

Because we're able to do that for the VA and all the veterans' benefits my son, when he was dying, got. You know? So it's -- it's just about time. We've been fighting for this for a long time. A long time.

Joe Biden

00:06:19 - 00:06:44 ()

Seniors are going to see their out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs capped at $2,000 a year, whatever the expense of their drugs. And some of the cancer drugs cost 14, 15 thousand dollars a year. Well, guess what? When this kicks in, no senior will have to pay more than $2,000 a year for all of their drugs, no matter what. [Applause] All of them. All of them.

Joe Biden

00:06:44 - 00:07:24 ()

And, folks, I know the names of these pieces of legislation are just boring, but the Inflation Reduction Act caps the cost of insulin for seniors on Medicare at $35 [a month] per prescription instead of $400 [a month] for a prescription. Four hundred dollars. [Applause] You know how much it costs -- you know how much it costs them to make that drug? Fifteen dollars to make it and package it. Thirty-five is a lot of money compared to fifteen. They're going to make a good profit. They're charging sometimes 300 times as much.

Joe Biden

00:07:24 - 00:07:37 ()

And, folks, look, we wanted a cap for everyone, including -- I wanted a cap, and we all did -- the members of your delegation and my -- the Democratic delegation that are here today. We wanted to cap insulin for everybody.

Joe Biden

00:07:37 - 00:07:59 ()

For example, I was down in Virginia at a town meeting like this, and a woman stood up when I was talking and said, "I have two children on insulin. If they don't get their insulin, they can die and they can have serious consequences. And I don't have enough -- I don't have enough insurance to -- I don't have private insurance, so I can't afford it, and I can pay for it. I don't qualify for anything." And she started to cry.

Joe Biden

00:07:59 - 00:08:16 ()

Imagine being a parent, having your dignity stripped of you, looking at your child, knowing what they need and knowing you got to cut pills in half or you got to change -- you got to share this material with one -- for two children for one.

Joe Biden

00:08:16 - 00:08:34 ()

Folks, and guess what? Republicans in Congress -- not one single Republican voted for any of this, but they got enough votes and sent it to block taking care of non-Medicare patients. So that mother still is going to have that problem. That mother is still going to have that problem.

Joe Biden

00:08:34 - 00:08:50 ()

And, folks, like I said, it costs $10 to make that insulin and package it. Ten. But drug companies have been charging 30 times -- I said 300; I misspoke. Thirty times. Might as well be 300 for these people who need it.

Joe Biden

00:08:50 - 00:09:04 ()

Imagine, as I said, being that parent, being the -- and I'm not going to ask you because I don't want to embarrass anybody, but there's a lot of people in there that use insulin, my guess is. Raising your hand, I see that.

Joe Biden

00:09:04 - 00:09:06 ()

And it's expensive as hell. [Audience member calls out "Hell yes, it is!"]

Joe Biden

00:09:06 - 00:09:13 ()

[Laughs] Well, we're going to keep fighting for lower costs for -- cost of living of insulin for children and families as well.

Joe Biden

00:09:13 - 00:09:34 ()

Because of the Inflation Reduction Act, seniors on Medicare Part D will also be able to get their recommended vaccines, like shingles vaccines and vaccines for -- without any copays. And they've been paying an average of 100 to 200 dollars a month for the shots. Nothing. Zero. You're not going to pay anything for those vaccines. [Applause]

Joe Biden

00:09:34 - 00:09:48 ()

And starting this week, we're making -- this is a big deal -- we're making hearing aids more affordable, but we're also making them available over the counter so people don't have to pay the expensive visits to a specialist. [Applause]

Joe Biden

00:09:48 - 00:10:04 ()

This week -- this Monday, you're going to start seeing hearing aid[s] [DEL: ads :DEL] on your store shelves. And the FDA estimates that it's going to save patients as much as $3,000 for a pair of hearing aids. [Applause]

Joe Biden

00:10:04 - 00:10:18 ()

And today marks the beginning of [DEL: Medicaid's :DEL] [Medicare's] Open -- they call it Open Enrollment Period, so when seniors pick plans for next year, they'll be able to take advantage of the progress we've made. And that's not all.

Joe Biden

00:10:18 - 00:10:32 ()

For years, the fee you pay for Medicare to cover your visits to a doctor's office has gone up. Now, for the first time in more than a decade, they're going to go down. [Applause] They're going to go down.

Joe Biden

00:10:32 - 00:10:40 ()

And earlier this week, we announced that Social Security benefits are going to go up an average of $140 a month beginning -- starting next year. [Applause]

Joe Biden

00:10:40 - 00:10:44 ()

Seniors are going to be ahead of inflation next year.

Joe Biden

00:10:44 - 00:10:56 ()

For the first time in 10 years, Social Security checks are going to up while their Medicare premiums go down. [Applause] And, folks, that's a big deal for ordinary people -- people on Medicare.

Joe Biden

00:10:56 - 00:11:06 ()

Yesterday, I signed an executive order directing the Department of Health and Human Services, within 90 days, to put a plan on my desk for finding additional ways to lower prescription drug costs for seniors.

Joe Biden

00:11:06 - 00:11:17 ()

But we're not just focused on seniors. Thanks especially to Ron Wyden here in Oregon for making it easier for families with Medicaid to keep their kids insured by getting rid of paperwork they normally have to do every single every year. [Applause]

Joe Biden

00:11:17 - 00:11:36 ()

Oregon residents with serious medical needs are going to get help finding housing and healthy food so they can avoid expensive hospital stays and visits to the emergency room.

Joe Biden

00:11:36 - 00:11:51 ()

Earlier this week, the Treasury Department took action to fix a problem that was making it harder for families -- much harder for families to afford healthcare coverage for their spouse or child. It's the so-called "Family Glitch," it was referred to as.

Joe Biden

00:11:51 - 00:12:04 ()

Under the old rules, a working mom was told: As long as she could afford employer-based coverage for herself, she couldn't qualify for premium subsidies for affordable care coverage for her family.

Joe Biden

00:12:04 - 00:12:18 ()

Well, now 1 million people are going to get that coverage and pay lower premiums. [Applause]

Joe Biden

00:12:18 - 00:12:27 ()

Last year, a family of four with health coverage through the Affordable Care Act, they saved an average of $2,400 because of the American Rescue Plan that I signed into law.

Joe Biden

00:12:27 - 00:12:35 ()

Now, the Inflation Reduction Act locks in place those lower premiums for millions of families. They're not going to go away. [Applause]

Joe Biden

00:12:35 - 00:13:05 ()

But, folks, let me tell you something. Every single Democrat in Congress voted for the Inflation Reduction Act. And every single Republican voted against it. Every single one -- House and Senate. Not only that -- now the congressional Republicans are telling us their number-one priority if they win -- their number-one priority -- this is their pamphlet -- their number-one priority is to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act.

Joe Biden

00:13:05 - 00:13:07 ()

Let me be crystal clear about what that means.

Joe Biden

00:13:07 - 00:13:31 ()

If Republicans in Congress have their way, it means the power we just gave Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices goes away. Gone. The $2,000 cap on prescription drugs for seniors goes away. Gone. The $35-a-month cap on insulin goes away. Gone. Savings on healthcare premiums just got -- we just got for millions of Americans. Gone.

Joe Biden

00:13:31 - 00:13:40 ()

And of course, not just the Inflation Reduction Act they want to get rid of. They also want to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. That means an end to the protections for tens of millions of people.

Joe Biden

00:13:40 - 00:13:56 ()

You know, the only reason why people with pre-existing conditions who can't afford expensive insurance get it is because the Affordable Care Act says you can't block someone with a pre-existing condition. But they used to be able to say, "No, you can't get it." It's a big deal. [Applause]

Joe Biden

00:13:56 - 00:14:06 ()

If Republicans have their way, that'll be gone as well.

Joe Biden

00:14:06 - 00:14:35 ()

But, look, one other thing. We haven't even talked about it, and I'm going to talk about healthcare today. But in that same Inflation Reduction Act, I was able to put in a little thing for the environment -- $368 billion. [Applause] Because the existential threat to the planet is climate change. It's real. It's real. It's genuine.

Joe Biden

00:14:35 - 00:14:42 ()

They want to get rid of that as well, I might add. I might add. They want to get rid of that as well.

Joe Biden

00:14:42 - 00:15:04 ()

But, look, here's the bottom line -- and please hear this: When it actually comes time -- when it actually comes time to do something about inflation around the kitchen table, Republicans in Congress said no. If they take control, they said their first aim is to get rid of the Inflation Reduction Act -- and inflation is going to go up, not down.

Joe Biden

00:15:04 - 00:15:22 ()

You know, when you sit at that kitchen table -- I told you about paying your bills -- well, what are necessities for the vast majority of families? Prescription drugs. If you lower prescription drug costs significantly, it lowers their cost of a family on inflation -- for their family, it's reduced. It goes on.

Joe Biden

00:15:22 - 00:15:44 ()

The same way what's in the Inflation Reduction Act has to do with your ability to be able to get tax credits for buying -- if you need a new coffee machine, a new washer, a new refrigerator, and you buy an efficient refrigerator, efficient coffee machine, you get a tax credit for it. It costs you less money. It's estimated the average family will save $500 a year as well on just that.

Joe Biden

00:15:44 - 00:15:55 ()

There are also tax credits for weatherizing your home, putting in new windows to keep the -- or a door that doesn't, you know, leak air and bring in the cold, et cetera.

Joe Biden

00:15:55 - 00:16:01 ()

There's a lot in here that lowers the everyday costs for middle-class families to be able to make it.

Joe Biden

00:16:01 - 00:16:25 ()

And, look, I come from a wealthy state, the state of Delaware. Well, guess what? I've never been a big fan of trickle-down economy, where if -- no, I'm serious. But that's where we've been for the last 30 years, guys. That's where we've been. If the wealthy do well, it trickles down, everybody does well. I'm a bubble-up guy. [Applause] Seriously.

Joe Biden

00:16:25 - 00:16:46 ()

When the middle class does well -- when the middle class does well, working-class people have a way up and the wealthy do just fine. They do just fine. [Applause]

Joe Biden

00:16:46 - 00:17:04 ()

And, by the way, the middle class built this country, and unions built the middle class. [Applause]

Joe Biden

00:17:04 - 00:17:11 ()

I don't want to take too much of your -- more of your time, but this is -- this is one of the reasons I got involved in politics 800 years ago. [Laughter]

Joe Biden

00:17:11 - 00:17:30 ()

Already, the vast majority of House Republicans have signed on to a budget -- a budget they have -- and I'll just read one section of the budget -- that they have to cut Medicare and Social Security. And you think I'm exaggerating this. But they -- I have the pamphlet they put out, okay?

Joe Biden

00:17:30 - 00:17:45 ()

Senator Scott, the senator from Florida, who is the chairman in charge of reelecting Republicans to the United States Senate, this year proposed a plan to put Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block every five years.

Joe Biden

00:17:45 - 00:18:05 ()

"All federal legislation sunsets in five years. If the law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it." Or, in other words, if it doesn't affirmatively pass Medicare again, it goes away. If it doesn't affirmatively pass Social Security --

Joe Biden

00:18:05 - 00:18:35 ()

Again, I know this sounds bizarre -- well, guess what? There was one guy that thought it was too lenient -- a guy who happens to be a senator from Wisconsin, named Johnson. He thinks it should be -- no, every year. This is not -- I never thought I'd live to see this. It's not a joke. He wants every single year that Congress will have to affirmatively vote back into law -- back into law these programs or they go away.

Joe Biden

00:18:35 - 00:18:44 ()

And it's not just Social Security and Medicare. He wants to put veterans' benefits and everything else in the federal budget at risk the same way.

Joe Biden

00:18:44 - 00:18:59 ()

Look, let me close with this. Over the last few years, we faced some of the most difficult challenges in our history, both domestically and in foreign policy. And we're making real progress helping folks just get a little more breathing room.

Joe Biden

00:18:59 - 00:19:10 ()

Despite the opposition from some of the most powerful interests -- special interests -- we're lowering healthcare costs, we're strengthening Medicare, we're fighting for folks who need our help.

Joe Biden

00:19:10 - 00:19:25 ()

And one -- one of the reasons why it's so important to America's future: We just have to remember -- we have to remember who in God's name we are. [Applause] This is the United States of America. [Applause] No, I -- think about it.

Joe Biden

00:19:25 - 00:19:50 ()

And I've never been more optimistic in my life. I've been doing this a while, man. I tell you, I've never been more optimistic. We have a chance -- we're the only nation in the world that's come out of a crisis better than we went into the crisis. So it's not just building back to what things were, it's building back better -- much better. We have enormous opportunity.

Joe Biden

00:19:50 - 00:20:00 ()

For example, the idea that we're in a situation -- if you all were going to -- I should -- I'm supposed to stop, but I want to say one more thing. [Laughter]

Joe Biden

00:20:00 - 00:20:39 ()

There's a school next door. One of the reasons why the United States of America ended up the most powerful and successful nation in the world is our legislators and presidents decided -- Democrat and Republican -- back at the turn of the 20th century, in the late 1900s -- 19- -- I mean, excuse me, 1890, in that range -- they decided we were going to have automatically available for everyone 12 years of education. Regardless of your education -- I mean, regardless of your income, regardless of your background, everybody would have free grade 1 through 12.

Joe Biden

00:20:39 - 00:20:46 ()

Now, the rest of the world has caught up with us. If we were doing this today, would we say 12 years is enough to compete?

Audience

00:20:46 - 00:20:47 ()

Joe Biden

00:20:47 - 00:20:57 ()

No, I'm being -- I'm being genuine. This is not a political -- it's just a raw statement. Twelve years enough in this changing world, in the second quarter of the 21st century? Is it enough?

Joe Biden

00:20:57 - 00:21:17 ()

Well, guess what? We found out there was a six- or seven-year study done by -- I believe it was Harvard and Stanford together -- determining what's the difference if you put a three-year-old, not in preschool, but put a three-year-old in school, learning reading, writing, adding, subtracting, and you add after-school work.

Joe Biden

00:21:17 - 00:21:39 ()

Well, [inaudible] -- you know what they concluded? That 56 percent of the children, no matter what background they came from, no matter whether came from a house that didn't have a single book in it, and mom or dad didn't know how to read -- no matter what, they have a 56 -- better percent chance of getting all through all of the years -- all 12 years -- without any problems.

Joe Biden

00:21:39 - 00:21:58 ()

Folks, but not only that -- we should have post-high school. Post-high school. [Applause] And the cost -- and the cost of that is doable, just having apprentice programs and two years of community college. [Applause]

Joe Biden

00:21:58 - 00:22:40 ()

Folks, look, I promise I will end with this. One of the things I didn't mention that Ron got done in the Affordable Care Act -- I mean, excuse me, in the legislation we passed to lower drug prices -- he was able to raise the taxes on corporations. Not a lot. [Applause] We want to do more. But guess what? There were 54 -- was it 54 or 55? -- 54, I think it was, American Fortune 500 companies that made $40 billion in 2022 -- did not pay a single penny in taxes.

Audience

00:22:40 - 00:22:40 ()

Joe Biden

00:22:40 - 00:22:51 ()

No, I'm not joking. Not a single penny. And guess what? Now they're paying a minimum of 15 percent. That's paying for all of this. [Applause]

Joe Biden

00:22:51 - 00:23:08 ()

And, folks, next time you hear the Republicans talk about "Big Spendin'" Democrats, remind them: Biden lowered the federal deficit last year by $350 billion and by $1 trillion this year. That's a fact. [Applause] So don't tell me you can't afford it.

Joe Biden

00:23:08 - 00:23:22 ()

Let's go get 'em! Every time I'd walk out of my grandpop's house, he'd say, "Joey go out and... " -- he said -- "... spread the faith." And my grandma would go, "No, Joey. No, Joey, holler. Holler. Not just keep the faith, spread it."

Joe Biden

00:23:22 - 00:23:34 ()

Folks, there's nothing beyond our capacity, I promise you. There's nothing beyond our capacity. And it's time for America to come back and come back strong. God bless you all. [Applause]