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RICHMOND, Va. — Freedom Virginia today applauded the bipartisan majority of senators who attempted to override Governor Glenn Youngkin’s veto of a bill that would have lowered the cost of medicine by establishing a Prescription Drug Affordability Board.
However, SB274, patroned by Senator Creigh Deeds (D-Charlottesville) and co-patroned by Sen. Bill Stanley (R-Franklin), failed to attain the two-thirds majority necessary to override a veto.
The House did not override the veto of HB570, the companion bill which was patroned by Del. Karrie Delaney (D-Fairfax) and co-patroned by Delegate Nadarius Clark (D-Suffolk).
The legislation, which would have created an independent panel of experts empowered to set Upper Payment Limits (UPL’s) on certain high-cost drugs, was sent to the governor’s desk with bipartisan support from both chambers. Governor Youngkin vetoed the legislation amid pressure from Big Pharma lobbyists and reports that he had accepted nearly $300,000 in political contributions from the pharmaceutical industry.
In addition to winning the support of both Democratic and Republican legislators, the bills were endorsed by AARP Virginia, the Virginia Catholic Conference, the Virginia Association of Counties, the Virginia NAACP, and the Commonwealth Council on Aging. According to a poll from AARP Virginia, there is also bipartisan support among Virginians; three-quarters of voters want their legislators to pass a PDAB, including 85% of Democrats, 71% of Republicans and 70% of Independents.
“A Prescription Drug Affordability Board would have changed and saved lives, and its failure today rests squarely with Governor Youngkin,” said Freedom Virginia Executive Director Rhena Hicks. “Medicine is too expensive for too many Virginians. If the governor were sincere about lowering the cost of living – and the cost of staying alive – he could have amended the bill and worked with legislators to find common ground. Instead, the governor issued a veto statement that sounded like it was written by a lobbyist for Pfizer. We applaud the legislators from both parties who stood with Virginia families by voting to override this veto. This year we built huge momentum behind the Prescription Drug Affordability Board, and we will continue to fight to pass this bill again in the years to come.”
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