File:Senator Chuck Grassley and Alex Azar.jpg

English: 11.29.2017

Grassley, HHS Secretary Nominee Azar Discuss Lowering Drug Prices, Protecting Whistleblowers, Responding To Oversight Requests WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today met with Alex Azar, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Grassley is a senior member and former chairman of the Finance Committee, which will consider the nomination. Grassley made the following comment on the meeting.

“I congratulated Mr. Azar on his nomination and told him I looked forward to working with him should he be confirmed.

“Americans were right to be outraged by the inappropriate and wasteful spending of department funds by the previous secretary. I expect Mr. Azar understands that taxpayer dollars ought to be respected at every level of every agency of the federal government. I expressed my longstanding commitment to oversight of the federal bureaucracy and my expectation that requests from members of both parties be given a timely response in good faith.

“Mr. Azar and I discussed the importance of lowering drug prices and encouraging competition in the health care and pharmaceutical industries. Drug prices and medical costs generally continue to grow at unsustainable rates, and consumers and taxpayers are forced to foot the bill. This Congress, I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation to reduce drug waste, expand consumers’ access to generic drugs and increase pharmaceutical marketplace competition. The next secretary should help lead the effort to stem the tide of rising drug prices.

“We also discussed the importance of whistleblowers, who put themselves at risk to expose waste, fraud and abuse in both the government and in the health care and pharmaceutical industries. Whistleblowers’ bravery should be praised and rewarded. It’s up to the next secretary to foster a culture at HHS that supports whistleblowers and protects them from retaliation.”