Alliance for Retired Americans Executive Director, Rich Fiesta, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the proposed fiscal commission to reduce national debt, why the Social Security program should be left out of proposals and the news around march-in rights on the prescription drug industry.
The House Budget Committee recently announced the creation of a fiscal commission to reduce national debt. Fiesta warns that this commission could result in budget cuts to the nation’s most basic social insurance programs like Social Security and Medicare. Fiesta talked about the processes these committees use to devise budget cuts. He discussed some of the past committees and what results came from them.
Fiesta also discussed the major changes to Social Security. The program in 2023 is not the same as when it first began, and he reviewed the changes made in the past. Fiesta provided several reasons why Social Security doesn’t impact the national debt and why he feels it should be eliminated from any proposed budget cuts.
Finally, Fiesta discussed the announcement of the march-in rights plan from the Biden Administration. The plan was originally enacted under the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980, but up until now, there has been no basis for the government to use these rights on the prescription drug market. The plan allows the government to “march in” and have an organization license a newly developed prescription drug and sell it at a lower cost. Stoffer said this plan should help reduce the inflated prescription drug market seen in the past and prevent the American population from continuing to overpay for their prescriptions.
Please listen to the show above for more information from Fiesta.