Remarks by President Trump in Cabinet Meeting | Eastern North Carolina Now

    We'll be coming out with a report on the hundred days' progress that we've made so far next week, and that will have even more information for you about the historic changes we're already experiencing in the drug pricing market.

    We've done some transformative things under the President's leadership already. For the first time in history, the President is introducing a regime to important drugs from other developed countries that do not violate intellectual property rights in the United States here. So these are products that are not under patent protection, but where the company - the single company - holds that drug in the U.S. and has increased price.

    We're going to let competition come in to ensure patient access and competition here in the United States. For the first time in history, this President has done that.

    In addition, for the first time in history, President Trump is bringing negotiation and discounts to our Medicare Part B drug program. That is the drug program where doctors administer the drugs for all of its history. We simply pay sticker price for drugs - no discounting, no rebates, no control.

    For the first time ever, we are unleashing our Medicare Advantage plans to negotiate discounting on $12 billion of drugs. And every penny we save is going to be money that the patients save, because we're mandating that over 50 percent of all savings be passed back to the patient from the work of these insurance companies negotiating against the drug companies.

    So everybody is seeing the changes coming. We've had historic rates this last month - the highest level of generic drug approval by Commissioner Gottlieb ever in history. We're increasing competition. We're increasing the approval of new branded drugs, and bringing new therapies to market.

    So it's not going to change overnight. This is a $400 billion segment of the economy. We are not driving for any kind of cheap gimmicks or quick solutions. We're doing things the right way; we are structurally rebuilding this entire segment of the economy to lead to enduring, lower prices that are sustainable and support innovation.

    THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. And as you know, the pharmaceutical industry is said, for many years, to have the most powerful lobby. The good news is, I don't need their money. So we're doing the right thing.

    And, frankly, I think the drug companies, actually, in the long run - I really believe this, Secretary - I think they're going to benefit also. But the middleman is not going to be benefitting. Somebody and - some very rich people out there that do nothing, make a lot of money. Very rich people. I don't know who they are; I don't want to know who they are. But they don't like me too much right now, I would say. Wouldn't you say?

    SECRETARY AZAR: You and me. (Laughs.)

    THE PRESIDENT: So, congratulations. Thank you very much. This is - in terms of prescription drugs and drugs, nothing like this has ever happened before in our country. And I will say that the Democrats heard about it. They're very happy about it, or so they tell me. I'm sure they won't tell you, but they can't believe what's happening. So - because they want to see that too. They want to see drug prices come down. And nobody has ever seen where they raise the prices 10 percent, and the following day they announce that they were just kidding. But that's what happened.

    So thank you very much, Secretary. Fantastic job. You're doing a fantastic job.

    Jeff.

    ATTORNEY GENERAL SESSIONS: Well, thank you. On drugs, you directed us to reduce opioids by 30 percent. We believe that is achievable. We believe there is at least that much abuse in the opioid prescriptions. And DEA just announced today, reducing the number that lawfully can be produced, as we've indicted 170 physicians who have been prescribing, unlawfully, to people who are addicted to drugs.

    Betsy DeVos has done a great job leading our commission. I've attended five - all five of the meetings. We've learned a great deal. She is going to lead us to have a report before the deadline - in advance of it. And I think it will definitely help make schools safer.

    I would also say that, in addition to those meetings, I met with some 18 law officers, many of whom - some were at Columbine, Aurora, and Parkland - who were there when it happened. They believe that we need to do a better job of sharing information to identify the red flags that you mentioned earlier.

    The juvenile courts are totally secret. Police have secrecy rules. Schools have secrecy rules. Mental health people have secrecy rules. Medical professionals have secrecy rules. And we think we can do a better job of identifying our children at risk, children who are suffering, children who may be at risk for suicide, if not violence too. And then create an environment where the teachers and administrators know what's lawful for them to share, and not be sued for it. I do think we can make progress in that regard.

    You also asked us to fix the NICS system. We got legislation - you did - to help that. We are pressing that every day. So more jurisdictions are bringing in - coming into the system and reporting all their convictions. We need to continue to press mental health adjudications. So those need to be in the system too to protect people who are mentally unstable from purchasing a gun, who have declared them unfit.

    And we have got two different grant programs - $50 million and $25 million - that will help hire school resource officers who are trained, and also to train teachers, professionals, administrators to carry guns.

    Just in addition, I attended a school in Arkansas. They've been allowing their administrators to have guns for years. Parents, teachers, people who graduated from the school - all favored that - would not want to change it. It's just another example that we don't need to micromanage our schools on how they protect the safety of their children.

    THE PRESIDENT: Good. Thank you very much. I'd also like to ask you to bring a major lawsuit against the drug companies on opioids. Some states have done it, but I'd like a lawsuit to be brought against these companies that are really sending opioids at a level that it shouldn't be happening. It's so highly addictive. People go into a hospital with a broken arm; they come out, they're a drug addict. They get the arm fixed, but they're now a drug addict.

    And I'd like us to look at some of the litigation that's already been started with companies. Rather than just joining them, I'd like to bring a federal lawsuit against those companies.

    I'd also like to have you take a look at the fentanyl that's coming out of China and Mexico. And whatever you can do from a legal standpoint - whether it's litigation, lawsuits, for people and companies. But, in China, you have some pretty big companies sending that garbage and killing our people. It's almost a form of warfare. And I'd like to do whatever you can do legally to stop it from China and from Mexico. And if you could look into that, I'd appreciate it.

    ATTORNEY GENERAL SESSIONS: We absolutely will. We're returning indictments now against distributors from China. We've identified certain companies that are moving drugs from China, fentanyl in particular. We have confronted China about it - Secretary Pompeo has. You have personally raised it with them.

    THE PRESIDENT: Yep. I have.

    ATTORNEY GENERAL SESSIONS: And we have not achieved as much advantage as we would like. Most of it is going to Mexico, and then crossing the border unlawfully from Mexico. We're going to work on that.

    You've made clear you want us to sue and use legal process against drug companies that are abusing the law for some time now. We've joined with the states, and we are looking at various different legal avenues to go after abusive companies.

    THE PRESIDENT: Good. Good. I'd be very, very firm on that, because what's happening with drugs in this country - and throughout the world, but, in our country, it's a disgrace, and we can stop it. We can certainly make a big dent.

    Thank you very much.

    ATTORNEY GENERAL SESSIONS: We've never seen the deaths that we are seeing today. It's unprecedented in American history.

    THE PRESIDENT: Right. Thank you very much.

    Secretary Nielsen.

    SECRETARY NIELSEN: I'd just like to start by, of course, adding my thanks to the other commission members. We've all been working hard and we thank you, sir, for your leadership. This is currently an example where young lives depend on our ability to take bold action. So I'm very confident that the report that Secretary DeVos is pulling together will do just that. And so I look forward, first, to be able to share that with you.

    At DHS, most of DHS is involved in this because we do so much on preparedness and working with state and local communities. So we're bringing all of our best practices to bear to really tailor solutions and offer them up through various guidebooks to the communities.

    As Secretary DeVos said, there is one - there is not one size fits all. So we need to work individually with the communities and find what it is that they need.

    We're looking at training and exercises. Exercises, we all know, play a very important part of a community's ability to be prepared. Practicing does not make perfect but it does make automatic. And that muscle memory is the difference between saving a life and waiting to figure out what it is that you should do in the event of a disaster.

    Today, we're going to have another meeting. I'll be joined by my commissioners. We'll look at best practices. We'll look at active shooter. We're having some practitioners come. We do this always as a school-based approach. Secretary DeVos has a great slide in our book of all the many, many states that we've all interacted with. We're really trying to get that input from across the - across the nation.

    So thank you for your leadership. I think you'll be very pleased with what we're able to come up with, working with our communities.

    THE PRESIDENT: Could you say something that, despite the horrible immigration laws that we have to live with - with catch-and-release and all of the horror show - it's a horror show. It's a disgrace, frankly. We'll get it changed.

    But having a lot of problem with the other party. They don't want to change for, I guess, political reasons; it can't be common sense. Could you say how we're doing in terms of - we're breaking records at the border - law enforcement records. Could you maybe just give a little update on that?

    SECRETARY NIELSEN: Sure. Yeah.

    THE PRESIDENT: Despite the horrible laws, we're doing very well.

    Please.

    SECRETARY NIELSEN: We are - in three different ways. In conjunction with our partners at the Department of Justice, continually the headlines show that we interdict more and more drugs at the border each month. And that is great. So every time we have a new record, a couple weeks later we surpass it with the amount of drugs we're able to interdict.

    So we're using a particular type of technology - advanced technology: nonintrusive inspection at the ports of entry. We also are doing much more on interdicting just border crossers who cross illegally. So you've seen the numbers in July go down substantially from the time before.

    What's still difficult, though, are the populations that we are not able to prosecute given a variety of current court cases. So we continue to work with Congress. There has to be consequences. Nothing changes; we know this throughout the legal system. I mean, this is true of any part of the world. If there's no consequences for breaking the law, unfortunately people will continue to do so.

    So we're working with countries to the south of us to help them understand other options for migrations flows to protect their communities at the beginning of that journey so they don't pay smugglers. There's a whole variety of Cabinet members here that are working on the fight against TCOs. We're having a lot of success against that type of a crime and criminal as well.

    So it's good news. We are doing everything we can within executive power, but we have to get Congress to act.

    THE PRESIDENT: We're setting records at the border with terrible laws. So if we had the right laws, we could really be doing something special. And there are consequences. When people come up - and I'll say it - when people come up, it's very tough. It's very tough for them. And it's very sad. But we can't handle it. The country can't handle it. You know, we're one country; we cannot handle what's happening. And nobody could. And we don't want to have to be able to handle it, frankly. It's not fair. It's not fair to our taxpayers, to our workers.

    And so we are very, very tough at the border. We're setting records despite horrible, horrible immigration laws that the Democrats do not want to fix, and I think that's going to hurt them very badly at the polls come November. That's my opinion.

    So I want to thank you very much.

    I'd like to ask, Mike, if you could talk a little bit about North Korea - where we are with North Korea.

    SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes, sir, Mr. President. So we're now many months with no additional missile tests. Many months with no additional nuclear testing from the North Koreans. We're continuing to engage in conversation with them about a path forward to a brighter future for the North Koreans.

    We have 55 sets of remains that have been returned. The Department of Defense is working on the next work that will hopefully lead to the retain - returns of not dozens, but hundreds of the remains of our soldiers that were killed in North Korea.