Floor SpeechBipartisan2026-02-04

HONORING THE LIFE OF DAVID EMERSON MITCHELL

HealthcareEconomyTaxes

Context

On 2026-02-04, Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-6) delivered a floor speech titled "HONORING THE LIFE OF DAVID EMERSON MITCHELL" in the House. The speech addressed healthcare and also covered the economy, taxes.

Full Text

HONORING THE LIFE OF DAVID EMERSON MITCHELL

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 25 (Wednesday, February 4, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 4, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E107] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING THE LIFE OF DAVID EMERSON MITCHELL ______ HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR. of new jersey in the house of representatives Wednesday, February 4, 2026 Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of David Emerson Mitchell, who passed away on January 2, 2026, after a 15-year battle with multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer. He was 75. David spent his life working on issues that mattered--with people he cared about--to leave the world a little better than he found it; and he did. It was David's own battle with cancer that prompted him, in 2016, to found Patients For Affordable Drugs. Confronted firsthand with a drug pricing system that put lifesaving medicines out of reach for millions of Americans, David became a voice for patients who, for too long, have faced immeasurable hurdles to access the medications they need. His goal was both simple and audacious: to hold drug companies accountable for extreme, nonnegotiable prices that ignored patients' ability to pay. Under his leadership, Patients For Affordable Drugs became a trusted, bipartisan force for reform, centering patient voices in a debate long dominated by corporate interests and helping change the trajectory of drug pricing in this country. Over nearly a decade, Patients For Affordable Drugs worked with a coalition of allies to push for meaningful reform nationwide. That work paid off in 2022 with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. For the first time in history, Medicare was granted the authority to negotiate lower drug prices for America's seniors. Undoubtedly, David's work and the advocacy of Patients Ford Affordable Drugs played a major role in delivering the most significant change to our Nation's drug pricing policy in generations. This year alone, seniors are expected to save $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket expenses on prescription drugs. For that, I will always be grateful to him. Beyond this landmark achievement, David was a central voice before Congress. He testified before the health committees in both the House and Senate numerous times, representing patients across the country struggling to afford their medications. He organized patients to visit with their Members of Congress and to share their personal stories. It was his ability to connect the realities of everyday Americans with policy changes that made him such an effective advocate. He was described as ``the face of the opposition to the pharmaceutical industry in Washington.'' His advocacy was marked by clarity, discipline, and moral focus. When the entrenched perspective was that high drug prices were necessary to support innovation, David countered with a simple message that will continue to resonate: ``Drugs don't work if people can't afford them.'' Before founding Patients For Affordable Drugs, he helped shape some of the Nation's most effective public-health campaigns, including efforts to reduce drunk driving, increase seatbelt and child safety seat use, and improve roadway safety. Those campaigns saved countless lives, often quietly and outside the spotlight, but their impact was profound. David's genius was not just in identifying public health problems, but in knowing how to solve them--and how to build the momentum needed to drive real solutions. He helped demonstrate that patients are not passive observers of policy, but essential participants in shaping it. Those of us who knew David and worked with him are so grateful to him for his tenacious advocacy and all that he accomplished. David Mitchell lived a distinguished life in service to others, and the world is safer, fairer, and more humane because he was in it. I am hopeful his work will continue to inspire countless others to channel their own challenges into advocacy and reform, just as he did. His legacy will endure in the lives he touched, the patients he empowered, and the laws he helped change. Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring the distinguished life of David Mitchell. Those of us who knew David and worked with him are so grateful to him for his tenacious advocacy and all that he accomplished. David Mitchell lived a distinguished life in service to others, and the world is safer, fairer, and more humane because he was in it. I am hopeful his work will continue to inspire countless others to channel their own challenges into advocacy and reform, just as he did. His legacy will endure in the lives he touched, the patients he empowered, and the laws he helped change. ____________________

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HONORING THE LIFE OF DAVID EMERSON MITCHELL Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 25 (Wednesday, February 4, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 4, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E107] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING THE LIFE OF DAVID EMERSON MITCHELL ______ HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR. of new jersey in the house of representatives Wednesday, February 4, 2026 Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of David Emerson Mitchell, who passed away on January 2, 2026, after a 15-year battle with multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer. He was 75. David spent his life working on issues that mattered--with people he cared about--to leave the world a little better than he found it; and he did. It was David's own battle with cancer that prompted him, in 2016, to found Patients For Affordable Drugs. Confronted firsthand with a drug pricing system that put lifesaving medicines out of reach for millions of Americans, David became a voice for patients who, for too long, have faced immeasurable hurdles to access the medications they need. His goal was both simple and audacious: to hold drug companies accountable for extreme, nonnegotiable prices that ignored patients' ability to pay. Under his leadership, Patients For Affordable Drugs became a trusted, bipartisan force for reform, centering patient voices in a debate long dominated by corporate interests and helping change the trajectory of drug pricing in this country. Over nearly a decade, Patients For Affordable Drugs worked with a coalition of allies to push for meaningful reform nationwide. That work paid off in 2022 with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. For the first time in history, Medicare was granted the authority to negotiate lower drug prices for America's seniors. Undoubtedly, David's work and the advocacy of Patients Ford Affordable Drugs played a major role in delivering the most significant change to our Nation's drug pricing policy in generations. This year alone, seniors are expected to save $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket expenses on prescription drugs. For that, I will always be grateful to him. Beyond this landmark achievement, David was a central voice before Congress. He testified before the health committees in both the House and Senate numerous times, representing patients across the country struggling to afford their medications. He organized patients to visit with their Members of Congress and to share their personal stories. It was his ability to connect the realities of everyday Americans with policy changes that made him such an effective advocate. He was described as ``the face of the opposition to the pharmaceutical industry in Washington.'' His advocacy was marked by clarity, discipline, and moral focus. When the entrenched perspective was that high drug prices were necessary to support innovation, David countered with a simple message that will continue to resonate: ``Drugs don't work if people can't afford them.'' Before founding Patients For Affordable Drugs, he helped shape some of the Nation's most effective public-health campaigns, including efforts to reduce drunk driving, increase seatbelt and child safety seat use, and improve roadway safety. Those campaigns saved countless lives, often quietly and outside the spotlight, but their impact was profound. David's genius was not just in identifying public health problems, but in knowing how to solve them--and how to build the momentum needed to drive real solutions. He helped demonstrate that patients are not passive observers of policy, but essential participants in shaping it. Those of us who knew David and worked with him are so grateful to him for his tenacious advocacy and all that he accomplished. David Mitchell lived a distinguished life in service to others, and the world is safer, fairer, and more humane because he was in it. I am hopeful his work will continue to inspire countless others to channel their own challenges into advocacy and reform, just as he did. His legacy will endure in the lives he touched, the patients he empowered, and the laws he helped change. Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring the distinguished life of David Mitchell. Those of us who knew David and worked with him are so grateful to him for his tenacious advocacy and all that he accomplished. David Mitchell lived a distinguished life in service to others, and the world is safer, fairer, and more humane because he was in it. I am hopeful his work will continue to inspire countless others to channel their own challenges into advocacy and reform, just as he did. His legacy will endure in the lives he touched, the patients he empowered, and the laws he helped change. ____________________