♪ and announcer: all month, we're featuring student documentaries. this year, students told is the most urgent issue for the new president and congress. our first prize high school winner is a 12th grader from

michigan. jarod clark is a student at royal high school. his documentary on pharmaceutical price gouging is ntitled "enough is enough." take a look. >> you do not have to talk to somebody very long that they have to have this. it is not optional. >> not buying and epipen could lead to a reaction that could lead to anything from a hospital stay to death. >> if they do not get the proper dosage of epinephrine, i know one guy who carries enough he penned with him all the time. beenre is a drug that has on the market for 100 years, costs roughly one dollar. the price has gone from roughly $99 for one to more than $600 for two of them.

guilty you ever felt taking such a large sum of money? >> i have to sit there and take a prescription -- anaphylactic shock. family members to get money to pay for this medication. >> more people will die. >> $600. exit is not optional. >> the time is come to say very loudly and clearly that in nothing up. the greed of the from cynical industry is killing americans and making many of them much sicker than they otherwise would of been. >> and will 16, pharmaceutical do attack fore i supposedly price gouging. one of these is the maker of epipen. automatic injector of epinephrine. independence for life-threatening -- epinephrine is for life threatening allergic

reactions. they have gone from $200 for two $600 for two of them in a. of about six years. we have been caring epi-pens for decades. we used to spend a couple hundred dollars to outfit the entire department with every pens and all of a sudden we are spending $350 a piece. the county medical control of authority designed a special change all we could of robert -- train all of our basic emts and first responders on how to give epinephrine interim muscular lee as opposed to the epipen. others want to create their own studies in their own time. >> somebody that does not have not going toey are have the ability to have one of somebody needed that product.

notome decided they will carry it. the risk is not worthy reward. >> if i did not have the and epipen i would've been had. >> in 20 16, megan lee a student at royal oak high school experienced her first severe reaction at her junior prom. it had life-threatening consequences. >> it could have cost me my life. it was so fast. ms. powell, an administrator was holding my hand. telling me how would be ok. >> megan came to where the administrators were sitting and indicated she had been having allergy issues she had not had before. >> i took and ibuprofen. about an hour after, i had a little pain in my eye. >> we got her seated, told her we were going to contact 911 and try to get some medical

assistance. >> i was out in the hallway and then my eyes started completely swelling. >> at that time we could see visibly that it was getting worse. >> i can see my eyes were completely shut. >> as we waited for him is to arrive it was obvious her situation was worsening quickly. the swelling was becoming more and more severe and she was beginning to comment that it was beginning harder to breathe and she was beginning to cough. >> the ambulance arrived and the paramedics shot me with an epi-right away. i was taken to the hospital. >> her situation was critical. >> it is clear, epi-pens are a life-saving drug. -- still think this issue >> with the epipen, the increase is not matching the increase in demand. it is price a been gouging.

>> the epipen will be beat with the free market by creating a different route and eliminating the market for the epipen. the next step down the line will be a life-saving drug that somebody has a stranglehold on could be a different story. the onlyipen is not case we have seen recently. hkreli invoked his fifth amendment rights on every question. >> what do you say to that woman who might need medication -- >> i invoke the fifth and take my right not to answer the question. narc anon effectively turns

out the narcotic inside your body. it wakes it right up. as soon as it became really necessary for just about every event, please stations carry it and people can have it in their home. all of a sudden the price skyrocketed. health care costs skyrocketed to the point where somebody has to put a cap on it somehow. >> it is unacceptable that while millions of americans cannot afford the prescription drugs they need, the top three from the cynical companies made a combined 45 may dollars in profits last year. the american people should not have to go without the medication they need because congress does not have the courage to stand up to one of powerful lobbying operations here on capitol hill and that is the pharmaceutical industry. the time has come to say very enoughand clearly that

is enough. the greed of the pharmaceutical industry is killing americans -- ♪ of theer: to watch all winning documentaries in this year studentcam competition, visit studentcam.org. next on c-span, washington journal is live. then, leaders in business and academia talk about taxation, health care, and immigration at the committee for economic annual policy conference. coming up at an hour, national associate editor sam baker on supreme court justice neil gorsuch is first days on the bench and previewing oral arguments in a major religious liberty case being heard on wednesday. then, talking about aggressive indivisible the organization efforts to engage leaders around the united

states. then, efforts by house republicans in the white house to adopt the most significant changes to the tax code since 1996. >> do not like the laws that we are charged to enforce that they should have the courage and skill to change those laws. otherwise they should shut up and support the men and women on the front lines. ♪ this is washington journal for april 19. that was homeland security secretary john kelly in a speech that took on opponents of dhs and its immigration enforcement. hour we want to get your thoughts on secretary kelly's statement.