mr. cummings, for his opening comments. rep. cummings: mr. chairman, i really appreciate you for your efforts, for requesting this hearing and making it happen. mr. chairman, i want to yield three minutes to my distinguished colleague mrs. lawrence from michigan. rep. lawrence: in a letter, i asked that this hearing examined actions of key decision-makers involved in the development of this drinking water contamination crisis. i never thought this could happen in america, in this day and age. in our great country and our great home of michigan, where we are surrounded by freshwater and the great lakes. every american has the right to three basic needs from their government -- clean air to breathe, seat food to eat -- safe food to eat and air they can breathe that will not harm the bodies. we have built -- have failed them in providing these basic needs. we have also failed their trust. i am pleased that ms. walters is here, because she puts a face on this tragedy. she like so many mothers of the residents of flint, deserve to be heard. they a

mr. cummings. >> mr. chairman sh i was going to let mr. cartwright go. but mr.creagh, i'm getting very concerned about your testimony. because i want you to remind you that you are sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. so let's go over what you just said. and i got to get it right in here. because i'm kind of concerned. because i don't want the public to not see this for the accurate truth. mr. creagh, governor snyder recently named you as the new head of the michigan department of environmental quality last month. your boss, governor snyder, and i'm hoping he's watching, by the way. gave this 2016 state of the state address. in his speech, governor snyder seemed to take responsibility for the flint crisis. stating that and i quote the buck stops here. with me. and that quote i take full responsibility to fix the problem so that it will never happen again. however, in the same breath governor snyder also tried to blame the city of flint, this sounds like your doing, right now, and he said this, and i quote, this crisis began in the

mr. cummings: thank you. -- mr. shkreli: yes. mr. mmings: i truly believe you will be a course of tremendous good. all i ask is that you reflect on it. no, i don't ask, mr. sclelly, i beg that -- shkreli that you reflect on it. there are so many people that could use your help. may god bless you. thank you. i yield back. mr. chaffetz: the gentleman yields back. mr. shkreli, it is -- it's your intention to decline all swers to the questions and invoke your fifth amendment right? mr. shkreli: yes. mr. chaffetz: i ask now that the committee excuse the witness from the table. without objection, so ordered. we'll pause for a moment as mr. shkreli is escorted out. >> you can watch that hearing on prescription drug prices in its entirety tonight in primetime. we'll have it at 8:00 eastern. that will be on our companion net york c-span2 or you can look at it anytime online at c-span.org, including a number of other witnesses there called to testify before the house oversight and government reform committee with chair jason chaffetz and congre

mr. cummings for his opening comments. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, mr. kildee and i really appreciate you and mr. lawrence for all of your efforts for requesting this hearing and making it happen and mr. chairman i want to yield three minutes to my distinguished colleague ms. lawrence from michigan for her opening. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and to the ranking member cummings. i want to personally thank you for holding this hearing. in my letter to the chairman on january 12 of this year, i asked that this hearing examine the action of key decision makers involved in the development of this drinking water contamination crisis. i never thought this could happen in america in this day in age in our great country and our great home of michigan where we're surrounded by fresh water and the great lakes. every american has the right to three basic needs from their government -- clean air to breathe, safe food to eat and air that they can breathe that will not harm them bodies. we in government have failed the them. providing these basic needs, we've failed th

mrs. cummings was talking about, mr.edwards, these people at the michigan department of environmental quality, do you feel that they were misleading people? were they providing false information? what were they doing? and who were they doing it to? >> i think it probably started innocently. i think someone forgot to follow the law, but they ignored warning sign after warning sign. the gm fiasco, miss walters' child, the hazardous waste levels of lead, and gradually step by step, they just felt like they were covering this up. there's no question about it. you read the e-mails. they lied in writing to the epa and it was only after leeanne figured out they were not using corrosion control that they started this new story that we don't know if we have to have corrosion control. so, i think the written record is quite clear on this. >> they were telling that to the epa, what about to the governor's office and other state officials? >> it's very clear to me that i mislead the epidemiologists who were looking at that, the very

mr. cummings has been around this committee for a long time. i don't think i've ever seen a committee treated with such contempt. in fact mr. chairman, i would like to know if based on his response today and his actions if he could be held in contempt. >> it's not my intention to hold anybody in contempt. we have heard multiple statements prior to this hearing everything from i can't wait to school congress to i will invoke my fifth amendment rights. it's important for us to have a person like that come and explain that an answer those questions in person. i wish he would have answered those questions. we had no intention of asking things under which he was under indictment but i will entertain any suggestions there might be at this point, no. >> at the appropriate time i am a move to hold the gentleman in contempt. it's very sad, you know. mr. cummings said he may be the poster child for greed and unfair pricing and it's a very serious matter and while he is the focus he's the focus of attention and he's the villain, we have a lot of blame to g

mr. cummings: i truly believe you could become a force of tremendous good. all i ask is that you reflect on it. no, i don't ask, mr. shkreli that you reflect on it. i beg that you reflect on a it. there are so many people that could use your help. may god bless you. thank you. i yield back. mr. chaffetz: the gentleman yields back. mr. shkreli, it is -- it's your intention to decline all answers to the questions and invoke your fifth amendment right? r. shkreli: yes. mr. chaffetz: i ask now that the committee excuse the witness from the table. without objection, so ordered. we'll pause for a moment as mr. shkreli is escorted out. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] >> after appearing before the oversight committee, the former c.e.o. left the room and sent ut this tweet -- you can watch the heafering, including the other witnesses, called to testify on the pricing of prescription drugs tonight at 8:00 east

mr. cummings. >> mr. chairman i was going to -- well i'm getting very concerned about your testimony. i want you to remind you that you are sworn to tell the truth, the whole whole truth and nothing but the truth. so let's go over what you just said. and i have to get it right in here because i'm kind of concern. i do not want the public to not see this for the accurate truth. governor schneider recently named you as the new head of the michigan department of environmental quality last month. i'm hoping he is watching by the way. give this 2016 state of address in his speech governor schneider seemed to take take responsibility for the flint crisis. stating that nyquil, the buck stops here, with me. and that i take full responsibility to fix the problem so that it will never happen again. however, in the same breath governor schneider also try to blame the city of flint, it sounds like you are doing right now and he says this and i quote. this crisis that began in the spring of 2013 when the flint

mr. cummings for any questions. mr. cummings: two are very much. you very much. let me say for the record that i support your decision to make hkreli asserted his fifth amendment right. normally, we have accepted the assertions that a client will take the fifth. made a case, mr. shkreli number of public comments himself raising legitimate questions about his intentions. honestly, i did not know whether he was even going to show up today, so it is nice to see you. now that he has invoked his constitutional rights, of course i will respect his decision. you inreli, since i have front of me, after having trying to get -- after trying to get you in front of this committee for so long, let me say this -- i want to ask you -- no, i want to plead with you, to use any remaining influence you have over your former company to press them to lower the price of these drugs. you can look away, if you would like, but i wish you could see the faces of people, no matter ms. retzlaff says -- somebody is paying for the drugs. the taxpayers end up paying for some of t

mr. cummings' remarks. he is right. mr. shkreli is a brilliant scientist whose devotion to saving lives is extraordinary in my judgment. at the age of 32 he has already developed several drugs and is in the process of developing several more that will save the lives of people who suffer from illnesses most of the major pharmaceutical companies have ignored. we told them he was going to invoke. they insisted he come down anyway. out of respect for the committee we came. we are about to leave. if you have one or two questions i think are appropriate, i'll try to respond. i don't want 500 questions shouted at me at the same time. >>> i think it's unfair that touring have been singled out. when it's ultimately disclosed, everyone will recognize mr. shkreli is not a villain, not a bad boy. at the end of this story, he's a hero. >> does your client have any regrets about having raised the price that high given how this generated? >> i think the only regrets he has is in the unfair treatment he has received and some of the things

mr. cummings. >> mr. retzlaff, i remind you you're under oath, by the way.concerning the increase of d dieaprim, you were hoping to evade attention from the public, is that right? >> yes, sir. >> despite your efforts, it became a major news story on october 8th. an outside consult sent an e-mail to the turing boards laying out a pr strategy for turing to respond to this unwanted attention. the consult suggested that the board move mr. shkreli as ceo, and i quote, as early as next week, end of quote. the consultant also suggested that turing reduce the price; is that correct? come on, talk to me. >> i believe that's correct, yes. >> you don't know? you're getting these memos. do you have an answer for me? >> yes, that's correct. >> okay. so he wrote, and i quote, the price drop has to be significant and tied to something. this cannot be seen as something that appears to be as arbitrary as a price hike in the first place. do you remember that? end of quote. >> yes, i do. >> all right. the consultant recommended that turing issue a press release announcing a, q

mr. cummings for his opening comments. >> thank you very much mr. chairman. mr. chairman, mr.by, ms. lawrence i appreciate you for all your efforts for requesting this hearing and making it happen. mr. chairman i want to yield three minutes to ms. lawrence for michigan for her opening. >> thank you mr. chair into the ranking member coming. i want i want to personally thank you for holding this hearing. in my letter to the chairman unchained were 12 of this year i asked that this hearing exam of the action of key decision-makers involved in the development of this drinking water contamination crisis. i never thought this could happen in america in the stand age, and our great country and in our great home of michigan where we are surrounded by fresh water in the great lakes. every american halves the right to three basic meats from their government, clean air to breathe, say food to eat, and air that they can breathe that will not harm their government their bodies. we have failed their trust. i am pleased that ms. waters is here because she put the face on this tragedy. she, l

mr. cummings do you have any comments? 3 (unaudible) 3 okay. ms. lockaby? lockaby?yeah. i do. (unaudible) i would like to i can comment but mr. graham cannot. 3 he's already had his comments. 3 he didn't get finished. finished.he is finished. i ruled he's finished.that was councilwoman sylvia lockaby questioning mayor curtis---- keep in mind the two ran against each other for mayor in november---and it would be this next exchange that is overshadowing this council- it's over replacing a curb- 3 3 3 are we opening a can of worm? because if we fix this.. this..: who are you talking too? 3 i'm looking at mr. dyrhaug dyrhaug well you didn't identify anyone... anyone... excuse me mr. dyrhaug, i'm looking straight at you are we opening a can of worms when we do this? 3 3 i'm just asking a question 3 i don't have an answer for thatcity administrator david dyrahug goes on to explain why he doesn't have an answer-- then the moment no one saw coming-- 3 3 we have storm water issues 3 yes, but i'm still speaking. 3 yes, but you're arguing the point. this is not a time for argument. you ca

mr. cummings for any questions. >> mr.hairman, let me say for the record i completely support your decision to bring mr. shkreli to make sure he asserted his fifth amendment right before this committee. normally democrats on our committee accept it, the assertions of a witness's attorney that his or her client is going to take the fifth, but in this case, mr. shkreli made a number of public comments himself, raising legitimate questions about his intentions. honestly i did not know whether he was even going to show up today so it is nice to see you. but now that he has invoked his constitutional rights i will respect his decision. to mr. shkreli since i have you in front of me, after trying to get you in front of this committee for so long let me say this. i want to ask you -- i want to plead with you to use any remaining influence you may have over your former company to press them to lower the price of these drugs. you can look away if you like, but i wish you could see the faces of people, no matter what anyone says, wh

mr. cray, on january 29th, ranking member cummings and myself sent to governor snyder a detailed document request. as of this morning the committee has not received any response from the governor. since this request covers your agency, can you tell the committee what tens have been taken to collect these documents and when will we get them? >> i'm aware of the letter. i believe there's a february 11th date, and i'm aware of that the governor's office is reviewing that document. >> i have a question about this issue of primacy. can you explain in the state of michigan what exactly is the role of the michigan department of environmental quality? once advised by epa, which did happen in this situation, what is the responsibility, based on the state of michigan's law? >> so, the state of michigan has enacted corollary statutes that mirror the safe drinking water act that allow us to enforce laws in the state of michigan. we have primacy for enforcing the lead and copper rule and the safe drinking water act. and as i said in my testimony, the u.s. epa sets the standards, oversees the programmi

mr. cummings for any question. >> thank you very much. mr. chairman let me say for the record that i completely support your decision to bring mr. squarely to make sure he has asserted his fifth amendment right before this committee. normally democrats on our committee have accepted the assertions of all witnesses attorney that his or her client is going to take the fifth. in this case, and a number of public comments himself, raising legitimate questions about his intentions, honestly i did not know whether he was even going to show it today. so it's nice to see you. now that he has invoked his constitutional right, of course i will respect his decision. since i have you in front of me after trying to get you in front of this committee for so long let me say this. i want to ask you, no i want to plead with you, to use any remaining influence you have over your former company to press them to lower the price of these drugs. you can look away if you would like but i wish you could see the face of people, no matter what is said, who cannot get

mr. cummings said, you're obviously a bright young man and i do hope you'll use your intelligence and researchgood. that's why i think that i believe he's ultimately going to show the world he is a good man. >> there was one other remark that was interesting, martin shkreli, he said people don't understand in the law i have an obligation to maximize profit for my share how olders, arguably he might say that's what he was doing by raising the price of a drug. as most he could to maximize the revenue and profit that the company would be receiving from it. is that true under the law? is there an obligation on the part of executives to make as much profit as they possibly can? >> i think you should ask the executives you interview every day, whether what they spend most of the time doing is trying their best to maximize shareholder return and shareholder investment, whether it's a legal obligation to do it, it certainly is an ethical obligation as owner of a whp to do things that help your company. >> could somebody prosecute him or somebody else for saying you didn't -- you only raised this 2500%

cummings says: "it's not funny mr. shkreli people are dying and getting sicker and sicker" he's been outspoken on television and the internet - flaunting his wealth, paying a reported 2 million dollars for the only copy of a rap album from the group wu-tang clan. though he refused to talk before this committee.gowdy says: "and i listened to his interview and he didn't have to be prodded to talk during that interview. and he doesn't have to be prodded to tweet." the advice of counsel i invoke my fifth amendment privilege against self incrimination and respectfully decline to answer your question." he then left the hearing room and tweeted: hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government. the house oversight committee used turing's massive price increase as only one example of what one member described as taking as much money out of patients to feed their own coffers, calling their profits blood money. the committee says the wholesale price for thirty of the top-selling u.s. drugs increased mor

cummings says: "it's not funny mr. shkreli people are dying and getting sicker and sicker" he's been outspoken on television and the internet - flaunting his wealth, paying a reported 2 million dollars for the only copy of a rap album from the group wu-tang clan. though he refused to talk before this committee.gowdy says: "and i listened to his interview and he didn't have to be prodded to talk during that interview. and he doesn't have to be prodded to tweet." //butted//shkreli says: "on the advice of counsel i invoke my fifth amendment privilege against self incrimination and respectfully decline to answer your question." he then left the hearing room and tweeted: hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government. the house oversight committee used turing's massive price increase as only one example of what one member described as taking as much money out of patients to feed their own coffers, calling their profits blood money. the committee says the wholesale price for thirty of the top-sell

cummings says: "it's not funny mr. shkreli people are dying and getting sicker and sicker" he's been outspoken on television and the internet - flaunting his wealth, paying a reported 2 million dollars for the only copy of a rap album from the group wu-tang clan. though he refused to talk before this committee.gowdy says: "and i listened to his interview and he didn't have to be prodded to talk during that interview. and he doesn't have to be prodded to tweet." //butted//shkreli says: "on the advice of counsel i invoke my fifth amendment privilege against self incrimination and respectfully decline to answer the hearing room and tweeted: hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government. the house oversight committee used turing's massive price increase as only one example of what one member described as taking as much money out of patients to feed their own coffers, calling their profits blood money. the committee says the wholesale price for thirty of the top-selling u.s. drugs increased more

mr. trump: i agree. >> graduating cum laude, and starting a nonprofit in education. for four years, i have been giving free books away but i realize we need a different kind of school, and i came here to ask you for help in raising funds for what i call an equal opportunity school. mr. trump: give us some stuff. ok, give it to him. yes, go ahead. >> [indiscernible] mr. trump: it is going up so fast. go ahead. >> it went up a lot. mr. trump: to put it mildly. it is going to go up another trillion dollars in because of the new budget. it happened because we have incompetent politicians. it happened because we have crooked politicians. it happened because we have politicians that are getting massive campaign contributions, and they are protecting companies and countries, and with me, none of that is going to happen. it is called competition. i guarantee you. i told you about the drug companies. in the military, you have the same thing. in education, you have the same rate. you have the same thing everywhere. now competition. it is going to go down. tremendously. it is g

meeting, he sat with his hands clasp and smirked causing maryland congressman elijah cummings to let loose. >> it's not funny, mr. shkreli. people are dying and they're getting sicker and sicker. >> do you think think you have done anything wrong? >> on the advice of counsel i invoke my fifth amendment privilege against self-incrimination and respectfully decline to answer your question. >> just moments after shkreli was dismissed today, insulting tweets began appearing under his official account. tweets among other things calling lawmakers imbeciles. ♪ 21st night of september >> the creative force behind a legendary band has died. that's maurice white, co-founder of earth, wind, and fire with his brothers. they went on to sell more than 90 million albums. they earned six grammy awards. maurice white stopped touring in the '90s after being diagnosed with parkinson's. his health declined in recent months as a result of the disease. the band will be honored with a lifetime achievement award at the grammys later this month. maurice white was 74 years old. there's so many of us who remember filling capitol kenner is

cummings of maryland addressed how the price hikes hurt patients. , itike a ponzi scheme appears turing is using revenues and imposes similarly massive price increases on future victims. it is not funny, mrshkreli. people are dying and they are getting sicker and sicker. is and thatng us edney, health reporter for bloomberg news, and keri geiger come who broke the news of on fraud arrest charges in december and he was out of the courthouse defending those charges. has left. he is done with this hearing. it went the way people thought, that people thought it was going to invoke his fifth amendment. there was a little bit of spectacle as far as back and en on with congressm whether he could answer some questions. he would get a whispered in his ear from his attorney and continue to invoke his fifth amendment rights. anna, is anything going to be done by congress or can they do anything about rising drug prices? anna: that is a good question. there are some proposals out there as far as congressman cummings, who you showed earlier. he has one with senator bernie sanders, who is running for president. he talked about -- congressman cummings did -- going after price couching, but he didn't ge

cummings. listen to what he said. >> like a scheme, it appears that maybe using revenues to research and identify the next drug and then impose massive bryce increases on victims. it's not funny mrshkreli. people are dying and getting sicker and sicker. >> so repeatedly addressing him as he was looking away and smirking during this calling the money blood money. he pleaded the fifth so many times. in a press conference after shkreli left the hearing his lawyer making very brief statements. >> it's extraordinarily unfair that he has been singled out with a type of unfair publicity that they have received and with all the facts are ultimately disclosed i think everyone will recognize that mr. shkreli is not a villain or a bad boy. at the end of the story he is a hero. >> so say he will be seen as a hero reiterating that he's confident that he will be cleared of all charges. he has federal charges against him and expected to appear in court on may 3rd. he's been very active on twitter this morning. putting on a few shots about congress to find out whether they're monitoring those and let you know what we hear guys. >> we'll be watching that as well. thank you very much. let's turn

mr. cummings make this point at a hearing. he made the point that people are still paying water bills for water they can't drink. i'm not sure what the situation is now. persons are still getting water in bottles. but are they staying their water bills. and they must be examined in terms of the rate hikes that has taken place and they cannot use the water because the state made a mistake. n arch arch c believes that pro made for advice hub all. they should step up to the plate and help persons. this is something that lawyers do. and i would hope that lawyers would move in and help persons. but if they don't move in and help persons. we have a responsibility and we have done this with funds, to do something so people who lead legal advice can receive that advice and that assistance. mr. speaker, the naacp has made a difference in our lives and i will say this. thank you for the time and i its to celebrate the naacpa great victories. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman have a motion. mr. green: i move that the house adjo