Drug Makers Top Lobbying Presence

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Group: Drug Makers Top Lobbying Presence

By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press WriterThu Jul 7, 1:07 AM ET

 

 

 

The pharmaceutical industry's run of success on Capitol Hill has benefited from

the more than $800 million spent since 1998 on lobbyists and political

campaigns, a political watchdog group said Wednesday.

 

The trade group representing drug makers said the money helped patients.

 

In the past year, the industry hired nearly 1,300 lobbyists, including dozens of

former lawmakers and hundreds of people who worked for congressional committees

or regulatory agencies.

 

" It is astonishing to learn that no other interest has spent more money to sway

public policy in this time period, " said Roberta Baskin, the executive director

of the Center for Public Integrity. The nonpartisan research group investigated

the pharmaceutical industry's spending.

 

Baskin described the industry's motives for its spending as profit-driven.

 

Ken Johnson, senior vice president for the Pharmaceutical Research and

Manufacturers of America, said the report was " clearly biased and one-sided. "

 

He said it failed to acknowledge that " medicines researched and developed by

America's biopharmaceutical research companies save lives and improve the

quality of life for tens of millions of patients from around the world. "

 

The center noted that the industry spent about $116 million on lobbying and

political campaigns in 2003, which was the year Congress approved a new

prescription drug benefit under Medicare.

 

In the same legislation, drug makers fought back attempts by Democrats that

would have allowed the government to negotiate drug prices on behalf of

beneficiaries.

 

Last year, according to the center, the industry spent $128 million on such

efforts, including seeking tax breaks as part of a massive corporate tax relief

bill.

 

Drug companies lobbied for $5.6 billion in spending for biodefense and for a

bill that allows easier access to patents for inventions researched jointly by

public institutions and private entrepreneurs.

 

Much of the data for the center's report comes from lobbying disclosure forms

filed with the Senate. More than 3,000 people over the past seven years have

done lobbying work for a pharmaceutical company.

 

The list includes former senators Bob Dole and Lloyd Bentsen and former

representatives Robert Livingston and Tom Foley, the center said.

 

Overall, 75 former lawmakers are listed as serving as lobbyists for a drug

company since 1998. The industry's trade group hired former Rep. Billy Tauzin,

R-La., as its president in December.

 

The industry is not happy with legislation that Senate Majority Leader Bill

Frist said he will introduce that calls for a two-year ban on consumer

advertising for new drugs. Nor are drug companies pleased by a proposal from the

administration and governors that would reduce how much Medicaid pays for

prescription drugs.

 

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On the Net:

 

Center for Public Integrity: http://www.publicintegrity.org

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America: http://www.phrma.org

 

 

 

 

 

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