Pharmaceutical Federal Lobbying Spending Flourishes
WASHINGTON, April 2, 2007 — Pharmaceutical manufacturers
and their trade groups spent a record $155 million lobbying the
federal government and its agencies from January 2005 to June 2006,
according to a Center for Public Integrity report based on data
obtained from the Senate Office of Public Records.
During that time, the drug industry heavily — and
successfully — lobbied against Congress' revisiting a
provision in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and
Modernization Act of 2003 that barred the federal government from
negotiating on Medicare drug prices. Also on the lobbying agenda
were protection of lucrative drug patents and prevention of the
importation of lower-priced Canadian drugs.
In a CBS “60 Minutes” segment that aired Sunday night,
Steve Kroft used data provided by the Center to examine how the
pharmaceutical industry influenced Congress to pass the Medicare
prescription provision, resulting in record prices for prescription
drugs.
Since 1998, the top 20 drug companies, their subsidiaries and two
industry trade groups have spent more than $650 million on
lobbying. During this same time period, the industry’s top
trade group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of
America (PhRMA), spent $104 million on lobbying. In 2005, sales for
the top companies represented more than a quarter trillion dollars
of the U.S. prescription drug market.
The prowess of the industry’s lobby, which outnumbers members
of Congress two to one, has caught the attention of such groups as
the National Women’s Health Network and its program director
Amy Allina. “We are certainly dramatically outspent by [the
pharmaceutical industry]” she said. “You look at the
number of lobbyists — we are up against an army.”
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CONTACT: Steve Carpinelli (202) 481-1225
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan
Washington, D.C.-based organization that does investigative
reporting and research on significant public issues. Since 1990,
the Center has released more than 300 investigative reports and 15
books. It has received the prestigious George Polk Award and more
than 20 other journalism awards and 16 finalist nominations from
national organizations, including PEN USA and Investigative
Reporters and Editors. In April 2006, the Society of Professional
Journalists recognized the Center with a national award for
excellence in online public service journalism for the fifth
consecutive year. In October 2006, the Center also was honored with
the Online News Association’s coveted General Excellence
award.
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