Thread by @mog7546

How Big Pharma DELIVERED CAMPAIGN CASH to key lawmakers with surgical precision

The pharmaceutical industry there is one agenda: Heading off Medicare drug price negotiation, which it considers an existential threat to its business model.

#MOG khn.org/news/article/p…

Campaign donations to members of Congress — which must be reported to the Federal Election Commission — are the tip of the iceberg, signaling far greater activity in influence peddling that includes spending millions on lobbying activities and advertising campaigns.

#MOG

Pharmaceutical companies and their lobbying groups gave roughly $1.6 million to lawmakers during the first six months of 2021, with Republicans accepting $785,000 and Democrats $776,200, the Pharma Cash to Congress database shows.

#MOG

Rep. #ScottPeters (D-Calif.) $63,900 in contributions in the first half of the year. Peters, whose #SanDiego-area district includes multiple drug companies, has consistently accepted money from drugmakers since he took office in 2013, according to KHN’s database.

Sen. #RobertMenendez (D-N.J.), accepted $49,300.

The vote of Menendez, a longtime ally of the industry, would be crucial for Democrats to pass any proposal giving the government greater control over drug prices. The pharmaceutical industry is a major employer in #NewJersey

Sen. #CatherineMasto (D-Nev.), a freshman lawmaker on the powerful Senate Finance Committee, which oversees legislation pertaining to federal health programs like Medicare

She received $46,000, with cash flowing in from #EliLilly #Merck #Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson

Sen. #KyrstenSinema (D-Ariz.), whose vote also is critical to passage. She received $108,500 in pharma contributions in 2019-20.

However, in the first half of this year, she received only $8,000. She has not said publicly where she stands on the current pricing proposal.