lobbying spend...

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*Drugmakers Spend Record Amounts on Congressional Lobbying*

Drugmakers spent $155 million lobbying Congress between January 2005 and

June 2006, trying to influence legislation on Medicare, drug importation and

patent protection, according to a study by The Center for Public Integrity.

In the time frame covered by the study, PhRMA spent more than $18 million on

lobbying, more than any single drug company. It was the largest amount the

group had spent in a given year since the center began analyzing the data in

1998. In the past nine years, PhRMA has spent a total of $104 million on

lobbying, the center reported.

PhRMA and the Biotechnology Industry Organization, along with the 20 largest

drug companies, funded 80 percent of the industry's federal lobbying over

the past nine years, the center said. The biggest company spender on

lobbying was Pfizer, reaching $12 million in 2005 and the first half of

2006. The company's total since 1998 is $62 million, compared with $48

million for Merck and $40 million each for Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb

and GlaxoKline, the center said.

The amount the drug industry spends on lobbying is " staggering " and exposes

the major influence and power the industry has on legislation, Consumers

Union senior policy analyst Bill Vaughan said. The " manipulation " of drug

industry lobbyists is the reason Americans pay more than the citizens in all

other countries for important medicines, Vaughan added.

Legislation the industry's approximately 1,100 lobbyists were involved with

over the past year covered Medicare Part D direct negotiation, drug

importation and increased authority for the FDA, according to the report.

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Sincerely,

Kalman PhD©, RD

office