[lbo-talk] WaPo: Health care lobbying blitz includes 350+ former key govt. staff & representatives

Michael Pollak mpollak at panix.com
Mon Jul 6 16:40:16 PDT 2009


[It's like they have a second government directly on their payroll -- just this one industry]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/05/AR2009070502770.html

Monday, July 6, 2009

Washington Post

Familiar Players in Health Bill Lobbying

Firms Are Enlisting Ex-Lawmakers, Aides

By Dan Eggen and Kimberly Kindy

Washington Post Staff Writers

The nation's largest insurers, hospitals and medical groups have

hired more than 350 former government staff members and retired

members of Congress in hopes of influencing their old bosses and

colleagues, according to an analysis of lobbying disclosures and

other records.

The tactic is so widespread that three of every four major

health-care firms have at least one former insider on their lobbying

payrolls, according to The Washington Post's analysis.

Nearly half of the insiders previously worked for the key committees

and lawmakers, including Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles E.

Grassley (R-Iowa), debating whether to adopt a public insurance

option opposed by major industry groups. At least 10 others have

been members of Congress, such as former House majority leaders

Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.) and Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.), both of

whom represent a New Jersey pharmaceutical firm.

The hirings are part of a record-breaking influence campaign by the

health-care industry, which is spending more than $1.4 million a day

on lobbying in the current fight, according to disclosure records.

And even in a city where lobbying is a part of life, the scale of

the effort has drawn attention. For example, the Pharmaceutical

Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) doubled its spending

to nearly $7 million in the first quarter of 2009, followed by

Pfizer, with more than $6 million.

The push has reunited many who worked together in government on

health-care reform, but are now employed as advocates for

pharmaceutical and insurance companies.

A June 10 meeting between aides to Baucus, chairman of the Senate

Finance Committee, and health-care lobbyists included two former

Baucus chiefs of staff: David Castagnetti, whose clients include

PhRMA and America's Health Insurance Plans, and Jeffrey A. Forbes,

who represents PhRMA, Amgen, Genentech, Merck and others.

Castagnetti did not return a telephone call; Forbes declined to

comment.

Also inside the closed committee hearing room that day was Richard

Tarplin, a veteran of both the Department of Health and Human

Services and the Senate, where he worked for Christopher J. Dodd

(D-Conn.), one of the leaders in fashioning reform legislation this

year. Tarplin now represents the American Medical Association as

head of his own lobbying firm, Tarplin Strategies.

"For people like me who are on the outside and used to be on the

inside, this is great, because there is a level of trust in these

relationships, and I know the policy rationale that is required,"

Tarplin said in explaining the benefits of having government

experience.

But public interest groups and reform advocates complain that the

concentration of former government aides on K Street has distorted

the health-care debate, and that it further illustrates the problem

posed by the "revolving door" between government and private firms.

"The revolving door offers a short cut to a member of Congress to

the highest bidder," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the

Center for Responsive Politics, which compiled some of the data used

in The Post's analysis. "It's a small cost of doing business

relative to the profits they can garner."

Aides to Baucus and other lawmakers bristle at any suggestion of

special treatment for former staff members. Baucus spokesman Scott

Mulhauser said the senator "remains committed to working with a

variety of stakeholders" as the Finance Committee attempts to come

up with a bill this summer.

"The senator and his staff meet daily with individuals, nonprofits

and interests from across the health-care spectrum, and are proud

that all interests are treated equally and that no one receives

special treatment of any kind," Mulhauser said. "As a result, the

Finance Committee has been praised by members of Congress and the

media for its uniquely inclusive and transparent health-care reform

process."

The Post examined federally required disclosure reports submitted by

health-care firms that spent more than $100,000 lobbying in the

first quarter of this year. It used current and past filings to

identify former lawmakers, congressional staff members and executive

branch officials.

The analysis identified more than 350 former government aides, each

representing an average of four firms or trade groups. That tally

does not include lobbyists who did not report their earlier

government experience, such as PhRMA President W.J. "Billy" Tauzin,

a former Republican congressman from Louisiana. Federal law does not

require providing such detail.

Overall, health-care companies and their representatives spent more

than $126 million on lobbying in the first quarter, leading all

other industries, according to CRP and Senate data. PhRMA led the

pack in spending and employs 49 former government staff members

among its 136 lobbyists, according to The Post's analysis. Dozens of

other former insiders are employed as lobbyists by Pfizer, Eli

Lilly, the AMA and the American Hospital Association, each of which

spent at least $3.5 million on lobbying from January through March.

<end excerpt>

Full at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/05/AR2009070502770.html

Michael



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