Between January 2005 and June 2006, the pharmaceutical industry spent a record $155 million lobbying Congress. During this period they had over 1,000 lobbyists working the Hill and the Bush Administration, blocking efforts to allow Canadian drug reimportation or Medicare bargaining power. And that doesn't even get into the $19 million spent on campaign contributions. Asked about the expenditures, Ken Johnson, vice-president of the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America, said, "Our priority has always been to help advance patient health and ... we have supported policies and programs that bolster patient access to safe and effective medicines." That is so kind of them! $155 million, every last cent of it a selfless donation to improve the health of Americans.
