In the past, liberals railed against the pharmaceutical industry’s power. Their condemnation of PhRMA, the industry’s main trade association, was based on the idea that it puts profits above people. They vowed to challenge its power in Washington, D.C., and to reform the healthcare system to better meet the healthcare needs of Americans. However, it’s now clear that Democrats seem unwilling to risk PhRMA’s financial resources to make genuine healthcare reforms.
It’s no secret that members of the Democratic Party — including those who led the party’s House Caucus during the last Congress — receive large donations from the pharmaceutical industry.
During the initial six months of 2021, the pharmaceutical industry displayed its commitment to the Democratic Party by generously providing almost $800,000 in contributions to Democratic candidates. Over the past few years, donations from PhRMA to the tune of millions have flowed into Democratic organizations and “dark money” groups. In 2020 alone, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, which acts as a prominent advocate for industry giants such as Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson, among others, contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democratic-aligned dark money groups, solidifying its political influence.
Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and Jim Clyburn have amassed millions of dollars from this powerful industry. Three other current party leaders — Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark, and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar — have all taken tens of thousands of dollars from the industry over the years. Clarke, for instance, received $19,000 from Pfizer in the most recent election cycles. And that’s just one company. The Massachusetts congresswoman has also received donations from other pharma giants and lobbyists.
Thus, Democratic policies towards the industry are no surprise.
Democrats in Congress voted to give the industry billions to develop a COVID vaccine. They advocated for it to be mandated in nearly all sectors of life while demanding Big Tech censor those who expressed skepticism of the vaccine on various platforms. Democrats also strongly opposed Republicans questioning aspects of the product. That’s right: the party that once held PhRMA to high standards, questioning the industry at every turn now, now found itself co-signing COVID vaccines and jumped head-first into their promotion.
The party hasn’t lost any of its loyalty to PhRMA over the last few years.
This congressional session, Democrats, including some of the party’s most boisterous public critics of the drug industry when the cameras are rolling, are advocating for a slew of measures in the industry’s interest.
For example, Sen. Bernie Sanders and other Senate Democrats are advancing an insulin price cap proposal, which would hurt Americans and their insurers rather than those reaping the profits from the drug costs.
Sanders and these other phony PhRMA foes also support legislation (sponsored by Sanders) aimed at regulating pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs) out of the marketplace.
PBMs are third-party companies that negotiate lower drug prices for subscribers to health insurance plans, but Democrats are absurdly claiming they’re just another corporate bureaucracy hiking up healthcare costs. The Democrats’ PBM regulatory bill won’t benefit the American people; it will help the pharmaceutical industry, which recently launched an ad blitz against PBMs in hopes of stopping the groups from lowering their drug prices.
Although PhRMa is the primary beneficiary for their healthcare initiatives, Sanders and other Democrats still proclaim themselves to be firm opponents of this powerful industry.
“The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most powerful political forces in America,” Sanders warned in a Fox News op-ed last month. “In a Congress of 100 senators and 435 members of the House, the pharmaceutical industry has more than 1,800 well-paid lobbyists on Capitol Hill. These include former leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties.”
While Sanders spoke the truth here, he now (wittingly or unwittingly) stands among those problem lawmakers. Most of the Democratic Party are facsimiles of Sanders. Their denunciations of drugmakers ring hollow in light of their deeds and donors. The party now sits snugly in the pocket of this industry — and the American people are bearing the brunt of the costs.
Kennington (@LadyKennington) is a conservative commentator who served as the Research Director & Story Editor for 2020:The Plot Against the President and Research/Archive Editor for What Is a Woman?
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.