Upton, a Big Money 20 incumbent, seeks his 18th term in Congress after cashing in over $1 million from pharma PACs
The Michigan congressman has twice topped an industry publication’s list of the most “pharma-friendly congress members”
Rep. Fred Upton is running for reelection to represent drug manufacturers in Congress instead of Michiganders, just like he’s done for his past 17 terms.
“What does Fred Upton have to show after over 30 years in Congress? A shameless loyalty to Big Pharma over Michigan families,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “Michiganders are struggling to afford their prescription drugs because Congressman Upton is in the pocket of the drug companies that fill his campaign coffers. Instead of working to pad drug manufacturers’ bottom line, Rep. Upton should be working to lower the cost of prescription drugs.”
Over the course of his 30 year career in Congress, Upton has made his allegiance to the pharmaceutical industry clear. From 2003-2019, Upton took over $1 million from pharma PACs and twice topped an industry publication’s list of the most “pharma-friendly congress members”. As chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, Fred Upton used his role to block 12 bills in the 114th Congress that could have helped lower the cost of prescription drugs, and most recently voted against the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019 (H.R. 3).
In January, End Citizens United Action Fund released its first annual legislative scorecard that tracked and graded the efforts of every member of Congress on money in politics and government reform issues. Rep. Fred Upton received an “F” for failing to support common sense legislation that roots out corruption, increases transparency, and strengthens ethics in government.
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