Ernst has taken $115,000 from Big Pharma over the course of her career
According to AARP, 30% of Iowans stopped taking medication as prescribed due to cost in 2017
In the midst of a global pandemic, the fight for lower prescription drug prices continues to be top of mind for voters. Despite their concerns, Senator Joni Ernst continues to betray constituents by prioritizing Big Pharma profits instead of stopping the industry from gouging Iowans. That betrayal comes as no surprise considering Ernst has taken $115,000 from Big Pharma PACs over the course of her career.
Perhaps the most egregious example of Joni Ernst’s allegiance to Big Pharma came in 2017 when she voted for the GOP tax bill. Instead of heeding the warning calls about the tax bill hurting Iowans, Ernst secured a $76 billion handout for the industry. According to an Axios report, instead of using those savings for research and development or to lower prescription drug costs, Big Pharma used that money towards stock buybacks for investors and executives. The report shows that in 2018, the first year the GOP tax bill went into effect, Big Pharma spent $69 billion on stock buybacks for investors and executives. Just one year prior, Big Pharma spent $25.5 billion on stock buybacks. The jump from 2017 to 2018 represents a 171 percent increase in one year. Over that same time period, Big Pharma increased its research and development spending by only 12 percent.
“Joni Ernst prioritizes Big Pharma’s profits over the people she’s supposed to represent. There should be no doubt about that because she has taken $115,000 from their corporate PACs, gave the industry a $76 billion tax break, and continues to protect their ability to gouge Iowans on drug prices,” said End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. “The only obstacle in the way of lowering prescription drug prices are Senators like Joni Ernst who have been corrupted by Big Pharma.”
Big Pharma’s Stranglehold Over Congress:
From 1998-2017, the drug industry spent $3.7 billion on lobbying, which is $1 billion more than any other industry. Since 1990, Big Pharma has made over $210 million in campaign contributions alone. In 2018, the pharmaceutical industry hired nearly 1,470 lobbyists, nearly three lobbyists for every single member of the House. As their lobbying efforts grew, Big Pharma continued to raise prescription drug prices, increasing the price of 3,400 prescription drugs in the first half of 2019 at an average rate of five times that of inflation.
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