PhRMA Follies


IS IT ILLEGAL? No. Is it unethical? By the standards of Congress, probably not. Nevertheless, rumors -- and his office insists that they are still only rumors -- that the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has offered Rep. W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-La.) an unusually large sum to become its president are making many queasy this week. Mr. Tauzin, a 12-term veteran of Congress and chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is certainly entitled, at age 60, to resign and do something a bit less stressful. But while no law prevents him from accepting an employment offer from the pharmaceutical lobby, the fact remains that he has spent the better part of the past year presiding over the passage of a Medicare pharmaceutical drugs bill, presumably on behalf of the American people. For Mr. Tauzin to leave so soon afterward to work for the pharmaceutical association, whose companies reaped substantial benefits from that bill, provides a particularly pungent example of how quickly the "revolving door" between Congress and K Street is now revolving and how lucrative this game has become for its participants. 

No one is suggesting that Mr. Tauzin was offered this job during the Medicare debate. Drug companies in any case were already among his biggest campaign supporters (and indeed among the largest donors to all congressional campaigns). But when revisions to the law are proposed -- and they will be -- it will certainly be useful for the pharmaceutical lobby to have one of the bill's godfathers as its paid advocate, particularly if, as another unconfirmed rumor has it, Mr. Tauzin takes the offer immediately, rather than serving the remainder of his term. In that case, he will soon be in a tricky position, because federal law would prohibit him from lobbying Congress (but not the White House) about anything for the next year. Again, his staff insists that he fully intends to play by the rules -- resign his committee chairmanship, recuse himself from relevant issues, possibly resign from the House altogether, if necessary. But even if he never breaks the rules, Mr. Tauzin's decision to take the job would be another disappointing illustration of the many ways members of Congress keep finding to lower their standing in the eyes of the public.

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