Lobbying is an inherent aspect of the messy Democratic party. And that’s fine. No reason, though, not to keep tabs on who’s giving and who’s getting. And that’s what USA Today does in a piece that, with the help of the Center for Responsive Politics and PoliticalMoneyLine, looks at contributions received by senators who voted this week to defeat reimportation.

Here’s the skinny: the senators who raised millions of dollars in campaign donations from pharmaceutical interests secured industry-friendly changes to a landmark drug-safety bill, which passed 93-1.

The effort reflected concerns that the FDA would begin paring staff this summer if the debate went on too long without a bill that could be reconciledd with drug-safety legislation already passed by the House, The New York Times reports.

However, the powers granted to the FDA in the bill’s original version were pared back during private meetings. And efforts to curb conflicts of interest among FDA advisers and allow consumers to buy cheaper drugs from other countries were defeated in close votes.

A measure that blocked an effort to allow drug importation passed, 49-40. The 49 senators who voted against drug importation received about $5 million from industry executives and political action committees since 2001 — nearly three quarters of the industry donations to current members of the Senate.

Here are the top recipients of contributions from pharmaceutical executives and political action committees from 2001 through March, and how they voted. A ‘yes’ supported drugmakers. Topping the list was North Carolina’s Richard Burr (that’s him to the right).

Richard Burr, R-N.C. $520,694 Yes

John Kerry, D-Mass. $304,888 Yes

Joe Lieberman, I-Conn. $281,040 Yes

Arlen Specter, R-Pa. $259,699 Yes

Orrin Hatch, R-Utah $241,850 Yes

Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa $216,599 No

Max Baucus, D-Mont. $199,000 Yes

Chris Dodd, D-Conn. $192,025 Did not vote

Tom Carper, D-Del. $183,794 Yes

Mike Enzi, R-Wyo. $174,338 Yes

Further reading…
The USA Today story;
Center for Responsive Politics;
PoliticalMoneyLine.
The New York Times (registration required).

[tags]Contributions, Lobbying, Political Influence, Reimportation[/tags]