Lawmaker to Head Lobby Group for Drug Firms

WASHINGTON — Facing consumer clamor for cheaper drugs from abroad and official inquiries into the fatal side effects of some medications, the pharmaceutical industry today said it is hiring one of the capital’s savviest lawmakers as its top lobbyist.

Rep. W.J. “Billy” Tauzin, who just had jurisdiction over the industry as the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, will become president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America on Jan. 3, when his retirement from Congress takes effect.

The announcement was seen a coup for the influential trade group, but it prompted a consumer advocacy group to call for a prohibition on lawmakers negotiating employment while in office, and for reforms to extend the one-year restriction on lobbying former colleagues.

The 13-term Louisiana Republican will go from a congressional salary of $158,100 a year to more than $1 million, according to a source. As a committee chairman last year, Tauzin helped to write the law to provide outpatient prescription coverage under Medicare.

“The appearance is terrible,” said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) one of the most senior Democrats on the panel Tauzin chaired. “A chief architect of the Medicare prescription drug legislation is now going to represent the chief beneficiary of the bill. This will only reinforce the public’s disillusionment with Congress.”

PhRMA Chairman Miles White said the industry was looking for a strong advocate in Washington.

“We wanted a leader who has a background and a track record of dealing with complex and controversial issues in a constructive way,” said White, who is also chairman and chief executive officer of Abbott Laboratories.

PhRMA had approached intermediaries for Tauzin early in the year, at a time when he was also being courted by the movie industry. Rumors about the job discussions made some of his colleagues uncomfortable, and Tauzin voluntarily relinquished his chairmanship.

Then Tauzin, 61, was sidelined much of the spring, after doctors discovered a rare form of cancer in his small intestine, and he had to undergo major surgery and follow-up treatment. He is now cancer-free.

His medical odyssey only made him more interested in the drug industry job, said Tauzin.

“This is a mission I wanted to take on,” he said in an interview. “Like Lance Armstrong, I’ve got a story to tell.” (The cycling champion’s career was interrupted by cancer, but he came back to resume his domination of the Tour de France.)

Tauzin also acknowledged that he faces an uphill struggle to repair the industry’s image. “We’re ready to face the fact that as an industry we need to do a lot better job of addressing family and patient concerns, to reestablish trust and confidence,” he said.