Eli Lilly bumps up 3Q federal lobbying 5 percent

WASHINGTON (Lobbying Activist) — Drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. punched up its spending on federal lobbying in the third quarter as it focused on market access and pricing reform in Europe, trade issues and the healthcare overhaul, among other matters.

The Indianapolis drugmaker spent $2.1 million in the three months that ended Sept. 30, a 5 percent increase from the same quarter last year and a jump of more than 30 percent from the $1.6 million it spent in this year's second quarter.

Lilly lobbied on trade issues involving China, Russia and Vietnam. It also lobbied on pricing reform in Germany and Greece and market access in Poland and Italy, according to a report filed with the clerk of the House of Representatives. It lobbied on hospital discounts, patient safety issues, counterfeit medicines, financial derivatives and the healthcare overhaul, which promises more customers for drugmakers by covering millions of uninsured people. Congress passed the overhaul in March, and it will be rolled out over the next several years.

Besides Congress, Lilly also lobbied the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Trade Representative, the Patent and Trademark Office and the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, State, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, according to the disclosure report filed Oct. 18 with the House clerk's office.

(source:bloomberg.com)

Gibbs asked if Emanuel lobbied House member nude in the House gym

At the Tuesday White House briefing, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked about Rahm Emanuel.......

Q Robert, as long as we're asking about lobbying members of the Congress, I have to ask you whether you've had a chance to talk to Rahm Emmanuel about whether or not he lobbied Congressman Massa in the nude in the House gym and whether that's a standard practice or not?

MR. GIBBS: I have -- you're happy to email him. I have not asked him.

Q But can you speak to the larger issue that Congressman Massa -- I understand that he resigned. Obviously a lot of Democrats don't want to talk to him. He has shifted his story about what exactly is the reason why he's left. But he's leveling these charges, broadly speaking, that Democrats, the White House, Democratic leaders wanted to push him out because he's a "no" on health care. Can you deal with that?

MR. GIBBS: Well, I mean, I addressed this largely this morning, Ed. Keeping in mind that on Wednesday he announced he would not seek reelection because of a health problem that he said was a recurrence of cancer; on Thursday he said he wasn't running because -- not because of cancer but because of his use of salty language; on Friday he seemed to take some responsibility for his actions at a different event, and we learned that the ethics committee was looking into his actions relating to sexual harassment -- so I don't know why I would give any weight to what he said on the fourth day any more than I would on the previous three days, Ed. The notion that somehow the White House had anything to do with the series of events that have caused him to not seek reelection and ultimately leave the House -- the notion that somehow we were involved in that I think is, as I said this morning, is silly and ridiculous.


Source:blogs.suntimes.com/