THE UNMASKING OF DRUG COMPANY FRONT GROUPS
by Bernie Horn, CPA Policy Director
In early March, one of CPA’s state partner organizations in Maryland received a fax from a group
calling itself "The Consumer Alliance." They forwarded a copy to CPA.
Having never heard of such a group, we called the 800 phone number listed on the fax cover sheet. A
receptionist answered "Grassroots Mobilization
Hotline" and subsequently revealed that the "Hotline" was
located in Washington, D.C.
Next, we did a series of Internet searches. When
we ran The Consumer Alliance’s fax number
(800-999-1812) through a Google search, we found that the same
fax number is listed for the "Litigation Fairness
Campaign, 1101 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Suite 800,
Washington, D.C. 20036." We called the Litigation Fairness
Campaign – a different phone number than the one
listed for The Consumer Alliance – and the same
receptionist again answered "Grassroots Mobilization Hotline."
Shortly afterward, we visited 1101 Seventeenth
Street and found that Suite 800 is actually the office of
Bonner & Associates, a PR firm that specializes in
fabricated grassroots lobbying. Further Internet searches
found articles attacking Bonner’s past political tactics, and
a web page showing that PhRMA is a client of Bonner.
These findings were turned over to a
Baltimore Sun reporter, who interviewed both Jack Bonner and
the sole employee of The Consumer Alliance, Don
Rounds. Both admitted their efforts were funded by PhRMA.
Their attitude was summed up by the Sun as, "welcome
to the big leagues."
With help from CPA, the Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative filed an ethics complaint against
PhRMA, Bonner & Associates, and The Consumer Alliance.
The complaint points out, in part, that Bonner and
Rounds did not file the required lobbying disclosure forms
until after they were interviewed by the Sun.
Subsequently, ABC News reporter Jackie Judd asked
if we at CPA could find a valid address and phone
number for The Consumer Alliance. The organization had
listed an address in Lansing, Michigan as its office, but no
one seemed to be there. Again we did an Internet search
and found that the Michigan Head Start Association had
an office at the same address, on the same floor.
When we called, a Head Start Association staff
member said that The Consumer Alliance used to rent
space in their suite, but Don Rounds had not been there
for years. There was a forwarding address, the staffer
volunteered. It was Bonner & Associates, 1101
Seventeenth Street in Washington, DC. That information and
more was provided to Jackie Judd, who reported the
PhRMA/Bonner/Consumer Alliance story on the March 22
edition of World News Tonight.
A few days later CPA provided one more tip to
the Associated Press. A new Consumer Alliance site
had suddenly appeared on the Internet. Our webmaster
researched the site’s registration forms and found that it was
only weeks old, and it was created by the same firm that
runs PhRMA’s own website. The link was unmistakable.
To date, CPA has helped expose the PhRMA
lobbying story on ABC World News Tonight and in the
Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, Wall Street Journal, Boston
Globe, San Francisco Examiner, and Florida Times-Union.
See the related article "Drug Companies Employ "Astroturf Lobbying" in the States" in this newsletter.
