Many readers have expressed interest in knowing how much money Pfizer PAC has contributed to Iowa lawmakers. The reality is, the Pfizer PAC has made small donations to a number of legislators. However, the money is likely pooled together into the majority funds in an effort to help the party rather than specific candidates.
And the sum of the money really doesn’t add up to much in terms of what is spent by the party’s majority funds. To be fair, it is not known how much has been given in terms of all pharmaceutical companies. If someone wants to figure that out, they could, but the main question we’ve been asked relates to Pfizer specifically.
In total, Pfizer contributed nearly $40,000 to Iowa legislators as well as U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, Gov. Kim Reynolds, and PACs for Senators Charles Grassley and Ernst. Sen. Ernst received $10,000 from Pfizer and her Jobs, Opportunity and New Ideas PAC received another $500.
Here is a detailed breakdown of the donations:
Senator Joni Ernst – $10,000
Gov. Kim Reynolds – $1,000
(Iowa Senate)
Sen. Dan Dawson – $250
Sen. Jim Lykam – $250
Sen. Todd Taylor – $250
Sen. Amy Sinclair – $250
Sen. Ken Rozenboom – $250 (signed letter in defense of Iowans’ medical freedom)
Sen. Pam Jochum – $500
Sen. Kevin Kinney – $500
Sen. Liz Mathis – $500
Sen. Amanda Ragan – $500
Sen. Jason Schultz – $500 (signed letter in defense of Iowans’ medical freedom and cosponsored Senate File 193)
Sen. Annette Sweeney – $750
Sen. Tony Bisignano – $1,000
Sen. Jack Whitver – $1,750
(Iowa House)
Rep. Jane Bloomingdale – $250
Rep. Marti Anderson – $250
Rep. Bruce Hunter – $250
Rep. Kenan Judge – $250
Rep. Brian Meyer – $250
Rep. Jo Oldson – $250
Rep. Rick Olson – $250
Rep. Holly Brink – $250
Rep. Ann Meyer – $250
Rep. Brian Best – $500
Rep. Bobby Kaufmann – $500
Rep. Joel Fry – $500
Rep. Joe Mitchell – $500
Rep. Jon Thorup – $500
Rep. Jarad Klein – $500
Rep. Wes Breckenridge – $500
Rep. Mary Mascher – $500
Rep. Kristin Sunde – $500
Rep. Shannon Lundgren – $1,000 (signed letter in defense of Iowans’ medical freedom)
Rep. Pat Grassley – $1,250
Rep. Megan Jones – $1,250
Rep. Brian Lohse – $1,250
Rep. Matt Windschitl – $1,500
Rep. Todd Prichard – $4,000
Former representatives received a total of $2,500 from Pfizer.
If you are curious, Sen. Grassley has received $165,250 from the pharmaceuticals/health products industry during the 2022 cycle according to Open Secrets. This is the combined number for his campaign committee and his leadership PAC.
Pfizer also has five lobbyists registered at the Iowa Capitol. Those lobbyists registered against three bills last legislative session:
Senate File 125: A bill filed by Sen. Jim Carlin that would require medical examiner investigation forms for infants 0-3 years old to include a request for information regarding the date and type of the decedent’s last immunization.
Senate File 193: A bill filed by Senators Dennis Guth, Craig Johnson, Jason Schultz, Zach Whiting and Jim Carlin that would have prohibited vaccine mandates by employers, among other things.
Senate File 555: Successor to Senate File 193.
One of the registered lobbyists for Pfizer in 2021 was a policy advisor/legislative analyst with Iowa House Republicans from 2017-2020 and a policy/legal intern with the Iowa Governor’s office from 2016-17.
