RFK, Jr. Confronts Senator Sanders about his Big Pharma Contributions

Sanders received most money in Congress from pharmaceutical industry.

I found it satisfying to watch the following fiery exchange between HHS nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Senator Bernie Sanders, minority ranking member of the HELP Committee.

According to the Open Secrets website, the top 20 recipients in the 2019-2020 campaign season were:

Note that this is business as usual for Big Pharma. According to a 2016 study published in the Blood medical journal:

From 1998 to 2013, pharmaceutical lobbying interests were 42% larger than the second highest-paying industry (health insurance). The $2.7 billion effort ... almost equaled the combined contributions of Big Oil ($1.3 billion) and the defense industry ($1.5 billion). An even greater financial commitment is made to advertising. The United States and New Zealand are the only 2 countries that allow prescription medications to be advertised on television. In 2012, nearly $3.5 billion was invested in the United States in pharmaceutical marketing. For every dollar spent on research, an average of >$2 (sometimes up to $19) is spent on marketing. Nine out of 10 large pharmaceutical companies spend more on marketing than on research and development.