Billy Tauzin
Encyclopedia
Wilbert Joseph Tauzin II (born June 14, 1943), usually known as Billy Tauzin, American
lobbyist and politician of Cajun
descent, was President and CEO of PhRMA
, a pharmaceutical company lobby group. He was also a member of the United States House of Representatives
from 1980 to 2005, representing Louisiana's 3rd congressional district
.
A lifelong resident of Chackbay
, a small town just outside Thibodaux
, Tauzin graduated from Nicholls State University
in 1964 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and earned a law degree from Louisiana State University
in 1967. While attending law school, he served as a legislative aide in the Louisiana state Senate.
He is married to Cecile Tauzin and has five children by a previous marriage.
and served four full terms as a Democrat. In 1979, 3rd District Congressman Dave Treen, Louisiana's first Republican congressman since Reconstruction, was elected the state's first Republican governor since that time. He resigned his House seat on March 10, 1980. Tauzin won a special election for the seat on May 17 and was sworn into office on May 22, just five months after winning a fifth term in the state house. He won by seven points. Tauzin defeated another Democrat, who also later turned Republican: Jim Donelon
. Tauzin then won a full term in November 1980, with 85 percent of the vote.
For 15 years, Tauzin was one of the more conservative
Democrats in the United States House of Representatives
. Even though he eventually rose to become an assistant majority whip
, he felt shut out by some of his more liberal
colleagues and sometimes had to ask the Republicans for floor time. When the Democrats lost control of the House after the 1994 elections, Tauzin was one of the cofounders of the House Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate
-to-conservative Democrats.
However, on August 8, 1995 Tauzin himself became a Republican, claiming that conservatives were no longer welcome in the Democratic Party. He soon became a Deputy majority whip
, becoming the first Congressman to have been part of the leadership of both parties in the House. Regardless of party, Tauzin remained popular at home. After 1980, he was reelected 12 more times without major-party opposition; the first nine of those completely unopposed.
Tauzin served as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee from 2001 until February 4, 2004 when he announced he wouldn't run for a 13th full term. Tauzin, who has five children by his first marriage, heavily backed his son, Billy Tauzin III
, as his replacement, even going so far as to appear in ads that were criticized as blurring the lines on which man was actually running for Congress. In spite of his father's support, the younger Tauzin was defeated by 569 votes by Democrat Charlie Melancon
.
During his tenure, he left his mark on issues ranging from natural gas, airline, trucking and electricity deregulation to the Clean Air Act
, Superfund
and the Telecommunications Act of 1996
. In addition, he was an original author of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
and the Cable Act – bills which went on to become law despite a Presidential veto.
, or PhRMA, a powerful trade group for pharmaceutical companies
. Five years later he announced his retirement from the association (as of the end of June, 2010).
It was reported that PhRMA had offered more than $2.5 million per year for his services, outbidding the Motion Picture Association of America
, which had offered Tauzin $1 million to lobby for it.
Two months before resigning as chair of the committee which oversees the drug industry, Tauzin had played a key role in shepherding through Congress the Medicare Prescription Drug Bill
, a bill which had been criticized by opponents for being too generous to the pharmaceutical industry. The switch from regulator to lobbyist was widely noted.
This link was explored at great length in an April 1, 2007 interview by Steve Kroft
of 60 Minutes
. The report, Under the Influence, pitted Rep. Walter B. Jones
(R-N.C.) and Rep. Dan Burton
(R-Ind.) against Tauzin and accused him of using unethical tactics to push a bill that "the pharmaceutical lobbyists wrote". Along with Tauzin, many of the other individuals who worked on the bill are now lobbyists for the pharmaceutical industry. Michael Moore
's 2007 film Sicko
levied similar criticism.
As head of PhRMA, Tauzin was a key player in 2009 health care reform
negotiations that produced pharmaceutical industry support for White House and Senate efforts. Reportedly, proposals for Medicare Part D
cost reductions and permitting drug importation from Canada were dropped in favor of $80 billion in other savings.
Tauzin now is on the Board of Directors at Louisiana Healthcare Group.
In 2003, he was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
in Winnfield
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lobbyist and politician of Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
descent, was President and CEO of PhRMA
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America , founded in 1958, is a trade group representing the pharmaceutical research and biopharmaceutical companies in the United States. PhRMA's stated mission is advocacy for public policies that encourage the discovery of new medicines for patients...
, a pharmaceutical company lobby group. He was also a member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from 1980 to 2005, representing Louisiana's 3rd congressional district
Louisiana's 3rd congressional district
Louisiana's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district surrounds the southern tier of the Greater New Orleans Area. The district contains large portions of southeastern and south central Louisiana, including River Parishes and East Acadiana...
.
A lifelong resident of Chackbay
Chackbay, Louisiana
Chackbay is a census-designated place CDP) in northern Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,018 at the 2000 census...
, a small town just outside Thibodaux
Thibodaux, Louisiana
Thibodaux is a small city in and the parish seat of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 14,431 at the 2000 census. Thibodaux is a principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux...
, Tauzin graduated from Nicholls State University
Nicholls State University
Nicholls State University, founded in 1948, is a public university located in Thibodaux, Louisiana, USA. Nicholls is part of the University of Louisiana System of universities. Originally called Francis T. Nicholls Junior College, the institution split from the Louisiana State University System in...
in 1964 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and earned a law degree from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in 1967. While attending law school, he served as a legislative aide in the Louisiana state Senate.
He is married to Cecile Tauzin and has five children by a previous marriage.
Political career
Tauzin began his elective career in 1972, when he was elected to the Louisiana House of RepresentativesLouisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
and served four full terms as a Democrat. In 1979, 3rd District Congressman Dave Treen, Louisiana's first Republican congressman since Reconstruction, was elected the state's first Republican governor since that time. He resigned his House seat on March 10, 1980. Tauzin won a special election for the seat on May 17 and was sworn into office on May 22, just five months after winning a fifth term in the state house. He won by seven points. Tauzin defeated another Democrat, who also later turned Republican: Jim Donelon
Jim Donelon
James J. "Jim" Donelon has been the Republican insurance commissioner of Louisiana since February 15, 2006.Donelon won a full-term as commissioner in the October 20, 2007 nonpartisan blanket primary. He finished with 606,534 votes and defeated three opponents, the closest of whom, Democrat Jim...
. Tauzin then won a full term in November 1980, with 85 percent of the vote.
For 15 years, Tauzin was one of the more conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
Democrats in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. Even though he eventually rose to become an assistant majority whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
, he felt shut out by some of his more liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
colleagues and sometimes had to ask the Republicans for floor time. When the Democrats lost control of the House after the 1994 elections, Tauzin was one of the cofounders of the House Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate
Moderate
In politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who is not extreme, partisan or radical. In recent years, political moderates has gained traction as a buzzword....
-to-conservative Democrats.
However, on August 8, 1995 Tauzin himself became a Republican, claiming that conservatives were no longer welcome in the Democratic Party. He soon became a Deputy majority whip
Party whips of the United States House of Representatives
A whip in the United States House of Representatives manages his party's legislative program on the House floor. The Whip keeps track of all legislation and ensures that all party members are present when important measures are to be voted upon....
, becoming the first Congressman to have been part of the leadership of both parties in the House. Regardless of party, Tauzin remained popular at home. After 1980, he was reelected 12 more times without major-party opposition; the first nine of those completely unopposed.
Tauzin served as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee from 2001 until February 4, 2004 when he announced he wouldn't run for a 13th full term. Tauzin, who has five children by his first marriage, heavily backed his son, Billy Tauzin III
Billy Tauzin III
Wilbert Joseph "Billy" Tauzin III was born December 1, 1973 in Thibodaux, Louisiana, the son of Congressman Billy Tauzin and Gayle Clement Tauzin, currently married to Ikram S. Tauzin...
, as his replacement, even going so far as to appear in ads that were criticized as blurring the lines on which man was actually running for Congress. In spite of his father's support, the younger Tauzin was defeated by 569 votes by Democrat Charlie Melancon
Charlie Melancon
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Melancon was the U.S. Representative for , serving from 2005 to 2011, and the unsuccessful 2010 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican David Vitter.-Early life, education and career:...
.
During his tenure, he left his mark on issues ranging from natural gas, airline, trucking and electricity deregulation to the Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act
A Clean Air Act is one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of airborne contaminants, smog and air pollution in general. The use by governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an improvement in human health and longer life spans...
, Superfund
Superfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...
and the Telecommunications Act of 1996
Telecommunications Act of 1996
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of United States telecommunications law in nearly 62 years, amending the Communications Act of 1934. This Act, signed by President Bill Clinton, was a major stepping stone towards the future of telecommunications, since this was the...
. In addition, he was an original author of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
The United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-67, 109 Stat. 737 implemented several substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation, and...
and the Cable Act – bills which went on to become law despite a Presidential veto.
Controversies
Tauzin endorsed Jerome Schneider's book "The Complete Guide to Offshore Money Havens," dubbing the book "A serious contender for the best book on offshore banking I've ever seen." Tauzin also spoke at one of Schneider's tax evasion conferences. In 2004 Schneider pled guilty in a scheme where he assisted hundreds of people to avoid taxes through sham offshore banks. A spokesperson for Tauzin called the endorsement "a stupid mistake."Career as a lobbyist
While recovering from a difficult fight with cancer, Tauzin resigned from Congress and began work as the head of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of AmericaPharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America , founded in 1958, is a trade group representing the pharmaceutical research and biopharmaceutical companies in the United States. PhRMA's stated mission is advocacy for public policies that encourage the discovery of new medicines for patients...
, or PhRMA, a powerful trade group for pharmaceutical companies
Pharmaceutical company
The pharmaceutical industry develops, produces, and markets drugs licensed for use as medications. Pharmaceutical companies are allowed to deal in generic and/or brand medications and medical devices...
. Five years later he announced his retirement from the association (as of the end of June, 2010).
It was reported that PhRMA had offered more than $2.5 million per year for his services, outbidding the Motion Picture Association of America
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
, which had offered Tauzin $1 million to lobby for it.
Two months before resigning as chair of the committee which oversees the drug industry, Tauzin had played a key role in shepherding through Congress the Medicare Prescription Drug Bill
Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act
The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act is a federal law of the United States, enacted in 2003. It produced the largest overhaul of Medicare in the public health program's 38-year history.The MMA was signed by President George W...
, a bill which had been criticized by opponents for being too generous to the pharmaceutical industry. The switch from regulator to lobbyist was widely noted.
This link was explored at great length in an April 1, 2007 interview by Steve Kroft
Steve Kroft
Steve Kroft is an American journalist and a longtime correspondent for 60 Minutes. His investigative reporting has garnered him much acclaim, including three Peabody Awards and nine Emmy awards, one of which was an Emmy for Lifetime Achievement.-Early life:Born on August 22, 1945 in Kokomo,...
of 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
. The report, Under the Influence, pitted Rep. Walter B. Jones
Walter B. Jones
Walter Beaman Jones, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1995. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district encompasses the Outer Banks and areas near the Pamlico Sound. Jones' father was Walter B. Jones, Sr., a Democratic Party congressman from the neighboring 1st district...
(R-N.C.) and Rep. Dan Burton
Dan Burton
Danny "Dan" Lee Burton is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the , serving since 1983. He is a member of the Republican Party....
(R-Ind.) against Tauzin and accused him of using unethical tactics to push a bill that "the pharmaceutical lobbyists wrote". Along with Tauzin, many of the other individuals who worked on the bill are now lobbyists for the pharmaceutical industry. Michael Moore
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
's 2007 film Sicko
Sicko
Sicko is a 2007 documentary film by American filmmaker Michael Moore. The film investigates health care in the United States, focusing on its health insurance and the pharmaceutical industry. The movie compares the for-profit, non-universal U.S...
levied similar criticism.
As head of PhRMA, Tauzin was a key player in 2009 health care reform
Health care reform in the United States
Health care reform in the United States has a long history, of which the most recent results were two federal statutes enacted in 2010: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , signed March 23, 2010, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 , which amended the PPACA and...
negotiations that produced pharmaceutical industry support for White House and Senate efforts. Reportedly, proposals for Medicare Part D
Medicare Part D
Medicare Part D is a federal program to subsidize the costs of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries in the United States. It was enacted as part of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 and went into effect on January 1, 2006.- Eligibility and...
cost reductions and permitting drug importation from Canada were dropped in favor of $80 billion in other savings.
Tauzin now is on the Board of Directors at Louisiana Healthcare Group.
In 2003, he was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield, Louisiana, highlights the careers of more than a hundred of the state’s leading politicians and political journalists. Because three governors, Huey P. Long, Jr., Oscar K...
in Winnfield
Winnfield, Louisiana
Winnfield is a city in and the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census. It has long been associated with the Long faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party and was home to three governors of Louisiana.-Geography:Winnfield is located at ...
External links
- Boston Globe "High cost for me-too drug" By Marcia Angell February 12, 2007, boston.com
- CBS NEWS "Under The Influence 60 Minutes' Steve Kroft Reports On Drug Lobbyists' Role in Passing Bill That Keeps Drug Prices High" New York, April 1, 2007, cbsnews.com
- Entry in the Congressional Biographical Dictionary, bioguide.congress.gov