Mike Rogers Unable to Run Away From Record as “Champion” of Opioid Industry
MICHIGAN – Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services declared a renewal of the opioid public health emergency, first declared back in 2017. Countless lives have been lost to the devastating crisis over the years, including 27,000 Michiganders — “the equivalent of the city of Hamtramck becoming a cemetery.”
Try as he might to cover the ugly truth, the opioid crisis is Mike Rogers’ legacy. Dropsite recently exposed how throughout his time in Congress, Rogers “helped fuel the opioid crisis” and “spent 10 years in Congress as Pharma’s point man working to push prescription opioids” to the American public. For his loyalty to Big Pharma, Rogers received more than $1 million in contributions.
“Michiganders see through Mike Rogers’ B.S. and understand that if he’s elected to the Senate, Rogers will eagerly continue his life’s work as Big Pharma’s greatest champion,” said campaign spokesperson Cole Wozniak. “Mike Rogers enabled the opioid industry to irresponsibly wreak havoc, costing people their lives to boost their bottom line profits. Michiganders deserve far better, which is why Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is running to fight back against Big Pharma and deliver Medicare for All.”
Rogers spent his Congressional career fighting on behalf of the opioid industry:
- One of Rogers’ first signature pieces of legislation was the National Pain Care Policy Act in 2003, which sought to loosen restrictions on opioid access.
- Rogers dismissed alarms from public health experts warning of the dangers of opioid addiction, arguing that opioid use could be “safe and effective and unlikely to cause addiction.”
- While the original bill failed, much of the bill was later signed into law nonetheless, due Rogers’ relentless advocacy.
For this career-long partnership with Big Pharma, Rogers was rewarded with more than $1 million in campaign contributions from the industry.
- Rogers voted 14 times to weaken Medicaid while he was in Congress.
- Rogers repeatedly voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act and vowed to “redouble” efforts to gut the legislation.
- Over the course of his Congressional career, Rogers was backed by more than $1 million in contributions from Big Pharma.
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