Hargett Should Disclose Details of Pfizer Talks
Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Bob Tuke released the following statement following reports that House Republican Leader Tre Hargett has backed out of his recently announced lobbying job with drugmaker Pfizer: “Representative Hargett did the honorable thing by backing down from his position with Pfizer. But there still are a number of questions concerning his relationship and communication with Pfizer that need to be answered.
“For example, we know Representative Hargett went to bat for Pfizer on the most pivotal pharmaceutical bill of this past legislative session, the Tennessee Affordable Drug Act of 2005 [HB1410]. More specifically, he led the charge in committee on May 10 to strip out language that Pfizer didn’t want and had actively lobbied against. And we know this action occurred after Representative Hargett applied for the Pfizer job. In retrospect, it looks dangerously close to a quid-pro-quo.
“To help restore the public confidence, I’m encouraging Representative Hargett to provide a full account and detailed timeline of his conversations with Pfizer — both concerning HB1410 and the lobbying job — and to provide full disclosure regarding any continuing relationship with the company.
“The appropriate venue for these disclosures is the General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Committee on Ethics’ meeting on September 14. As thevice chairman of the Ethics Committee, Representative Hargett needs to be fully upfront about his brush with the pharmaceutical industry. And if he’s going to stay in the General Assembly, the public deserves to know the full details of his conversations with Pfizer.”
