N.J. Congressman took $10k from PAC of EpiPen company accused of gouging families

Pallone (right

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

Brent Sonnek-Schmelz
Brent Sonnek-Schmelz

The big government regulatory climate favored by Rep. Frank Pallone (D, NJ-06) created the much-discussed EpiPen price crisis, Save Jerseyans, by making it near-impossible for affordable generic alternatives to emerge.

To make matters worse?

It turns out the company that’s doing the gouging — led by a Democrat U.S. Senator’s daughter — is a big supporter its enablers… including Frank Pallone!

Forgive us if we’re not surprised. The man is a career hypocrite whose family subsists on taxpayers dollars.

The latest: Mylan Pharmaceuticals, which raised EpiPen injector costs by 400% at the same time that its CEO gave herself a 671% salary increase, has also donated $10,000 to Frank Pallone through its political action committee (PAC) going back to 2005 according to according to publicly-available Federal Election Commission (FEC) records.

The company has given him $2,500 thus far for the ongoing 2016 cycle:

pallone
Photo credit: Sonnek-Schmelz for Congress

 

The PAC has cumulatively donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to members of both parties in recent cycles.

Brent Sonnek-Schmelz, the local GOP entrepreneur and Atlantic Highlands School Board who’s challenging Pallone this fall, said it’s a “deeply personal” issue since his niece suffers from severe allergies.

“Frank Pallone should immediately return every penny of the $10,000 he has received from Mylan, apologize to the families being gouged by this company, and then publicly explain to his constituents – especially those whose lives literally depend on the affordability of the EpiPen – why he continued to solicit and accept campaign contributions from Mylan’s PAC despite their unsavory business practices,” explained Sonnek-Schmelz, in a release.

“Either Mr. Pallone is completely clueless about who he solicits and accepts campaign contributions from, or he doesn’t have a problem with cashing checks from a morally bankrupt company that gouges local families in serious medical needs and prioritizes profits over people,” added Sonnek-Schmelz. “Either way, it’s offensive, and emblematic of everything that is wrong with Washington.”

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Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8403 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.