In 2016, Carter sought an oversight position on prescription drugs and pharmaceutical applications while he maintained a $220,000 relationship with Big Pharma insiders. Ethics watchdogs slammed Carter’s pursuit of the committee position as an attempt to enrich himself and his family. Carter also introduced legislation to benefit his pharmacies; ethics watchdogs again called his attempts a “clear violation of the spirit” of House ethics rules.
Carter was “dogged by accusations that as a longtime pharmacist in Pooler, he and his company amassed a fortune from the sale of prescription opioids” and he was a defendant in a five-year lawsuit connected to the opioid crisis. Carter’s pharmacies were awash with prescription painkillers and distributed nearly 3 million pills from 2006 to 2014. The supplier of those pills, McKesson Corp. contributed over $108,000 to Carter’s political campaigns during the same timeframe.
Carter Pursued A Seat On The Committee Overseeing Prescription Drug Price Increases And The User Fees Aimed At Expediting The Review Of Pharmaceuticals And Medical Devices. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter has made clear that he would like nothing more than a seat on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee when Congress reconvenes in the new year. The placement is a highly prized one. The committee is one of the last remaining legislative powerhouses on Capitol Hill, with a wide jurisdiction over health care, energy, manufacturing and telecommunications. Big donors tend to come with it. And as Carter, R-Pooler, notes in his pitch to colleagues, Energy and Commerce oversees prescription drug price increases and the user fees aimed at expediting the review of pharmaceuticals and medical devices.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/16/16]
Carter Maintained Close Ties To The Pharmaceutical Industry, Traveling On Their Dime And Accepting Over $220,000 In Political Contributions From Industry PACs. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Since arriving on Capitol Hill two years ago, Carter has kept his close ties to the pharmaceutical world. He’s traveled on the dime of several industry trade groups to speak at a handful of conferences in cities such as Las Vegas and St. Augustine, Fla., according to the nonpartisan LegiStorm, which compiles federal data on privately funded lawmaker trips. His campaign committee has raised upward of $220,000 over the past two years from the political action committees of pharmaceutical companies and individuals who work in the industry, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution review of federal filings found. And that doesn’t include the dozens of other health care-related groups who have also given to Carter’s re-election campaign.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/16/16]
Georgia Ethics Watchdogs Warned That Carter’s Pursuit Of The Committee Position “Violates Most People’s Common Sense Understanding Of Conflict Of Interest And Ethics.” According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “That fact has raised questions among good government advocates about whether conflicts of interest would arise should Carter, a pharmacist before he was elected to Congress, be appointed to the panel. ‘There’s certainly what is defined as conflict of interest by law and there’s conflict of interest by common sense,’ said William Perry, the head of Georgia Ethics Watchdogs, ‘and what Buddy Carter’s doing violates most people’s common sense understanding of conflict of interest and ethics.’” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/16/16]
Carter Downplayed The Ethics Concerns And Claimed It Would Be “Irresponsible Of Me Not To Use My Expertise From Years In Health Care To Participate In The Discussion Of Health Care.” According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Carter said he’s been in constant touch with the House Ethics Committee to make sure he wasn’t breaking any rules. ‘I don’t think there’s any conflict of interest whatsoever,’ he said in an interview Friday. ‘I think it would be irresponsible of me not to use my expertise from years in health care to participate in the discussion of health care.’” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/16/16]
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Described Carter As “A Vocal Advocate Of The Pharmacy Lobby’s Top Issues” And Alleged That His Legislation Affording Pharmacists “Provider Status” Would “Benefit His Pharmacy Business.” According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter is under scrutiny for co-sponsoring legislation that could benefit his pharmacy business. A report by Fox 5 Atlanta questioned whether the Savannah Republican, a licensed pharmacist who owned pharmacies in south Georgia before he was elected in 2014, had a conflict of interest. Carter, who transferred his pharmacies to his wife, was the only pharmacist in Congress before November's election and a vocal advocate of the pharmacy lobby's top issues. He backed measures that would give seniors on Medicare more access to prescription drugs at their pharmacies and another that would give pharmacists ‘provider status’ to expand their scope of practice.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/14/16]
Ethics Watchdogs Described Carter’s Legislation As A “Clear Violation Of The Spirit” Of House Ethics Rules But Carter Claimed The Legislation Was Written By Other Lawmakers. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Carter told Dale Russell the legislation was already written by other lawmakers before his election, and that the House Ethics Committee gave him verbal approval for his role. But Brinkley Serkedekis of the Common Cause transparency advocacy told Russell the legislation financially benefits Carter as well, making it a ‘clear violation of the spirit’ of House ethics rules.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/14/16]
Carter Introduced Legislation In The Georgia Senate That Restricted Pharmacy Benefit Managers; His Critics Claimed It Would “Directly Benefit Pharmacists And Few Others.” According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Similar questions arose in 2014, when as a state senator Carter introduced a bill that placed restrictions on pharmacy benefits managers, who administer prescription plans for insurance companies and negotiate the prices people pay for certain drugs. His critics said the bill would directly benefit pharmacists and few others.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/16/16]
Carter Stood By The Failed Legislation But Admitted That It Should Have Come From Another Lawmaker. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Carter stood by his work and framed it as a consumer-friendly bill, but he later acknowledged to Fox 5 that it should have been offered by another lawmaker. The measure failed to advance.” [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/16/16]
Carter Was A Defendant In A Five-Year Lawsuit Seeking Unspecified Damages From Opioid Manufacturers And Distributors On Behalf Of The Relatives Of Kevin Bolton, Who Died Of An Opioid Overdose In 2016. According to The Current, “Mark Tate, a Savannah lawyer, filed a motion in Chatham County Superior Court on Oct. 19 to add Carter, a licensed pharmacist and businessman, as a defendant in a five-year lawsuit on behalf of the relatives of Kevin Bolton, who died of an opioid overdose in 2016. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from opioid manufacturers and distributors for the former Jenkins High School graduate’s sister and two children.” [The Current, 10/31/22]
Carter Dismissed The “Baseless” And “Meritless” Lawsuit As A “Politically-Motivated Media Stunt.” According to The Current, “Carter, who has represented Coastal Georgia in the U.S. Congress since 2016, criticized as ‘baseless’ and ‘meritless’ any attempt to tie him to alleged opioid abuse. In a statement to WTOC, he denounced Tate’s actions as a ‘politically-motivated media stunt.’” [The Current, 10/31/22]
The Current Claimed That Carter Was “Dogged By Accusations That As A Longtime Pharmacist In Pooler, He And His Company Amassed A Fortune From The Sale Of Prescription Opioids.” According to The Current, “For years Rep. Earl L. ‘Buddy’ Carter has been dogged by accusations that as a longtime pharmacist in Pooler, he and his company amassed a fortune from the sale of prescription opioids. Less than two weeks before Election Day, the issue threatens to disrupt his hard-fought re-election campaign.” [The Current, 10/31/22]
Carter’s Pharmacies Received The Fourth-Highest Number Of Opioids In Chatham County From 2006 To 2014. According to The Current, “The legal drama, while opaque, focuses attention on Carter’s previous business dealings as a Pooler pharmacist whose company received the fourth-highest number of opioids in Chatham County from 2006 to 2014, according to federal government records.” [The Current, 10/31/22]
The McKesson Corp, Carter Pharmacy Inc.’s Main Supplier Of Prescription Pain Pills From 2006 To 2012 Contributed Over $108,000 To Carter’s Campaign And Leadership PAC. According to The Current, “Yet the congressman has also received political contributions from pharmaceutical companies, including the McKesson Corp., which from 2006 to 2012, was the largest distributor of prescription opioids in the country. It also was the main supplier of prescription pain pills to Carter Pharmacy, Inc. from 2006 to 2014, according to the DEA data. From the 2014 election cycle to the 2022 cycle, the McKesson Corp. and its affiliates gave political contributions to Carter totaling $53,000, according to data collected by OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan research organization in Washington that tracks money in politics. Over the same period, the company contributed $17,500 to Carter’s leadership PAC, called Buddy PAC, and the McKesson Corp.’ Employees’ Political Fund gave him $37,500. Leadership PACs are vehicles for politicians to give money to other politicians and to lay the groundwork for their own campaigns for higher office. In all, the McKesson Corp. and its affiliates and its employees’ political action committee have contributed $108,000 to Carter and his leadership PAC.” [The Current, 10/31/22]
McKesson Contributed $42,500 To Carter After They Pledged To Withhold Contributions From Those Elected Officials Who Objected To The Certification Of The 2020 Election, Like Carter.
According to The Current, “Following the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol, McKesson said it was suspending all contributions to members of Congress, ‘including those who, even after a violent and unlawful attack, voted to object to the certification of the presidential election.’ Despite Carter’s votes to decertify the election results in Pennsylvania and with 120 other House members to decertify the results in Arizona and his statement declaring his plans to object to the certification of Georgia’s electoral votes, McKesson remained generous. Carter and his leadership PAC received contributions totaling $42,500 from McKesson and its affiliates, as well as its employees’ political action committee, for the 2020 and 2022 election cycles.” [The Current, 10/31/22]