A corporate lobbyist-directed “dark money” group closely affiliated to the Blue Dog Coalition of conservative Democrats saw its revenue nearly double in 2021 from the prior year, according to tax documents reviewed by Sludge.
The Washington D.C.-based Center Forward, formerly known as the Blue Dog Research Forum, serves as an outside support group for the Blue Dogs, providing the conservative Democrats with policy suggestions, polling, campaign ads, and more. In 2021, it had record high revenue of more than $18.8 million, according to its
tax return. The amount marked a sharp increase from the group’s 2020 total revenue of $10.6 million and its 2019 total revenue of $5 million.
As a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, Center Forward does not publicly disclose its funding sources, but tax documents show that since 2016 it has received at least $6.2 million from drug industry trade association the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). In 2021, PhRMA gave
$1.7 million to the group, which describes its mission as giving “centrist allies the information they need to craft common sense solutions.” Other corporate lobbying groups that have donated to Center Forward in recent years include the Business Roundtable, the National Restaurant Association, and the Federation of American Hospitals.
Center Forward conducts public opinion polling and publishes reports that typically encourage members of Congress to take policy positions in line with its corporate donors. For example,
polling it released this summer on battleground states found that voters are not motivated by lowering prescription drug costs regardless of their political party, directly contradicting the findings of numerous polls by other organizations on the issue. Center Forward also finances retreats several times a year for members of Congress and their staffers, where it organizes meetings and panel events for them to attend with corporate executives and lobbyists. This year, the group treated congressional employees to retreats in Mexico City and an upscale resort in Middleburg, Virginia, and in 2021 it flew staffers to San Francisco and hosted a handful of representatives in Dublin, Ireland.
In recent election cycles, Center Forward’s super PAC arm has spent millions of dollars on ads opposing Republicans and backing conservative Democrats, especially for Blue Dogs and centrists who sided with the pharmaceutical industry last year in blocking a major legislative proposal to require the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices.
Three corporate lobbyists have been on Center Forward’s board of directors since at least 2015: Cindy Brown and Libby Greer, both partners at bipartisan firm Forbes Tate, and former Democratic House member and co-founder of the Blue Dog Coalition Robert “Bud” Cramer, a lobbyist at the 535 Group. Among Brown and Greer’s dozens of corporate clients are pharmaceutical companies Amgen, Eli Lilly, Merck, Novartis, Sanofi, and more. Those drugmakers are members of PhRMA, which was the
third-highest spender in 2021 on federal lobbying. Brown and Greer both also lobby for PhRMA and last year lobbied the House and Senate for the group on Medicare Part D, drug price competition and patent restoration, drug reimportation, and generics, according to Senate
records. [..]
