Pharma lobbyists give Bryan Steil donations, in turn he votes in their favor

Congressman Bryan Steil took donations from Big Pharma lobbyists right before voting in favor of the pharmaceutical companies.

On July 1, 2025, Steil received a $500 contribution from pharma lobbyist Dan Todd and two days later, voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill, which contained a provision that gave a $8.8 billion handout to Big Pharma, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Todd leads the Todd Strategy Group’s “work on Medicare policy” and “broader federal health care strategy,” according to the firm’s website. At the time of his donation, Todd was a lobbyist for dozens of major pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, Bayer, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Gilead, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, among others.

In the period around Steil’s vote, Todd specifically lobbied the House on “issues related to rare disease and orphan drugs,” “drug pricing,” and the “implementation of Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.”

The OBBB weakened Medicare’s ability to negotiate the price of certain drugs that receive an “orphan drug designation,” including leading cancer treatments like Darzalex, Keytruda, and Opdivo. Democratic Health Committee members said of the OBBB, “This is a trojan horse policy that will undermine efforts to lower prescription drug prices for years to come.”

This is not the first known time that Steil accepted pharma funds and then voted in their favor.

On March 31, 2022, Steil received $1,500 in campaign cash from Robert Wood, a lobbyist for PhRMA, the pharmaceutical industry’s trade and lobbying group.

That same day, Steil voted against the Affordable Insulin Now Act, which would have capped insulin prices at either $35 per month or 25% of an insurance plan’s negotiated price, whichever is lower.

At the time of Wood’s donation, he was lobbying on behalf of PhRMA "regarding ongoing public policy concerns impacting the innovative biopharmaceutical industry in Congress and throughout the Administration.”

PhRMA opposed $35 insulin caps in the Inflation Reduction Act, saying it “will lead to fewer new treatments and doesn’t do nearly enough to address the real affordability problems facing patients at the pharmacy.”

Wood’s other clients included Lyndra Therapeutics, a company developing an oral insulin pill and for-profit healthcare company Centene Corporation.

Steil has taken nearly $220,000 in campaign cash from the pharmaceutical industry while running for and serving as a member of Congress.

And he has repeatedly voted against bills to lower prescription drug costs for Wisconsinites:

• 2022: Steil voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, which capped insulin prices at $35 per month for seniors on Medicare and allowed Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices.
• 2021: Steil voted against the Build Back Better Act, which would allow the federal government to negotiate prices for certain drugs covered under Medicare.
• 2019: Steil voted against the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which would have allowed the federal government to negotiate drug prices directly for Medicare recipients and others purchasing the same drug.
• 2019: Steil voted against the Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act, bipartisan legislation that restricted anti-competitive behaviors from pharmaceutical companies.

Steil’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. He is seeking reelection against Democrat Mitchell Berman, a registered nurse and political newcomer. The district includes part of Milwaukee County.

The Cook Political Report shifted the race to “lean Republican” from “likely Republican” on Sept. 25. Despite Steil having a $6.3 million war chest, the race looks increasingly competitive.