WASHINGTON, March 3 (UPI) -- A charity founded by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch received more than $170,000 in gifts from pharmaceutical companies in 2007, an IRS document reveals.
The tax document showed a total of $172,500 contributed by five pharmaceutical companies and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America to the Utah Families Foundation at a time when the drug industry was lobbying to preserve research incentives, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Tuesday. The document was released in error by the IRS.
Hatch, a Utah Republican, has a close relationship with the foundation, hosting annual fundraisers. His campaign manager is on the board of directors.
The pharmaceutical industry is Hatch's biggest campaign contributor.
Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said that gifts to politicians' charities gives lobbyists another way to build close relationships with politicians.
"This isn't public, there's no disclosure," she said. "It's just an accident that we know the drug companies were giving to the Hatch foundation."
