Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy has made major profits off of the federal government’s response to the opioid crisis, Politico reported Wednesday.
Mr. Kennedy, Rhode Island Democrat, has had his own battle with both addiction and mental illness and sits on the board of eight companies currently working with the Trump administration and Congress to combat the opioid epidemic.
He also has equity stake in the companies and is CEO of the Kennedy Forum — a nonprofit funded by treatment companies and drugmakers. Mr. Kennedy received over $1 million from the organization from 2014 to 2016, according to Politico.
Mr. Kennedy has been lobbying Congress to put more money into treatment and addiction centers and non-opioid drugs, which directly benefit many of the companies he is invested in. The former congressman said it’s his own struggle with addiction that makes him want to be involved in the issue.
“I think it can be said to be lobbying,” Mr. Kennedy said to Politico. “But that’s got such a pejorative sound to it, because we’re not lobbying for any specific interest to game some government contract or get some footing.”
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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