The Honorable Billy Tauzin, a former U.S. Congressman (R-LA) from 1980 to 2005, and the former president and CEO of PhRMA, is an experienced political and legislative strategist. He is the only member of Congress to have held leadership positions in both political parties, including key committee chairmanships. In his presentations, he addresses politics, lobbying, health care, the pharmaceutical industry, telecommunications, energy, and the environment.

 

 

Tauzin served as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee; the Merchant Marine Subcommittee; and the Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection. He left his mark on issues ranging from natural gas, airline, trucking, and electricity deregulation to environmental policy and telecommunications. 

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In 2004, Congressman Tauzin was diagnosed with a rare form of intestinal cancer.  Forced to leave Congress and his Chairmanship behind, he began a yearlong battle for his life.  Given less than a 1% chance of survival, the Congressman not only overcame those great odds, but in January 2005 assumed the Presidency of PhRMA, the trade association representing the drug discoverers who had just saved his life.  Over the next 5 ½ years, Congressman Tauzin helped shepherd the industry through the turbulent years of health care reform and left the important legacy of a new Patients’ Assistance Program, now providing over six million Americans with free medicines they could not otherwise afford.

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Upon retirement from PhRMA in 2010, Congressman Tauzin and his son Thomas formed Tauzin Consultants. Congressman Tauzin also now serves on the Boards of Directors of Entergy Corporation, LHC Group, a multi-state provider of home health and hospice care, where he is Lead Independent Director, the Alliance for Aging Research, the Medicine Access and Compliance Coalition, CaptureRx, Resilient Network Systems, myNEXUS, Lenitiv Scientific, and Wound Care, Inc.