Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts/Medco has become the twenty-sixth corporation to cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council.
The company told the Center for Media and Democracy that it was no longer a member of ALEC, a so-called "bill mill" that drafts corporate-friendly model legislation for state lawmakers. Express Scripts/Medco did not provide any reason for leaving the organization.
ALEC received little scrutiny until recently, when organizations like ColorOfChange, Common Cause, People for the American Way, Progress Now, the Center for Media and Democracy, CREDO Action and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee began a campaign targeting the organization’s corporate sponsors — who pay tens of thousands of dollars every year to be members.
"Express Scripts and Medco's announcement today that it will cut ties with ALEC is further proof that everyday people working together to hold corporations accountable can achieve tremendous change," said ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson. "The ColorOfChange community applauds Express Scripts and Medco's willingness to end its relationship with this right-wing policy group that has worked to suppress the Black vote."
Liberal and progressive groups oppose ALEC because of its support for voter ID laws, so-called “stand your ground” laws, business-friendly tort reforms, Arizona’s controversial immigration law, and efforts to privatize public education.
"ColorOfChange commends those corporations that have done the right thing and withdrawn their funding from ALEC, which continues to defend its push to enact discriminatory voter ID laws across the nation," Robinson added. "More and more companies are getting the message that they cannot in good conscience market products to our communities while handing over customers' dollars to an organization that suppresses the rights and endangers the safety of people of color."
[Image via Flickr user Soozarty1, Creative Commons licensed]
