WOONSOCKET – CVS Caremark Corp. spent $2.04 million lobbying the federal government on health care and labor issues from April through June, according to disclosure forms filed with the U.S. House of Representatives’ clerk’s office.

CVS said its six registered lobbyists, including senior vice president for government affairs Russel C. Ring, pressed its case on a number of issues, according to a disclosure form filed July 20, including: changes to prescription drug coverage under Medicare and Medicaid; insurance and other health system reforms; food and drug safety; and the controversial Employee Free Choice Act, which would ease unionization rules.

CVS said its representatives lobbied both houses of Congress, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Food & Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration during the second quarter.

The second-quarter outlay brought CVS’s total lobbying expenditures in the first half of this year to slightly more than $4 million.

CVS Caremark spent a total of $5.13 million lobbying the federal government last year. The company has ramped up its lobbying spending this year as Congress zeroes in on health care reform.

The pharmacy giant reported spending $1.94 million lobbying the federal government in the first six months of 2008, less than half the amount it spent in the first half of this year.

Separately, CVS Caremark confirmed yesterday that it has pulled its advertising from the Fox News Channel program hosted by Glenn Beck, ColorOfChange.org, an advocacy group, said in a news release. Others large firms including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Best Buy Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co. have done the same.

ColorOfChange began campaigning for major companies to stop supporting Beck’s program after the host called President Barack Obama a “racist” who “has a deep-seated hatred for white people.”

“While advertising on Fox is part of our communication plan, we had not requested time on Glenn Beck’s show specifically,” Carolyn Castel, CVS Carmark’s vice president of corporate communications, said in an e-mail message quoted by ColorOfChange.org. “We have instructed our advertising agency to inform Fox to ensure Glenn Beck’s program is not part of our advertising plan.”

“Our position is simple,” Castel added. “We support vigorous debate, especially around policy issues that affect millions of Americans, but we expect it to be informed, inclusive and respectful, in keeping with our company’s core values and commitment to diversity.”

Additional information is available at CVSCaremark.com.