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Harshbarger Introduces Bill to Combat Pill Dumping, Bring Accountability to Suspicious Opioid Shipments

January 27, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C.- U.S. Representative Diana Harshbarger (TN-01), a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, introduced the Block, Report, and Suspend Suspicious Shipments Act (H.R. 501) which would require drug manufacturers, distributors and other Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registrants to not only report but halt suspicious orders of controlled substances.

Currently, under the Controlled Substances Act, drug manufacturers and distributors are only required to report suspicious orders of opioids and other controlled substances to the DEA. This legislation would require registrants to also halt order fulfillments and investigate reports of suspicious orders of controlled substances.

"Breaking the opioid epidemic’s stranglehold on our nation is one of my foremost priorities. In an effort to do so, my colleagues and I have identified a loophole that allows distributors to continue order fulfillment, even under suspicious circumstances," said Congresswoman Harshbarger. “My bill closes that loophole with the requirements and guardrails needed to ensure these addictive and potentially dangerous drugs do not fall into the wrong hands while the DEA investigates. The future of our nation depends on us solving the addiction crisis, and this is a step towards that outcome.

This legislation came together due in part to an investigation and report released by the Energy and Commerce Committee in December 2018. The investigation looked into pill dumping and the role that drug distributors and others in the supply chain had in fueling the crisis. The report provided several recommendations, including that “Congress should consider enacting additional suspicious order requirements to clarify registrant responsibilities and to supplement the suspicious order requirements recently codified in the SUPPORT Act.”

Click here to read the full Energy & Commerce Committee report

Background:

The Washington Post and HD Media, which publishes the Charleston Gazette-Mail in West Virginia, undertook a year-long legal battle for access to the DEA’s Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System, known as ARCOS. The data revealed that 76 billion pills were distributed across the country during the seven-year time frame ending in 2012. For more of the data and an interactive map click here.

Last year, this bill was introduced and passed in the House of Representatives but failed to be taken up by the Senate.

Click here to read full bill text.

Issues:Congress