DEBAR Act of 2021

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1002) to amend the Controlled Substances Act to authorize the debarment of certain registrants, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1002.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1002, the Debarment Enforcement of Bad Actor Registrants Act of 2021, or the DEBAR Act of 2021.

One of the critical missions of the Drug Enforcement Administration is enforcing and implementing the Controlled Substances Act in order to prevent drug diversion and limit access to substances that may pose a risk if used incorrectly.

One important lever the DEA has at its disposal to manage diversion or noncompliance with the law is the ability to revoke or surrender an individual's controlled substance registration, which is needed to handle controlled substances.

A recent report by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General found weaknesses in the DEA's current registration processes and instances where the agency did not fully utilize its regulatory authorities to address noncompliance. Specifically, the inspector general found cases where entities whose registration were revoked were later able to obtain a new license.

For example, the report included one case where a doctor who had their registration revoked for serious misconduct then moved to another State under the authority of a different DEA field division and was granted a controlled substances registration after reapplying.

Another example in the report included a dentist who had voluntarily surrendered his medical license and DEA registration on two separate occasions. The dentist had also been convicted of a felony, which is grounds for suspension or revocation of an individual's registration under the Controlled Substances Act. However, this dentist was still able to obtain another DEA registration.

Amid rising substance abuse and tragic drug overdoses, errors like these can be tragic and simply should not be happening. H.R. 1002 would address these errors by authorizing the debarment of any registrant who either meets the criteria for temporary or permanent suspension or revocation or has a history of prior suspensions or revocations.

I thank my committee colleagues--Representative Latta, in particular--for leading this legislation, and also Ranking Member Rodgers for her work on this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I also urge support for the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I appreciate my good friend from Florida for yielding. I also thank the chairman of the committee for bringing this bill before us today on the floor.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1002, the Debarment Enforcement of Bad Actor Registrants Act of 2021, or the DEBAR Act.

In the 116th Congress, we worked vigorously to tackle the coronavirus and address the needs of those who were suffering. One of the hardest issues facing Americans during this time was substance abuse, which, on average, takes nearly 130 lives each day in our Nation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than 88,000 drug overdoses occurred in a 1-year period ending in August of 2020, making it the deadliest year for U.S. overdoses.

In Ohio alone, opioid overdoses reached record levels, rising 16 percent in the second quarter of 2020. Prior to the pandemic, these rates were, thankfully, declining over a 24-month period.

We need to act immediately to put an end to this crisis. The DEBAR Act provides the Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, debarment authority to permanently prohibit a person or entity that has violated the Controlled Substances Act from being able to receive a registration to manufacture, distribute or dispense a controlled substance.

This legislation would also close loopholes and reduce the circulation of illegal substances across our Nation and keep bad actors from reapplying for new licenses once revoked. There is no silver bullet when it comes to fighting the opioid epidemic; however, the DEBAR Act will help address what is needed to combat this crisis, save lives, and stop bad actors from contributing to addiction.

Again, I thank the chairman, my friend from New Jersey, for bringing the bill to the floor. I also thank our ranking member from Washington for her help on this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1002, the Debarment Enforcement of Bad Actor Registrants, or the DEBAR Act, which was introduced by my very good friend, Mr. Latta.

This provision would give the Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, debarment authority to prohibit a person who has repeatedly violated the Controlled Substances Act from receiving a registration to manufacture, distribute, or dispense a controlled substance.

It makes a lot of sense. A recent Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General report found that when

certain bad actor registrants have their registration revoked, they can reapply for registration the very next day. Registrants who pose a significant risk of diverting drugs could be given the opportunity to do so once again.

We have to stop this. That is why this legislation is so vital.

Repeat offenders should not be allowed to get a new registration from the DEA just days after their previous registration was revoked because they broke the law. Limited debarment authority is a commonsense and effective administrative tool to address diversion, fraud, and misconduct.

I strongly support this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta).

Madam Speaker, I urge passage of this good bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 112.

Members Recorded Pursuant to House Resolution 8, 117th Congress

Allred (Wexton)

Babin (Fallon)

Cole (Lucas)

Crenshaw (Fallon)

Graves (MO) (Wagner)

Greene (GA) (Gosar)

Grijalva (Garcia (IL))

Jayapal (Pocan)

Johnson (TX) (Jeffries)

Keating (Clark (MA))

Lawson (FL) (Evans)

Lieu (Beyer)

Lowenthal (Beyer)

McHenry (Banks)

Meng (Clark (MA))

Mfume (Raskin)

Moore (WI) (Beyer)

Moulton (Underwood)

Napolitano (Correa)

Neal (Lynch)

Nehls (Fallon)

Norcross (Pallone)

Omar (Pressley)

Payne (Pallone)

Porter (Wexton)

Rodgers (WA) (Joyce (PA))

Rush (Underwood)

Sewell (DelBene)

Stefanik (Tenney)

Steube (Timmons)

Trahan (Lynch)

Wasserman Schultz (Soto)

Watson Coleman (Pallone)

Wilson (FL) (Hayes)

Wilson (SC) (Timmons)

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1002 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.