Goodlatte Applauds Passage of Bills to Combat the Opioid Epidemic

Washington, D.C.  – The House of Representatives today approved several bills in the jurisdiction of the House Judiciary Committee to curtail international drug trafficking into the United States and combat the opioid epidemic facing our nation. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) shepherded these bills through the House and praised the passage of these bills in the statement below. Chairman Goodlatte: “The United States currently faces an unrelenting opioid epidemic that claims thousands of lives each year. To combat this public safety and health crisis, we must strengthen the enforcement of our nation’s drug laws to stop the flow of illicit drugs into the United States and also ensure our nation’s policies help prevent and curb addiction. “To accomplish these goals, the House today approved bills that strengthen the United States’ ability to pursue international drug traffickers. Additionally, the House voted to demand transparency and accountability with regard to the comprehensive opioid abuse grant program and to study state laws that protect people who report an overdose, or provide care to someone who overdosed, from criminal prosecution. I look forward to working with the Senate to send these bills to the President’s desk.” The Opioid Program Evaluation (OPEN) Act (H.R. 5052), sponsored by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and approved by the House by a vote of 410-1, increases the transparency and accountability of the comprehensive opioid abuse grant program that will be voted on later this week. Specifically, it requires grantees to report on the use of grant funds and requires a publicly-available analysis of whether the grants have achieved their intended purposes. The House also approved by voice vote the Good Samaritan Assessment Act of 2016 (H.R. 5048), authored by Representative Frank Guinta (R-N.H.), which requires the Government Accountability Office to study state and local Good Samaritan laws that protect from criminal and civil liability caregivers, law enforcement personnel, and first responders who administer opioid overdose reversal drugs or devices, as well as those who contact emergency service providers in response to an overdose. The Transnational Drug Trafficking Act of 2015 (S. 32), which the House approved by voice vote, combats drug trafficking and the importation of chemicals used to make illicit drugs in the United States. It improves law enforcement’s ability to pursue international drug manufacturers, brokers, and distributors. The legislation also imposes penalties for trafficking in “listed chemicals,” which are used to produce illegal drugs like methamphetamine. Additionally, the bill amends current law to clarify that only those who knowingly transport a counterfeit drug can be prosecuted, to ensure that truck drivers, parcel services, or even patients with prescriptions will not be vulnerable to prosecution if they did not know the drug was counterfeit. The Kingpin Designation Improvement Act of 2016 (H.R. 4985), authored by Representatives John Katko (R-N.Y.) and Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) and approved by voice vote, protects classified information in court proceedings involving drug kingpins. Under the federal Kingpin Act, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is able to designate international drug traffickers as kingpins, and thereby block them from using the U.S. financial system. Designees are able to challenge their listing in federal court. However, unlike a similar statute used by OFAC, the Kingpin Act does not contain a provision to protect classified information when such information is used as the basis for a designation. This means that the U.S. government risks having classified information being publicly disclosed. H.R. 4985 addresses this issue by making clear that OFAC can submit classified information to defend its designations in federal district court without it being publicly disclosed.