Senators seek drug-law review

WASHINGTON — More than 30 U.S. senators demanded information Friday on the 2016 law that stripped the Drug Enforcement Administration of its most-potent weapon against companies suspected of spilling hundreds of millions of addictive painkillers onto the black market.

Thirty-one Democrats and two independents noted that the same law required the DEA and the Department of Health and Human Services to compile a report for Congress on the law’s impact by April 16. Six months later, no report has been submitted.

They demanded an immediate update, saying they “want to ensure the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and other related agencies have all of the tools necessary to fight this epidemic.”

In a joint investigation, The Washington Post and “60 Minutes” reported Sunday that a small number of members of Congress, allied with parts of the drug industry, had pushed through a law that undermined DEA efforts against wholesale drug distributors that have allowed pain pills to get into the hands of users and dealers.

In the House, that effort was led by Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pa., who overcame years of opposition from the DEA to win passage of a version of the law that would have hamstrung the agency even more severely. The legislation was slightly altered during negotiations with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, before it cleared the Senate and was signed last year by President Barack Obama.

Friday’s letter was addressed to acting HHS secretary Eric Hargan and acting DEA administrator Robert Patterson.

The effort was led by Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Edward Markey, D-Mass., who represent three states where the opioid epidemic is severe. About 200,000 people have died of overdoses of prescription opioids since 2000, and tens of thousands more have succumbed to heroin and fentanyl.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has promised an oversight hearing on the law, titled the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein also promised a review.

Numerous lawmakers, most of them Democrats, have called for repeal or amendment of the law.