{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cooper.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cooper-sponsors-bill-to-repeal-law-that-restricts-dea-opioid-enforcement", "Cooper Sponsors Bill to Repeal Law That Restricts DEA Opioid Enforcement", "2017-10-19", "2017", "2017-10", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Jim Cooper", "C000754", "cooper.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (TN-05), joined by U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins (WV-03), U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (NH-02) and U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (OH-13), today introduced bipartisan legislation repealing the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016.\nThe Washington Post and \u201c60 Minutes\u201d recently revealed that the Act has severely restricted the ability of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to investigate and discipline opioid distributors suspected of illegal behavior.\nThe House bill introduced today would restore the stronger, original standard. U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri has introduced companion legislation in the Senate.\n\u201cWe need to restore DEA\u2019s full powers, not hamper the agency the way the drug industry wanted,\u201d Rep. Cooper said. \u201cCongress made a terrible mistake letting the drug industry bill slip through. Congress should correct that mistake NOW!\u201d\nThe law has dramatically altered DEA procedures and made it far more difficult for the agency to combat the spread of opioids into the black market.\n\u201cWe need a DEA that is fully empowered to enforce opioid regulations and crack down on irresponsible distributors,\u201d Rep. Jenkins said. \u201cI\u2019m proud to join with Reps. Kuster, Cooper and Ryan to introduce this bill to repeal provisions of the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act and ensure bad actors are held responsible for their role in the opioid epidemic in our communities.\u201d\n\u201cAt a time when the opioid epidemic is impacting communities across the country, it\u2019s critical that no tools are taken off the table,\u201d Rep. Kuster said. \u201cWe know that the opioid crisis has in part been fueled by the over prescribing of opioid pain medications and any limitations on the DEA\u2019s ability to get unneeded prescription drugs off the street must be eliminated. I\u2019m pleased that we\u2019ve been able to come together in a bipartisan fashion to introduce this bill to repeal provisions of the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act, which DEA officials cite as restricting their ability to do their job.\u201d\n\u201cIt is clear that the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016 has significantly and adversely affected the Federal Government\u2019s ability to crack down on opioid distributors that are endangering communities across the country,\u201d Rep. Ryan said. \u201cI am proud to introduce this legislation with Congresswoman Kuster, Congressman Jenkins, and Congressman Cooper which would repeal provisions of the legislation and restore the Drug Enforcement Administration\u2019s authority to prohibit opioid manufacturers from flooding communities suffering from addiction with more pills.\u201d\n\u201cIt appears that this law has significantly affected the government\u2019s ability to crack down on opioid distributors that are failing to meet their obligations and endangering our communities,\u201d Sen. McCaskill said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I introduced legislation that repeals this law and will continue my work investigating the role pharmaceutical distributors played in fueling this public health crisis.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cooper.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/cooper-sponsors-bill-to-repeal-law-that-restricts-dea-opioid-enforcement"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.4269060231745243, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}