This week I offered several common-sense amendments during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Synthetic Drug Control Act of 2011 and the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2011. The Synthetic Drug Control Act would add more than 40 chemical substances to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the most restrictive and punitive schedule, without any scientific research to determine whether that is necessary or appropriate. My amendments would ensure that decisions about drug policy be made on the basis of science, instead of politics, but the Republicans on the Committee voted them down.
The Regulatory Accountability Act would make a host of changes to the Administrative Procedure Act that would make it almost impossible for the federal government to issue regulations that protect our health and safety. I offered amendments to overturn two of the most egregious parts of this bill but the GOP majority failed to support my initiatives.