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Debarment Enforcement of Bad Actor Registrants Act of 2021

Floor Speech

By: Bob Latta
By: Bob Latta
Date: April 14, 2021
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Drugs

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Mr. LATTA. 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.

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