Hatch-Whitehouse Bill to Prevent Prescription Drug Abuse Advances in the Senate
Washington, D.C.—This morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed legislation to help ensure that prescription drugs get to the patients who need them and not onto the streets where they can be abused. The bipartisan Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act, authored by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), would clarify the standards companies must meet when protecting prescription drugs from being diverted toward improper uses and help protect patients from dangerous disruptions in the production and delivery of their prescription drugs.
“We need greater cooperation between law enforcement and the drug companies, distributors, and pharmacies in the drug supply chain in responding to and fighting the nation’s prescription drug epidemic,” Hatch said. “The promise of prescription drugs to cure and heal should not be undermined by the harm they cause when misused. This legislation takes important steps toward keeping people safe."
“Prescription drugs can cure illness and calm excruciating pain, but they can also wreak havoc if they aren’t used the right way or by the right people,” said Whitehouse. “Right now, companies that manufacture and distribute prescription drugs, and the federal officials responsible for protecting the public from drug abuse, lack effective guidelines to establish which companies should be registered and regulated. This bill will bring clarity to this murky process, and encourage greater communication between companies and their federal regulators to ensure patients have access to their medications while abusers can be identified.”
Currently, the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) does not make clear which factors the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) should consider when deciding whether to register a company applying to manufacture or distribute prescription drugs. Hatch and Whitehouse’s legislation directs the DEA to use findings Congress compiled while drafting the CSA to define those factors. The bill also describes the circumstances under which the Attorney General can suspend a company’s registration. Finally, it allows companies that violate the CSA an opportunity to work with the DEA to correct the violation before having their registration revoked.
A summary of key provisions of the bill can be found here.
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On Anniversary of Unanimous Senate Passage, Hatch Urges House to Aid Victims of Child Pornography
Washington, D.C.—House lawmakers need to take action to aid victims of child pornography according to the senior Republican in the U.S. Senate. Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, called on members of the lower chamber to take up his legislation, the Amy and Vicky Child Pornography Victim Restitution Improvement Act, or the Amy and Vicky Act, which passed unanimously last year in the Senate.
“I introduced this bill because, according to the Supreme Court, current law cannot provide restitution to child pornography victims,” said Hatch. “My bill gives judges flexibility in calculating a victim’s harm and in requiring defendants to pay restitution. The Senate unanimously passed this legislation one year ago and victims are waiting for the House to do the same.
Senator Hatch on the Amy and Vicky Act- Click Here
The Amy and Vicky Act would create an effective, balanced restitution process for victims of child pornography that also responds to the Supreme Court’s decision in Paroline v. United States. Hatch and Schumer both joined an amicus brief in the Paroline case last year. “Amy" and “Vicky" are the victims in two of the most widely distributed child pornography series in the world. The Amy and Vicky Act does three things that reflect the nature of these crimes:
(1) It considers the total harm to the victim, including from individuals who may not yet have been identified;
(2) It requires real and timely restitution;
(3) It allows defendants who have contributed to the same victim’s harm to spread the restitution cost among themselves.
The senators today both urged the House to finally pass the legislation and send it to the President’s desk.
In a letter of support for the legislation introduced by Hatch and Schumer, Amy wrote: “After all this time and all the hearings and appeals and the Supreme Court, I definitely agree that restitution needs improvement and hopefully this bill, the Amy and Vicky Child Pornography Victim Restitution Improvement Act, can finally make restitution happen for all victims of this horrible crime.” In a separate letter of support, Vicky wrote: “I sincerely hope that Congress will take the time to create some guidelines for restitution of child pornography possession and distribution that will protect the victim and enable them to receive full compensation.”
Professor Paul Cassell, who argued the case for Amy before the Supreme Court for the University of Utah Appellate Clinic, said: “Victims of child pornography crimes deserve full restitution from criminals who have harmed them, and this bill will make sure that happens.”
A one-page summary of the legislation can be found here, and the bill text can be found here.
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