(Concord, NH) – Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02), the founder and co-chair of the Bipartisan Heroin and Opioid Task Force, released the following statement on the announced retirement of the acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Robert Patterson:

“The Drug Enforcement Administration has already been hampered in its efforts to take on bad actors who are irresponsibly distributing prescription opioids and helping to fuel the opioid epidemic,” said Kuster. “Congress should act immediately to repeal provisions from the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act, which undermined the ability of DEA to stop the delivery of opioids to suspicious distributors. This is the second DEA head to leave the Administration in less than a year. The DEA needs steady leadership and the authority to truly take on the substance misuse crisis.”

Kuster is a co-sponsor of bipartisan legislation to improve the ability of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to pursue bad actors for distribution of prescription opioids. The legislation would repeal provisions of the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act, which have hampered DEA’s efforts to stop the delivery of opioids and other medications to suspicious distributors. The legislation is a companion bill to legislation introduced by Senator Claire McCaskill in the Senate.

Earlier this year, Kuster introduced the Respond NOW Act, which would provide critical resources to those on the frontlines of the opioid epidemic. The Bipartisan Heroin and Opioid Task Force has been a driver of Congressional action to take on the opioid crisis. The Task Force successfully pushed for the inclusion of $1 billion in funding as part of the 21st Century Cures Act to address the opioid epidemic and helped advance $6 billion in new opioid funding as part of the FY 2018 government funding bill. Last Congress, 14 Task Force bills were signed into law as part of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA).

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