[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 158 (Tuesday, September 30, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10184-S10185]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RYAN HAIGHT ONLINE PHARMACY CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT OF 2008

  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 6353, which was received 
from the House.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 6353) to amend the Controlled Substances Act 
     to address online pharmacies.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate will pass the 
Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act, H.R. 6353--an 
important bipartisan bill that will create new tools for Federal law 
enforcement to prosecute those who bill illegally sell drugs online, 
and allow State authorities to shut down rogue online pharmacies even 
before they get started.
  Earlier this week, the House of Representatives passed this important 
legislation. Earlier this year, the Senate passed a version of this 
bill, and I am glad that today it has once again given its unanimous 
support to this bill. I hope that the President will promptly sign this 
measure into law.
  Senator Feinstein has been a leader on this issue, and she and others 
have shown a strong commitment to combating illicit drug trafficking by 
online predators. I also thank Representative Stupak and all of those 
who worked on this bill in the House. Through their hard work and 
diligent efforts, we have a strong bipartisan bill that includes 
important modifications and clarifications that will protect our 
children, and grandchildren, from purchasing illegal dangerous drugs 
online. I hope this bill will help reduce the prevalence of rogue 
online pharmacies in our society.
  We are a nation in the midst of a technological revolution. In the 
digital age, the Internet has provided Americans with better access to 
convenient and more affordable medicine. Unfortunately, the prevalence 
of rogue online pharmacies has also made the Internet an increasing 
source for the sale of dangerous controlled substances without a 
licensed medical practitioner's valid prescription. Online drug 
traffickers have used evolving tactics to evade detection by law 
enforcement and circumvent the proper constraints of doctors and 
pharmacists.
  Last year, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing on this issue. We 
heard compelling testimony from Francine Haight, a mother whose teenage 
son died from an overdose of painkillers he purchased online from a 
rogue pharmacy. We also heard from Joseph Califano, the former 
Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Both 
strongly supported legislation to fill a gap in existing law and help 
protect young people from illicit drugs online.

[[Page S10185]]

  Following our hearing, the Internet Drug Advisory Committee held a 
briefing for the Judiciary Committee on this matter. We heard from 
various members of the Internet community on how the private sector may 
effectively collaborate with the public sector to combat the sales of 
dangerous drugs online. These private sector groups will be vital in 
that effort, and we were happy to receive the benefit of their 
insights.
  I understand full well the growing danger that illegitimate online 
pharmacies pose to youth. As the longtime cochair of the Congressional 
Internet Caucus, I know that the Internet offers tremendous benefits, 
but I also understand that dangerous and addictive drugs are often only 
a click away. As a former State's Attorney in Vermont, I will never 
forget how much successful prosecutions depend on whether the 
investigators and lawyers charged with protecting the public from crime 
have the right tools to do so. That is why we are in urgent need of 
this bill. No matter how dedicated we are to solving a problem, if the 
laws are not clearly and sensibly drafted, no justice will be done.
  This legislation does many important things. First, the bill requires 
the Drug Enforcement Administration report to Congress on 
recommendations to combat the online sale of controlled substances from 
foreign countries via the Internet and on ways that the private sector 
can assist in this effort. A key ingredient in diminishing the impact 
of rogue Web sites on American citizens is combating the international 
aspect of this problem, and strengthening the public-private sector 
collaboration can help provide a solution.
  Second, the legislation narrows the U.S. Sentencing Commission 
directive to ensure that the most dangerous prescription drugs abused 
online are treated more severely than less harmful prescription drugs. 
This addition will ensure that the Commission has clear guidance to 
issue the guidelines necessary to hold those individuals who peddle 
dangerous prescription drugs to minors online accountable.
  Third, the bill protects legitimate retail drug chains with online 
Web sites for customers seeking refills on prescriptions, by exempting 
them from the bill's requirements. This ensures that the bill does not 
target legitimate pharmacies that provide Vermonters and other 
Americans with access to needed medicines, nor does it burden 
legitimate pharmacies with additional registration and reporting 
requirements.
  I believe this legislation will be even better with these changes. I 
am confident that this legislation will strengthen our Nation's ability 
to effectively combat online drug trafficking. It also furthers the 
goals of drug enforcement and deterrence, while also providing Congress 
with additional oversight tools.
  The administration supports this bill--and that is the right thing to 
do. I know that our hard working men and women at the Drug Enforcement 
Agency need the added tools this bill will offer to assist their 
efforts to combat rogue online pharmacies. Even more, our children and 
grandchildren need the safety and security of operating online free 
from drug dealers seeking to trick them into purchasing dangerous 
controlled substances.
  I urge the President to promptly sign this bill into law.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I thank my colleagues for supporting 
the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act.
  This is the House companion legislation to the Senate bill that I 
originally introduced, with Senator Sessions, to protect the safety of 
consumers who wish to fill legitimate prescriptions for controlled 
substances over the Internet, while holding accountable those who 
operate unregistered pharmacies.
  Today, Congress took the first important step in stemming the tide of 
online drug trafficking. Perhaps more importantly, Congress took the 
first steps toward ensuring that children and teens no longer overdose, 
or worse die, after purchasing controlled substances without a 
prescription from rogue Internet pharmacies.
  This bill will do the following:
  Bar the sale or distribution of all controlled substances over the 
Internet without a valid prescription;
  Require online pharmacies to display on their Web site a statement of 
compliance with U.S. law and DEA regulations--allowing consumers to 
know which pharmacies are safe and which are not;
  Clarify that rogue pharmacies that sell drugs over the Internet will 
face the same penalties as people who illegally sell the same drugs on 
the street;
  Increase the Federal penalties for illegally distributing controlled 
substances;
  And create a new Federal cause of action that would allow a State 
attorney general to shut down a rogue Web site selling controlled 
substances.
  In addition, I would like to clarify that the Ryan Haight Online 
Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008 regulates practices related to 
the delivery, distribution, or dispensing of a controlled substance by 
means of the Internet. The act does not address the delivery, 
distribution, or dispensing of any noncontrolled substance by the 
Internet or any other means.
  This bill does not infringe upon the powers of the Department of 
Health and Human Services and its Secretary with respect to 
noncontrolled substances. Nor does it infringe upon the traditional 
power of the States to regulate the practices of medicine and pharmacy 
with respect to the prescription of noncontrolled substances.
  Delivery, distribution, or dispensing of noncontrolled substances, 
approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services or the 
regulatory bodies of the States, are not affected by the act. The 
Senate Committee report reflects Congress's intent related to this 
issue and is applicable to H.R. 6353.
  In closing, I wish to share the story of this bill's namesake, Ryan 
T. Haight. Ryan was an 18-year-old honor student from La Mesa, CA, when 
he died in his home on February 12, 2001. His parents found a bottle of 
Vicodin in his room with a label from an out-of-State pharmacy.
  It turns out that Ryan had been ordering addictive drugs online and 
paying with a debit card his parents gave him to buy baseball cards on 
eBay.
  Without a physical exam or his parents' consent, Ryan had been 
obtaining controlled substances, some from an Internet site in 
Oklahoma. It only took a few months before Ryan's life was ended by an 
overdose on a cocktail of painkillers.
  Ryan's story is just one of many. Rogue Internet pharmacies are 
making it increasingly easy for teens such as Ryan to access deadly 
prescription drugs. This bill is the first step against that terrible 
tide. It creates sensible requirements for Internet pharmacy Web sites 
that will not impact access to convenient, oftentimes cost-saving 
drugs.
  I thank my House and Senate colleagues for passing this important 
bill. I also specifically thank Representatives Bart Stupak, Lamar 
Smith, John Conyers, Mary Bono Mack, and John Dingell, and Senators 
Sessions and Leahy for their hard work and leadership in securing the 
passage of this bill.
  I urge the President to sign this important legislation.
  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements 
relating to the bill be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 6353) was ordered to a third reading, was read the 
third time, and passed.

                          ____________________