[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 195 (Tuesday, November 17, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H5818-H5819]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1330
       DEBARMENT ENFORCEMENT OF BAD ACTOR REGISTRANTS ACT OF 2020

  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4806) to amend the Controlled Substances Act to authorize 
the debarment of certain registrants, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H. R. 4806

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Debarment Enforcement of Bad 
     Actor Registrants Act of 2020'' or the ``DEBAR Act of 2020''.

     SEC. 2. DEBARMENT OF CERTAIN REGISTRANTS.

       Section 304 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 
     824) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(h) The Attorney General may issue an order to prohibit, 
     conditionally or unconditionally, and permanently or for such 
     period as the Attorney General may determine, any person from 
     being registered under this title to manufacture, distribute, 
     or dispense a controlled substance or a list I chemical, if 
     the Attorney General finds that--
       ``(1) such person meets or has met any of the conditions 
     for suspension or revocation of registration under subsection 
     (a); and
       ``(2) such person has a history of prior suspensions or 
     revocations of registration.''.

     SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

       The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
     complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall 
     be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 
     ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, 
     submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 
     Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such 
     statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 4806.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 4806, the Debarment Enforcement of 
Bad Actor Registrants Act of 2020, or the DEBAR Act of 2020, which 
gives the Drug Enforcement Administration, or the DEA, additional tools 
to go after bad actors.
  The DEA is charged with enforcing and implementing policies to 
protect public health and safety through the Controlled Substances Act.
  One important lever DEA has at its disposal to manage diversion or 
noncompliance with the law is the ability to revoke or surrender an 
individual's CSA registration, which is needed to handle controlled 
substances. While this is an important tool, a recent Department of 
Justice Office of the Inspector General report found weaknesses in 
DEA's registration process and instances where the agency did not fully 
utilize its regulatory authorities to address noncompliance. 
Specifically, the inspector general found cases where entities have 
been able to obtain a new license after having one that was revoked.
  For example, the report outlined a case that included a doctor who 
was engaged in serious misconduct and had his registration revoked, who 
then moved to another State under the authority of a different DEA 
field division. When the doctor reapplied for registration, it was 
granted.
  Another example, Madam Speaker, in the report included a dentist who 
had voluntarily surrendered his medical license and DEA registration on 
two separate occasions. The dentist also had been convicted of a 
felony, which is grounds for suspension or revocation of an 
individual's registration under the CSA. However, according to DEA, the 
dentist was still able to obtain another DEA registration.
  Now, these errors by the DEA are simply unacceptable, Madam Speaker. 
Today, we are considering H.R. 4806, which would address these errors. 
The legislation would authorize the debarment of any registrant that 
either meets the criteria for temporary or permanent suspension or 
revocation or has a history of prior suspension or revocations.
  Again, I thank my colleague Representative Latta for leading this 
legislation and Ranking Member Walden and his staff for working with me 
on this legislation.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.

                                         House of Representatives,


                             Committee on Energy and Commerce,

                                Washington, DC, November 16, 2020.
     Hon. Jerrold Nadler,
     Chair, Committee on Judiciary,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Nadler: Thank you for consulting with the 
     Committee on Energy and Commerce and agreeing to be 
     discharged from further consideration of H.R. 4806, the DEBAR 
     Act of 2020, so that the bill may proceed expeditiously to 
     the House floor.
       I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure 
     does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of 
     your committee or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives 
     on this measure or similar legislation in the future. I would 
     support your effort to seek appointment of an appropriate 
     number of conferees from your committee to any House-Senate 
     conference on this legislation.
       I will seek to place our letters on H.R. 4806 into the 
     Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill. 
     I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and 
     look forward to continuing to work together

[[Page H5819]]

     as this measure moves through the legislative process.
           Sincerely,
                                               Frank Pallone, Jr.,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                   Committee on the Judiciary,

                                Washington, DC, November 16, 2020.
     Hon. Frank Pallone, Jr.,
     Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Pallone: This is to advise you that the 
     Committee on the Judiciary has now had an opportunity to 
     review the provisions in H.R. 4806, the ``Debarment 
     Enforcement of Bad Actor Registrants Act of 2019,'' that fall 
     with in our Rule X jurisdiction. I appreciate your consulting 
     with us on those provisions. The Judiciary Committee has no 
     objection to your including them in the bill for 
     consideration on the House floor, and to expedite that 
     consideration is willing to forgo action on H.R. 4806, with 
     the understanding that we do not thereby waive any future 
     jurisdictional claim over those provisions or their subject 
     matters.
       In the event a House-Senate conference on this or similar 
     legislation is convened, the Judiciary Committee reserves the 
     right to request an appropriate number of conferees to 
     address any concerns with these or similar provisions that 
     may arise in conference.
       Please place this letter into the Congressional Record 
     during consideration of the measure on the House floor. Thank 
     you for the cooperative spirit in which you have worked 
     regarding this matter and others between our committees.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Jerrold Nadler,
                                                         Chairman.

  Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 4806, the Debarment Enforcement of Bad 
Actor Registrants, or DEBAR Act, which was introduced by Energy and 
Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee leader  Bob Latta. 
He spoke to this legislation earlier on a different bill and had a 
commitment now that precludes him from being here as this bill comes 
up.
  This legislation would give the Drug Enforcement Administration 
debarment authority to prohibit a person who has repeatedly violated 
the Controlled Substances Act from being able to receive a registration 
to manufacture, distribute, or dispense a controlled substance.
  A recent Justice Department Office of Inspector General report found 
that certain bad actor registrants who had their registration revoked 
were able to simply reapply for registration the day after the 
enforcement action or registration surrender occurred. As a result, 
registrants who pose a significant risk of diverting drugs are actually 
given an opportunity to do it again. Repeat offenders should not be 
able to get away with a new registration from the DEA just days after 
the suspension of the old one. Limited debarment authority is a 
commonsense and effective administrative tool to address diversion, 
fraud, and misconduct.
  I strongly support Mr. Latta's legislation and I thank my colleague, 
the chairman of the committee, for his work on this, as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge our colleagues to support this bill, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this 
bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALDEN. Madam Speaker, I, too, would urge this bill's passage, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4806, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________