House Democrats Blame Republicans After Failing to Pass Bill that Would Fight Opioid Crisis

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 27: Micheal Rouwhorst, 28, prepares a shot of heroin and cocaine n
Salwan Georges/Washington Post via Getty
Wendell Husebø

The House Democrats failed to pass a bill Tuesday to permit treatments for opioid use to go to market, despite having control of the House.

“House Democratic leaders had scheduled a vote on the legislation, titled the Fairness in Orphan Drug Exclusivity Act, under an expedited process for bipartisan measures that requires a two-thirds supermajority for passage,” the Hill reported.

But when the bill did not pass due to a measure included Democrats knew Republicans would not favor regarding January 6, Democrats blamed Republicans for their legislative failure, as 36 Republican voted “no.”

Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA), the sponsor of the deceptive bill, said the failure to pass the bipartisan drug measure was due to “politics”:

It is unfortunate that politics and the refusal to accept any accountability for the big lie and the January 6th insurrection. But it is even more tragic that the ones who will face the repercussions of this ‘protest vote are the people seeking medical help for opioid addiction that would have been helped by the passage of this legislation
Reps. Buddy Carter (R-GA), who previously sponsored the bill last year, told the Hill the bill was killed because democrats were playing “political games.”

I won’t sit silent as Washington Democrats attempt to bring cancel culture to the House. Tonight they chose partisan political games and their Trump Derangement Syndrome over advancing what should have been bipartisan legislation in a bipartisan way. I refuse to apologize for standing up for my values and I’ll never stop fighting to make sure hardworking Georgians are heard on the floor of the House.

“Americans should be outraged that Republicans blocked passage of this bill over a petty, partisan matter,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said to relieve blame from his party.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had no comment.

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