Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2013

Bill: 113-hr-4069
Sponsor: Rep. Marino, Tom [R-PA-10]
Introduced: 2014-02-18 in the House
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Crime prevention
Criminal justice information and records
Drug trafficking and controlled substances
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Employee hiring
Government studies and investigations
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Licensing and registrations
Prescription drugs
Retail and wholesale trades

Summary:
action_date: 2014-02-18
text: 
Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2013 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to require registrants to manufacture, distribute, or dispense controlled substances to obtain a criminal background check on, and perform drug testing on, each employee with access to facility areas where controlled substances are stored. Requires such background checks to be obtained when such an employee is hired and periodically thereafter, but not more frequently than every two years. Authorizes registration suspension or revocation and a $10,000 penalty for failing to comply with such requirements. 
 
Requires the Attorney General, before revoking or suspending a registration under such Act, to: (1) provide the registrant notice of the grounds for doing so, and where such grounds consist of a legal violation, a specific citation to such law; (2) give the registrant an opportunity to submit a corrective action plan within a reasonable time period; and (3) determine whether, in light of the plan, revocation or suspension proceedings should be discontinued or deferred or additional changes need to be made in such plan.
 
Establishes the Combating Prescription Drug Abuse Working Group to: (1) report on federal initiatives to reduce prescription drug diversion and abuse, (2) identify gaps and opportunities to ensure the safe use of prescription drugs with the potential for diversion and abuse, (3) examine recommendations to transfer one or more controlled substances from schedule III to schedule II to evaluate the effectiveness of such a transfer in reducing diversion and abuse and any effect of such a transfer on access to prescription drugs for legitimate medical purposes, (4) make recommendations on specific ways to reduce the diversion and abuse of prescription drugs, and (5) report on its efforts to prevent or reduce prescription drug diversion and abuse to ensure that patients continue to have access to medications. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-04-07
text: Subcommittee Hearings Held.
action_date: 2014-03-20
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
action_date: 2014-02-21
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2014-02-18
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2014-02-18
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2014-02-18
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2014-02-18
text: Introduced in House