Washington, D.C. -Today, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, spoke on the House Floor in support of the Stop Shielding Assets from Corporate Known Liability by Eliminating Non-Debtor Releases (SACKLER) Act, to ensure that individuals accused of wrongdoing by government actors are held accountable and can’t evade responsibility through bankruptcy proceedings.
On March 19, 2021, Chairwoman Maloney introduced this commonsense bill with senior Committee Member Rep. Mark DeSaulnier after it was reported the Sackler family is seeking individual legal releases to evade responsibility through Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy proceedings.
This SACKLER Act has been cosponsored by more than two dozen Members of Congress, endorsed by dozens of patient, treatment, and advocacy organizations across the United States, and is supported by Republican and Democratic State Attorneys General alike.
Below are Chairwoman Maloney’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, on the House Floor:
I rise to speak on a commonsense bill I introduced with Congressman DeSaulnier to promote accountability for America’s opioid epidemic.
The opioid epidemic has taken the lives of nearly half a million people in this country.
The Sackler family has amassed an enormous fortune-billions of dollars-in large part through sales of Purdue Pharma’s OxyContin.
Members of the Sackler family were directly involved in the company’s efforts to flood our communities with this dangerous painkiller, and to mislead the public on the danger it poses to patients.
Now, Purdue has declared bankruptcy, and members of the Sackler family are seeking legal releases from individual lawsuits brought against them by government entities.
My bill, the SACKLER Act, ensures that individuals accused of wrongdoing by government actors-like the Sacklers-are prevented from evading responsibility through bankruptcy proceedings.
I ask my colleagues for their support in this crucial effort to ensure accountability for the harm the Sacklers have inflicted on our communities, and to promote justice for lives lost to the opioid epidemic.
Thank you.
