Congress passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (Cara) this spring by an overwhelming majority and, last fall, under the looming threat of HIV and hepatitis outbreaks fueled by injection drug abuse, lawmakers repealed the ban on federal funding for needle exchange programs.
But there's a complication: Instead of cracking down on the pharmaceutical companies that fueled the boom in opioid abuse, lawmakers rewarded the industry.
While Democrats and Republicans alike were trumpeting their respective efforts and hailing the end of an era in earmark abuse, some lawmakers warned that, without close oversight, lobbyists and contractors would find new ways to get around the restrictions.
Some Russian officials have suggested Max Shatto died as a result of abuse and lawmakers appealed to US Congress last month to help return Kris, born Kirill Kuzmin, to Russia.
Because it takes two-thirds of both chambers to override a veto, the ruling significantly eroded the check and balance against abuse that lawmakers had intended to be part of their delegation of standby emergency powers to presidents.
The withholding bill, which passed 405 to 16, did not carry quite the significance of potential measures to overhaul the tax code, make sweeping changes to entitlement programs or eliminate the waste, fraud and abuse that lawmakers so often cite as their central legislative goals.
With Enron 's board blaming its top executives and those executives likely to refuse to answer questions for fear of incriminating themselves, Joseph Berardino Joseph Berardino, chief executive of Arthur Andersen, testified yesterday, accepting the abuse of lawmakers, but gamely offering reforms for the accounting profession.
WASHINGTON ― A congressional committee is demanding information from major sports organizations, including USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee, about policies against sexual abuse as lawmakers probe how gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar got away with preying on young athletes for decades.
Twenty-three minutes later, Ms. Nuland sent White House and intelligence officials an even more pointed e-mail, objecting that the talking points could be "abused" by lawmakers "to beat the State Department for not paying attention to agency warnings so why do we want to feed that either?
Personally, I'm appalled by our government's behavior and how hard it worked to cover up its abuses from lawmakers and other key government officials, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
After reports of terrible abuse in 2007, lawmakers instituted policies that keep more young offenders close to home for rehabilitation and treatment.
