Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has denied requests from ranking member Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., to subpoena Teva Pharmaceutical Industries regarding the opioid epidemic on the grounds that such matters should be settled in court, according to The Hill.
Ms. McCaskill has investigated, Teva, the world’s largest maker of generic drugs, and other drug manufacturers for the last 18 months to determine their roles in the opioid crisis. The Israeli company is one of the drugmakers being sued by hundreds of cities and counties in Ohio federal court.
But Mr. Johnson said he does not believe it is Congress' duty to determine Teva's accountability for the opioid crisis.
"I think in this case, you have active lawsuits where these issues are all being adjudicated," said Mr. Johnson. "I don't like competing with other committees' jurisdictions or actions on this thing, in this case the courts. They're going to do a really good job of discovery, and these issues will be fully vetted in the courts."