Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee Chairman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) issued the following joint statement after the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York announced that it would approve the plan of reorganization for Purdue Pharma, the maker of the opioid OxyContin, releasing the company’s owners, members of the Sackler family, from liability for their role in the opioid crisis:

“The victims and survivors of the opioid crisis deserve far better than this. The blanket grant of immunity the Sacklers have received is unjust. This disastrous ruling is also a clarion call for reform. Corporate wrongdoers routinely abuse the bankruptcy system to evade accountability and deprive victims of meaningful relief. Last month, we introduced legislation to abolish this abusive practice, which has also been used as a get out of jail free card for enablers of fraud, child abuse, and rape. While we expect this decision will be appealed, we will work to advance the legislation we have introduced with Chairwoman Maloney and end this abuse of the bankruptcy system once and for all.”