Keller @ Large: Rep. Stephen Lynch On Opioid Epidemic
BOSTON (CBS) -- Rep. Stephen Lynch said he was "stunned" by the 60 Minutes-Washington Post report exposing how the drug industry pushed a bill through congress that curbed the power of the DEA to crack down on abuses of opioid distribution.
Lynch sat down with WBZ political analyst Jon Keller to talk about his efforts to repeal the bill--which he said Republican leadership snuck by him and his colleagues by labeling it non-controversial.
"They did it probably when there were very few people on the floor, and really did it by sleight of hand," Lynch said. "This was treated like the naming of a post office, or something like that."
Keller asked how something like this bill could get through without anyone noticing.
"The House and Senate leaders have a prerogative for looking at bills and saying what's controversial and what's not, and obviously they made a very poor decision," he said. "I think this was a calculated move. I think they realized that bill would never pass if they put it up for a vote or put it through committee. I think they knew that, because that's why they did this, to surreptitiously get this bill passed."
Keller and Lynch also talked about how President Donald Trump's decisions on healthcare would affect the state's health connector, and Lynch's opinions on John Kelly, the White House Chief of Staff.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
