Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersMcConnell accuses Democrats of sowing division by 'downplaying progress' on election security The Hill's Campaign Report: Arizona shifts towards Biden | Biden prepares for drive-in town hall | New Biden ad targets Latino voters Why Democrats must confront extreme left wing incitement to violence MORE (I-Vt.) wants the top executives of pharmaceutical companies to testify before Congress about their role in the country’s opioid epidemic.

In a letter sent Monday to Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander Andrew (Lamar) Lamar AlexanderTrump health officials grilled over reports of politics in COVID-19 response Now is the time to renew our focus on students and their futures CDC says asymptomatic people don't need testing, draws criticism from experts MORE (R-Tenn.), Sanders drew a parallel to a 1994 hearing where seven of the largest tobacco executives testified before a House panel.

“That committee had the courage to demand that the leading executives of the tobacco industry tell the American people what they knew and when they knew that tobacco was addictive,” Sanders wrote.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Now is the time for Congress to summon that courage again and bring the executives of the pharmaceutical industry before our committee.”

The committee has held a series of hearings about the opioid crisis, with one scheduled for this week addressing the impact the opioid crisis has had on children and families. Sanders noted that while the topics have been important, they haven’t addressed the role of the pharmaceutical industry.

“The public needs to know whether the industry’s marketing practices were complicit in creating this crisis, and given the [Health] Committee jurisdiction, it should be at the forefront of investigating all the causes of this epidemic,” Sanders wrote.

There has been a flood of recent legal activity against opioid manufacturers and distributors. Last year about 250 cities, counties and states sued manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and marketers.

The lawsuits accuse the companies of misleading health professionals and the public by marketing opioids as rarely addictive and a safe substitute for nonaddictive pain medications.

Sanders did not mention any companies by name, but noted he plans to introduce legislation that would prohibit illegal marketing and distribution of opioids, and require companies to reimburse the economic impact of their products.