"PIPES" Act Introduced
2/12/22 Manchin, Rubio introduce PIPES Acts to prevent purchase of crack pipes with taxpayers' money
Seizing upon the crack pipe scandal that has swamped the $30 million “Harm
Reduction” grant program from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS), Senators Mark Rubio (R-FL) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) have introduced the
bipartisan “Preventing Illicit Paraphernalia for Exchange Systems” — or PIPES — Act,
which would ban the use of federal funds to purchase “illegal drug paraphernalia, such
as needles or crack pipes.”
In a press release (https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom) Friday, Senator
Manchin said, “Every American and West Virginian has been impacted by the drug
epidemic that has killed over 101,000 Americans from April 2020 to April 2021. While
this is a heartbreaking issue that must be fully addressed by the federal government,
using taxpayer funds to buy paraphernalia for those struggling with substance use
disorder is not the solution.” “Our bipartisan PIPES Act will ensure that American Rescue Plan funds can’t be used to
buy illicit drug paraphernalia, and I look forward to passing legislation to address this
issue quickly,” he continued.
AS BizPac Review reported (https://www.bizpacreview.com/2022/02/11/fact-checkers-raceto-dispute-report-hhs-is-funding-crack-pipes-leaving-the-truth-as-clear-as-mud1200003/), the Harm Reduction grant program, announced in December of last year, received a
load of unwanted attention when The Washington Free Beacon pointed out that, buried
within the 75-page document, the phrase “safe smoking kits/supplies,” which have
traditionally included crack pipes. Fact-checkers, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Health and Human Services
Secretary Xavier Becerra and Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Rahul Gupta
all rushed to debunk the notion that our government was furnishing addicts with crack
pipes in the name of “equity.”
In her daily press briefing, Psaki said that the reporting on this issue was “inaccurate”
and stated that crack pipes “were never a part of the kit.” The Washington Free Beacon hit back Friday, on the same day as the PIPES Act was
announced, with an article (https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/joe-biden-crack-pipe-scandal/)
entitled, “The Biden Administration Thinks You’re Stupid.”
In it, the editors fact check the fact-checkers, stating, “Media ‘fact-checkers’ willingly
repurposed the administration’s talking points in an attempt to discredit our reporting.
Not surprisingly, the result was an incoherent mess.” The Beacon’s assessment was shared by many on social media.
“Bad faith actors are spreading disinformation about Biden’s crack pipe funding
program,” tweeted Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR). “They say the program never existed or
safe crack-smoking kits only contain ChapStick. The truth is pipe funding ended when HHS got caught.”
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