Maine Sen. Angus King and other lawmakers want the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to set lower quotas on opioid painkillers.
King and the lawmakers say more aggressive monitoring is needed to curb the opioid abuse epidemic. They want the DEA to prevent a greater number of pills than necessary from reaching the market.
King says the DEA has signed off on increases in opioid quotas over the past two decades. He says that has allowed production of oxycodone to increase by nearly 40-fold.
King and the lawmakers also fault pharmaceutical companies for misleading the public about the safety of opioid painkillers. However, they say the "sheer volume" of pills on the market is a problem, too.
King is an independent. He is joined in the effort by five Democrats.
