[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 193 (Tuesday, December 13, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H9693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                FENTANYL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, in recent years, we have seen 
the devastating toll of fentanyl and its analogs all across America. A 
drug that is cheap to manufacture and, unfortunately, incredibly 
potent, to the point that it is now the leading cause of death for 
Americans between the ages of 18 and 49; over three decades of life.
  Since July, the seizure of fentanyl at our southern border has 
averaged 2,200 pounds a month, meaning that our Border Patrol agents 
are now confiscating more fentanyl in a single month than they did in 
the entirety of 2018.
  These are not just statistics in a government report.
  Last week, I spoke to the parents who had lost a son to an accidental 
overdose. A vibrant, intelligent college student who had a mixture of 
cocaine and fentanyl sold to him, and he lost his life.

                              {time}  1015

  As I speak today, the first responders, police officers, and coroners 
in Pennsylvania tell me stories about how potent these drugs have 
become and how a single dose of Narcan is often no longer enough 
medication to revive a person who is suffering from an overdose.
  These drugs are increasing in potency and, unfortunately, in 
affordability as drug cartels in Mexico have begun to manufacture and 
sell these drugs for the cost of a cup of coffee.
  The human cost of this epidemic has been staggering, and it is in our 
rural areas that constituents are suffering the most.
  We must recommit ourselves to the unfinished work of addressing this 
crisis. We need to invest in our communities and give our police 
officers and medical professionals the tools that they need to save 
lives and protect our neighborhoods and communities.
  Unless we in Congress act, the fentanyl analogues that have become so 
deadly will become legal on American streets in just 3 days. The clock 
is ticking.
  Our constituents are counting on us to address this issue. They are 
counting on us to permanently ban fentanyl analogues that have claimed 
thousands of American lives.
  We need to work together to address this issue and ban permanently 
the fentanyl analogues that have taken such a grave toll on all 
American communities.

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