[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 88 (Wednesday, May 24, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H2579-H2587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HALT ALL LETHAL TRAFFICKING OF FENTANYL ACT


                             General Leave

  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the 
legislation and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 467.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Moran). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Kentucky?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 429 and rule 
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House 
on the state of the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 467.
  The Chair appoints the gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Greene) to 
preside over the Committee of the Whole.

                              {time}  1734


                     In the Committee of the Whole

  Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the 
Whole House on the state of the Union for the consideration of the bill 
(H.R. 467) to amend the Controlled Substances Act with respect to the 
scheduling of fentanyl-related substances, and for other purposes, with 
Ms. Greene of Georgia in the chair.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The CHAIR. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the 
first time.
  General debate shall be confined to the bill and amendments specified 
in the first section of House Resolution 429 and shall not exceed 1 
hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority 
member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce or their respective 
designees.
  The gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie) and the gentleman from New

[[Page H2580]]

Jersey (Mr. Pallone) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Chair, action is needed now to address the fentanyl crisis. 
That is why I rise today in strong support of H.R. 467, the HALT 
Fentanyl Act.
  Fentanyl is the top cause of death for Americans 18 to 49 years old. 
In my home State of Kentucky, illicit fentanyl overdoses represented 70 
percent of all overdoses in 2020 and 2021.
  The fentanyl crisis is one of the foremost problems that the American 
public faces and has been made worse by the crisis at our southern 
border. Illicit fentanyl is turning virtually every community into a 
border community with these poisons flooding streets across America and 
taking innocent lives, including the lives of our kids.
  The HALT Fentanyl Act would ban all fentanyl analogues and strip the 
drug cartels and other criminals of the incentive to create new 
versions of fentanyl to skirt around the law. This bill is a key step 
to help get these poisons off our streets and give law enforcement the 
tools they need to crack down on illicit fentanyl trafficking.
  A two-pronged approach to addressing this crisis is needed. We must 
have a law enforcement and a substance use recovery strategy to address 
this crisis. That is why I look forward to examining the SUPPORT for 
Patients and Communities Act later this year to continue providing 
access to treatment and recovery support services that so many 
individuals rely on throughout the country.
  To those who oppose this legislation on the grounds it could lead to 
mass incarceration, the emergency classwide scheduling implemented by 
President Trump did not lead to mass incarcerations. In a Government 
Accountability Office study from 2021, the GAO found that there were 
only eight prosecutions--yes, eight prosecutions--during the period in 
which the Trump administration temporarily scheduled fentanyl-related 
substances as schedule I drugs from 2018-2020, with four of them being 
individuals working on behalf of the cartel because the cartels quit 
creating illicit fentanyl separate from the fentanyl that is poisoning 
our kids today.

  It could be even worse. I know there are also those who believe the 
emergency scheduling order didn't lead to reductions in overdose deaths 
and that this bill before us won't effectively address the issues we 
are facing.
  To both of those criticisms, this bill stops these analogues from 
being produced in the first place. Right after the classwide ban was 
put in place, the number of fentanyl analogue encounters dropped nearly 
89 percent, more than 6,200 fewer reports of analogues. DEA officials 
stated that the classwide scheduling contributed to this dramatic drop.
  It also includes provisions to facilitate more research into the 
detection of fentanyl-related substances and potential treatment of 
fentanyl poisonings, something that has much more red tape in the 
status quo.
  I am happy to see the White House supports two main provisions of the 
HALT Fentanyl Act. The HALT Fentanyl Act is one step of many this body 
needs to take to address the end of the overdose crisis. The time to 
permanently act is now, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on 
H.R. 467.
  Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 467. I have deep concerns 
with the partisan approach my Republican colleagues have taken on this 
bill and the harmful implications it would have on our communities if 
adopted.
  The substance-use and overdose crisis impacts all our communities, 
and the American people deserve bipartisan solutions that address both 
public safety and public health. This bill fails on both fronts and 
simply continues the status quo, allowing opioid use disorder and the 
overdose crisis to continue to devastate American families across the 
Nation.
  In 2018, the Drug Enforcement Administration first issued a temporary 
classwide scheduling order of fentanyl-related substances under 
schedule I, the strictest classification for drugs. Congress has voted 
to extend the temporary order multiple times, most recently in the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023.
  Despite this action over the last 4 years, overdoses have not gone 
down, and we have, unfortunately, not made a dent in the incidence of 
opioid use disorders. Fentanyl and synthetic opioids continue to flood 
into the country. In testimony before our committee, the DEA 
administrator noted the DEA seized more than 50 million fake pills and 
10,000 pounds of fentanyl in 2022.
  In other words, the HALT Fentanyl Act is a partisan distraction from 
the hard, bipartisan work that actually has to be done to address a 
longstanding, intractable problem that faces our communities.
  We lost over 100,000 people in 2022 to overdoses. This is one of the 
biggest public health crises our Nation has ever faced, and now is not 
the time for a partisan approach. Now is the time for comprehensive 
bipartisan work.
  Democrats stand ready to work with Republicans on addressing the 
fentanyl crisis. We stand ready to work on permanent scheduling, so 
long as it is carefully designed to avoid exacerbating inequities in 
our criminal justice system.
  In committee, Democrats offered amendments to improve the HALT 
Fentanyl Act. We asked that Republicans consider additions to the bill 
that reflect the Biden administration's commonsense interagency 
proposal. The proposal would permanently schedule FRS but establish a 
set of guardrails that promote a scientific and equitable approach. The 
administration's proposal is reflected in bipartisan legislation that 
was introduced by Representatives Pappas, Gonzales, and Newhouse and 
includes an off-ramp to allow for expedited descheduling of FRS that 
are found to be either inert or have medical applications. There is 
already evidence that at least one FRS could have potential 
applications for reversing overdoses, similar to naloxone, and we must 
provide for such substances to be rapidly descheduled.
  The Biden administration's proposal also strikes the right balance on 
public safety by ensuring that permanent scheduling of FRS does not 
exacerbate existing inequities in our criminal justice system. It 
eliminates mandatory minimum standards involving FRS unless an offense 
results in serious bodily injury or death. Instead, the Republican 
majority has opted to continue failed punitive mandatory minimum 
sentencing that we know will disproportionately impact communities of 
color while doing nothing to address the underlying opioid crisis.
  Now, as this bill comes to the House floor, Republicans are 
continuing to refuse to make this legislation better. Almost 90 
amendments were filed for consideration on this bill, and Republicans 
ruled nearly all of them out of order, including the bipartisan Pappas 
amendment. An amendment from Representative Pettersen of Colorado would 
have provided the off-ramp for rapid descheduling of FRS that are inert 
or have medical applications. An amendment offered by Representative 
Crockett of Texas would have ensured that Federal law does not stand in 
the way of the use of fentanyl test strips which have proven to reduce 
overdoses from fentanyl and FRS. Unfortunately, Republicans refused to 
make any of these commonsense amendments in order, despite the fact 
that they are clearly germane.
  We simply cannot incarcerate our way out of a public health crisis. 
The HALT Fentanyl Act does not provide any resources for research, 
prevention, treatment, recovery, or harm reduction. It also does not 
provide law enforcement or public health agencies with any additional 
resources to detect and intercept illicit drugs entering the country.
  In fact, nearly every House Republican voted in favor of the default 
on America act, which would inflict devastating cuts that would force 
communities to lay off thousands of law enforcement officers and first 
responders, and that is in addition to the significant cuts the default 
on America act would make to substance use programs that help treat 
patients in our communities.
  The reality is that this bill, paired with Republican efforts to 
slash vital public health and safety funding, will

[[Page H2581]]

leave our communities worse off and exacerbate existing inequities in 
our criminal justice system.
  Madam Chair, I can't support the underlying bill in its current form. 
I encourage my colleagues to oppose it. I hope that at some point we 
can get back to doing some bipartisan work that will really make a 
difference in terms of this opioid and fentanyl crisis.
  Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1745

  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, this was a bipartisan bill. It got 
bipartisan votes in committee. It is the DEA's number one priority.
  If you are selling fentanyl to our kids, you deserve to be 
incarcerated. We don't apologize for that.
  Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington 
State (Mrs. Rodgers), the chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce 
Committee.
  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Madam Chair, to save lives and make our 
community safer, I rise in support of the HALT Fentanyl Act.
  Illicit fentanyl is one of the greatest threats that we face as a 
nation. Illicit drug manufacturers are diverting precursor chemicals 
from some of China's 160,000 chemical plants and shipping them to 
Mexico, where cartels are producing mass quantities of illicit fentanyl 
and fentanyl-related substances. These are being smuggled across our 
southern border and killing more people than ever.
  According to an analysis by The Washington Post, fentanyl poisoning 
is the number one cause of death for people 18 to 49.
  I think about my friend Molly Cain from Spokane, who lost her son 
Carson, and Deb and Ray Cullen from Pennsylvania, who lost their son 
Zach. Both Carson and Zach were killed instantly by substances laced 
with illicit fentanyl.
  Molly asked me how many more letters from grieving parents is it 
going to take for action.
  The fact is it shouldn't take another letter, another day. It 
shouldn't take another lost loved one.
  The HALT Fentanyl Act will save lives.
  We must make sure that law enforcement has the permanent tools that 
they need to seize these extremely lethal poisons. It is DEA's number 
one priority. Without these tools, drug traffickers being sourced from 
China will be emboldened to push deadlier and deadlier drugs across the 
border. We can't let that happen.
  Let's come together today for a more secure future for every 
community in America.
  Madam Chair, I urge support of the HALT Fentanyl Act.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Delaware (Ms. Blunt Rochester), a member of the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce.
  Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER. Madam Chair, I thank Ranking Member Pallone for 
yielding me time.
  Madam Chair, today, I rise to talk about a public health emergency 
impacting every corner of our Nation: fentanyl.
  As Congress debates the best approach to combating synthetic opioids, 
what we can all agree on is that every single one of us is impacted. I 
urge my colleagues to keep our focus on comprehensive and sustainable 
solutions.
  In 2021, in my small State of Delaware, we lost over 500 family 
members, friends, coworkers, and neighbors to overdoses. Of the more 
than 500 Delawareans lost to overdose, 80 percent involved fentanyl. 
Those numbers, unfortunately, are poised to get worse.
  As the former deputy secretary of health and social services in 
Delaware, my career has made me look at these challenges through a lens 
of public health. That is why I was proud to join my colleagues 
Representative Annie Kuster and   Don Bacon in introducing the STOP 
Fentanyl Overdoses Act.
  Our bipartisan bill takes a comprehensive public health approach to 
reducing fentanyl overdoses by expanding testing, improving data 
collection and analysis, and expanding treatment for opioid use 
disorder.
  Our approach is supported by a broad and diverse coalition, including 
the Drug Policy Alliance, American Psychological Association Services, 
and Partnership to End Addiction.
  As we continue to work to combat the fentanyl crisis, an issue that I 
know we all care deeply about, I hope we will keep a comprehensive 
public health approach top of mind.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Griffith), the bill's sponsor.
  Mr. GRIFFITH. Madam Chair, everyone in this body knows someone who 
has been affected by the drug overdose epidemic.
  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2022, 
there were more than 107,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. Sixty-seven 
percent of those deaths involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
  Right now, fentanyl analogues are considered schedule I substances, 
but only because of a series of scheduling orders that expire on 
December 31, 2024. Since we put that temporary order into place, we 
have seen a reduction in the trafficking of fentanyl analogues into our 
country.
  According to a 2021 GAO report, fentanyl analogues coming into the 
U.S. dropped by 90 percent in the year that we did the temporary 
scheduling. This bill aims to curb overdose deaths by permanently 
scheduling fentanyl analogues as schedule I substances. This will 
strengthen law enforcement's ability to prosecute fentanyl traffickers 
and act as a deterrent.
  The HALT Fentanyl Act also promotes research--this is something new--
by removing barriers to the research.
  In the Energy and Commerce Committee, we heard that there are as many 
as 4,800 potential analogues. Our experts at NIH, FDA, and other 
agencies have studied roughly 30 of the 4,800. By encouraging research 
of schedule I substances like fentanyl analogues, we can better 
understand how these substances work and how we may prevent potential 
harmful impacts in the future.
  Because fentanyl itself has a proven medical use, it is considered a 
schedule II narcotic, but illicit derivatives of fentanyl, also called 
fentanyl analogues, currently have not demonstrated medical value.
  Let me be clear. This bill will have no impact whatsoever on a 
physician's ability to administer fentanyl in proper medical scenarios. 
The HALT Fentanyl Act deals specifically with fentanyl analogues, not 
fentanyl itself.

  The DEA has said that permanently scheduling fentanyl analogues is 
their top legislative priority. We must not allow this temporary 
extension to expire.
  On Monday, the Biden administration released a positive statement 
regarding the bill. In the statement, they supported the provisions I 
just described: permanent scheduling and streamlined research.
  The Biden administration did recommend a few other items they would 
like to see related to fentanyl analogues. I am open and willing to 
have those discussions, but that is not this bill.
  Madam Chair, we should vote to advance this bill that we agree on and 
that does help stop the bad guys, particularly those bringing these 
substances over the border.
  Once fentanyl analogues are permanently made schedule I, Congress 
will continue to build off this work and continue to address the 
illicit fentanyl crisis.
  These large numbers that we have seen on fentanyl deaths and fentanyl 
analogues are because of these drugs coming across the border. They are 
100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than 
heroin. Why would we not take every step possible that we can to stop 
it?
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I know the Republicans have a number of 
speakers, so I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Latta).
  Mr. LATTA. Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Madam Chair, for over 2 years, I have worked with my colleague from 
Virginia's Ninth District to pass the HALT Fentanyl Act. During this 
time, our country has reeled from a record-breaking number of 
poisonings. In both 2021 and 2022, over 100,000 Americans died of an 
overdose.
  What was the main culprit? Fentanyl-related substances.
  In 2021, 77 percent of teen overdose deaths were attributed to an 
illicit

[[Page H2582]]

fentanyl poisoning, and it is now the number one cause of deaths among 
adults 18 to 49.
  This crisis has simply spiraled out of control, and action must be 
taken immediately. That is why our bill, the HALT Fentanyl Act, comes 
into play.
  Right now, these fentanyl substances are temporarily set as a 
schedule I narcotic. If this class-wide scheduling were to expire, drug 
traffickers will be given the green light to push deadlier drugs; law 
enforcement will lose authority to seize these deadly narcotics; and 
Americans will continue to die.
  I am pleased the House is taking up this bill to permanently place 
fentanyl-related substances as a schedule I narcotic.
  Let me take a moment to clear up a misconception about this bill. 
This isn't about criminal justice reform. This is about justice for the 
victims of fentanyl poisoning. Cartels are killing our citizens for 10 
cents. Let me repeat that: Cartels are killing our citizens for 10 
cents. That is how much it costs to make a pill in Mexico that is 
fentanyl-laced.
  This is the DEA's number one priority. We owe it to our constituents 
to fix this permanently.
  Currently, to trigger a 10-year mandatory minimum, an offense must 
involve 100 grams or more of a mixture containing a fentanyl analogue. 
Because the average lethal dose of fentanyl is just 2 milligrams, the 
offense would need to contain roughly 50,000 lethal doses. Again, that 
is 50,000 human beings that would be murdered from fentanyl poisoning.
  Madam Chair, I strongly encourage my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to support the HALT Fentanyl Act to help end this crisis and save 
innocent lives.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Pennsylvania (Ms. Lee).
  Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania. Madam Chair, I stand today in solidarity 
with the millions of Black and Brown folks who have been locked up over 
the failed war on drugs.
  I stand before you today some 50 years from the war on drugs and 39 
years after President Reagan signed the Comprehensive Crime Control Act 
of 1984, which expanded penalties on weed possession, established 
mandatory minimums, and created civil asset forfeiture--50 years since 
establishing drug policies that systematically led to the mass 
incarceration of generations of Black men.
  But somehow, this war on drugs will be different.
  We don't always know the consequences of a bill like this, but with 
the HALT Fentanyl Act, we all know.
  We have to listen to our experts: our public health, criminal 
justice, and civil rights organizations. They are on the ground doing 
the work in our communities, and 158 of them just told us that, no, the 
HALT Fentanyl Act will not help the American people, as this bill 
claims it would. It will only cause harm, especially to Black, Brown, 
and low-income Americans.
  We really didn't need the experts on this one. We have had decades to 
observe the effects of policies just like this.
  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting 
different results. The HALT Fentanyl Act will do exactly what it was 
designed to do if we allow it to pass.
  We have seen 50 years of a terrifying merry-go-round: the economy 
struggles, housing becomes less stable, and a tough-on-crime approach 
is promoted as the solution. Lock up those most impacted, our siblings 
and neighbors struggling with addiction. Lock them up.
  Who is winning? Not the 350,000 folks currently serving time for drug 
offenses, not the families that have been torn apart by mass 
incarceration. Imagine the loss of generational wealth.
  Communities have been left without parents, grandparents, neighbors, 
leaders, and friends. Families are mourning tens of thousands that have 
died every year from drug overdoses.
  Policies like this one do not lead to healing. They do not lead to 
safety. They do not lead to justice, and we do deserve justice.

  We know there is a correlation between poverty and crime, not race 
and crime. We do not need tough-on-crime policies. We need to be tough 
on inequality, but for true, systemic change, we have to be willing to 
consider different roads. We have to be willing to consider community-
based, trauma-informed, and harm-reducing policies. We must resist the 
urge to hearken back to tough-on-crime rhetoric.
  Tough on crime is merely tough on community. We can do better, and we 
must do better than the HALT Fentanyl Act.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Bilirakis).
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Chair, I thank the chairman of the Health 
Subcommittee for his leadership and for yielding me time.
  Madam Chair, I rise today in support of the HALT Fentanyl Act. The 
American people are in the midst of a staggering illicit fentanyl 
crisis. Our kids are dying, Madam Chair. We need to do everything we 
possibly can to help these kids.
  Sadly, we read daily headlines, Madam Chair, of adults, teens, and 
even toddlers who have died from fentanyl poisoning.
  My colleagues across the aisle, they kicked the can down the road. 
They have kicked it down the road too long, Madam Chair, and look at 
the consequences as fentanyl-related substances still remain only 
temporarily scheduled. The time is now to make it permanent.
  Today, we take an overdue step in the right direction, and as a proud 
advocate for individuals suffering with substance use disorder, I know 
this is just one step. Much more needs to be done, and I am thankful 
the gentleman has brought this bill to the floor.
  Sadly, we continue to see a huge influx of fentanyl-related 
substances into the country from across the Mexican border, from 
cartels using chemicals imported from China and India.

                              {time}  1800

  I am disheartened to see communities across my State of Florida and 
across the Nation bearing the ramifications of these criminal actors 
and our open-border policies. We must secure the border.
  This is a nonpartisan issue, in my opinion, and we must come together 
to address the opioid crisis. We are at war with these cartels, Madam 
Chair.
  I would like to see my Democratic colleagues heed the Biden 
administration's public support of these critical measures. Just this 
Monday, they issued their support for the policies in this bill, urging 
Congress to pass these measures to address public safety and save 
lives.
  I say to my colleagues across the aisle: Work with us on this and on 
other meaningful policy solutions to combat fentanyl in our Nation.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Kamlager-Dove).
  Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Madam Chair, I rise today to strongly oppose the 
Republicans' HALT Fentanyl Act. Republicans want to ban American 
history so that they can repeat the bad parts.
  Did we learn nothing from the war on drugs?
  I guess not. Real talk was a huge failure. Back then we enacted 
ineffective and punitive laws that only worked to expand mass 
incarceration, mostly of Black and Brown folks.
  This legislation will enact ineffective and punitive drug laws that 
only work to expand mass incarceration.
  Who will suffer?
  Mostly Black and Brown folks. The data shows that all races are 
facing challenges with fentanyl.
  This legislation would put us on a dangerous path toward unjust and 
disproportionate mandatory minimums for the possession of all fentanyl-
related substances.
  News flash: Research is still needed on possible and legal 
pharmacological use of these substances. Fentanyl is still being 
prescribed legally and used in controlled settings by medical doctors. 
That is right. Republicans don't like science.
  In its current form, this bill allows for no flexibility, and won't 
address the root issue. This bill is shortsighted because some of these 
substances could still be key to developing treatment for fentanyl 
overdoses.
  Instead of learning about how we can save people from fentanyl, we 
want to criminalize all of the fentanyl-related substances.

[[Page H2583]]

  Madam Chair, 97 percent of the illicit fentanyl seized at the border 
is seized at legal ports of entry. The majority of those convicted are 
U.S. citizens. The draconian mandatory minimums proposed under this 
plan don't address these issues.
  In fact, this bill doesn't do anything smart. It doesn't address the 
humanitarian crisis we are facing at our southern border. It doesn't 
address the epidemic of substance abuse, and it certainly won't improve 
our public safety.
  The majority of people who are dying from fentanyl are dying because 
they are taking it illegally. They are buying and searching for illicit 
drugs. It is not about prosecution. It is about drug use. The issue is 
substance abuse. That is what we should be addressing.
  If you are going to propose some legislation, make it make sense. 
Make it address root issues and focus on the causes rather than 
continuing to scapegoat the same people that you have scapegoated for 
years and years to no end.
  Madam Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon), the vice chair of the Health Subcommittee.
  Mr. BUCSHON. Madam Chair, I point out that this is fentanyl 
poisoning, and just because people use illicit drugs, they certainly 
don't deserve to die from it.
  Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of the HALT Fentanyl Act. In 
2022, roughly 75,000 Americans died from poisoning by synthetic 
opioids, largely illicit fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances.
  Illicit fentanyl poisonings are now the number one cause of death 
among adults ages 18 to 49, as has been pointed out many times.
  People who have died from illicit fentanyl poisoning are not just 
statistics. They are someone's child, sibling, parent, family member, 
or close friend. It is happening in every community across America. It 
doesn't discriminate against socioeconomic class, race, or religion.
  Just last week, a Federal grand jury indicted a man in Evansville, 
Indiana, my hometown, for selling counterfeit prescription pills laced 
with fentanyl over social media that caused at least three poisonings 
and the death of a 19-year-old woman in 2022.
  Last fall, a Federal grand jury indicted another man in Evansville 
who sold fentanyl pills in 2021 that ended up killing a 3-year-old 
toddler and resulted in nonfatal poisonings of two other children in a 
home after they found illicit fentanyl pills in a nightstand and took 
them.
  These are heartbreaking stories, and we in this body have the power 
to do something to help prevent more of them from occurring.
  Let's pass the HALT Fentanyl Act and give hope to Americans whose 
family, friends, and loved ones, who have been impacted by illicit 
fentanyl poisonings, that their loved one's death was not in vain. 
Support this bill.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Carter).
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding.
  Madam Chair, I rise today in strong support of the HALT Fentanyl Act, 
which would permanently schedule fentanyl analogues as schedule I.
  Madam Chair, the United States is facing a poisoning epidemic. It is 
caused by illicit fentanyl and its related substances that are pouring 
over our southern border. Almost 200 people are dying every day 
from fentanyl poisoning--200.

  Included in that number is a family from my district who lost their 
son, Wesley, to the drug at the age of 22 years. His mother writes: 
``My son was a victim of drug-induced homicide. He took one pill that 
ended up being pure fentanyl and died. He was poisoned because he 
trusted the wrong person and paid for it with his life.''
  We cannot allow the lawlessness and tragedy to continue to tear our 
communities apart. That is why we must pass the HALT Fentanyl Act that 
is before us today.
  Opponents of this legislation are choosing to side with criminals 
over the safety and well-being of our children. That is despicable.
  Madam Chair, let's pass this bill, secure the border, stem the tide 
of the growing fentanyl crisis, and save lives.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Payne).
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for 
yielding to me.
  Madam Chair, I will follow up with the last two colleagues of mine, 
the gentlewoman from California and the previous speaker.
  We cannot have what happened in the 1980s and 1990s of the 
scapegoating of communities with the heinous drug epidemic.
  It is interesting that now that fentanyl is impacting certain 
communities, it is now a health issue. In the 1980s and 1990s when 
there was a crack epidemic in urban communities, Nancy Reagan told us: 
``Just say no.'' But here we are now, in this day and age, and now it 
is a major issue. Why?
  Because it is impacting other communities that people tend to care 
more about--their communities. What we are seeing now in minority 
communities was going on 20 years ago and we were screaming: Please, 
help. Please, let's stop this scourge.
  What we did was say: No, those people that are abusing those drugs 
are criminals. Let's lock them up--mass incarceration.
  Now, in this day and age with fentanyl, it is a health issue when the 
same thing was happening then is happening now. I don't know how one is 
a criminal act and now we need to have compassion. We do because this 
country is suffering. Our young people are dying. It is just unreal the 
scourge that this drug is.
  We have to remember that fentanyl is such a powerful opioid. It is 50 
to 100 times more potent than morphine. Two milligrams, or the size of 
five grains of salt, can cause a possible overdose. We need to do 
something. Our young people are screaming out. They are crying. They 
are dying.
  We cannot blame it all on the southern border. Time and time again, 
we have data that shows that 90 percent of the fentanyl is coming 
through ports of entry by American citizens. We need to address that. 
We need to talk about it.
  The CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I yield an additional 1 minute to the 
gentleman from New Jersey.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Chair, the HALT Fentanyl Act is not the way to go, 
but we need to come together and do something as this plague is ruining 
our future.
  I have seen it in my community. Others have seen it now in their 
communities. We must come together with reasonable legislation. This is 
just another possible situation that starts mass incarceration once 
again. I know I don't want to see in your community what that did to 
mine over the past 20 years.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. Dunn).
  Mr. DUNN of Florida. Madam Chair, I rise today to express my support 
for H.R. 467, the HALT Fentanyl Act.
  This legislation will place all fentanyl-related substances, as a 
class, into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
  The Energy and Commerce Committee has taken an important step toward 
solving our fentanyl crisis. I am proud to have supported this bill 
since the 117th Congress.
  We have heard from Molly Cain, the Cullens, and countless others who 
courageously told their stories of how their children were murdered by 
fentanyl. Make no mistake: Fentanyl is a poison in our communities. 
Every pill, every toke, every line of cocaine is like playing a game of 
Russian roulette every single time.
  This crisis is happening at the hands of bad actors such as the 
Chinese Communist Party and the drug cartels. China remains the primary 
source of illicit fentanyl and its precursors that are trafficked 
internationally and through our porous southern border.
  In fiscal year 2023, Customs and Border Patrol has seized over 17,000 
pounds of fentanyl, enough to kill 11 times the entire population of 
the United States.
  The HALT Fentanyl Act is an important step in the right direction, 
and we must permanently schedule these substances.

[[Page H2584]]

  Let's call it what it is: a weapon of mass destruction. Our law 
enforcement officers fight heroically every day to combat this 
epidemic, and it is imperative that we protect them.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
New Hampshire (Ms. Kuster), a member of the Energy and Commerce 
Committee.
  Ms. KUSTER. Madam Chair, I rise today to speak in opposition to H.R. 
467, the HALT Fentanyl Act.
  The fentanyl crisis has touched every community across our State and 
country. We need to take serious, bipartisan action to address this 
epidemic and save lives.
  Unfortunately, the legislation on the floor tonight misses the mark.
  The HALT Fentanyl Act does not address how these dangerous drugs 
enter our country, nor does it include any measures to address the 
underlying demand driving the substance use crisis.
  This bill simply preserves the status quo by continuing to schedule 
fentanyl-related substances as schedule I, which has been the case 
since 2018, and under current law, will be the case until December of 
2024.
  Scheduling alone will not change the overdose crisis. We need to 
broaden our scope.
  Madam Chair, I urge this body to instead consider a public health 
approach to address this crisis. I am leading with Lisa Blunt Rochester 
and   Don Bacon, a bipartisan, alternative bill that would address both 
the supply of and demand for illicit fentanyl in this country.

                              {time}  1815

  Our bill, the STOP Fentanyl Overdoses Act, will enhance fentanyl 
surveillance through investments in technology, dedicate resources to 
strengthen law enforcement response, and improve data collection of 
seized drugs.
  The bill will also help reduce the demand for illicit drugs by 
expanding access to recovery resources, protecting people who 
administer opioid reversal drugs, and supporting education on the harm 
of drug misuse.
  The STOP Fentanyl Overdoses Act is an alternative to the scheduling-
only approach on the floor. An issue this complex requires an equally 
comprehensive solution.
  Fentanyl doesn't care about our politics and neither should our 
approach to addressing the overdose crisis.
  Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to consider my alternative, 
bipartisan solution.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Arizona (Mrs. Lesko).
  Mrs. LESKO. Madam Chair, our Nation is facing a tragic fentanyl 
crisis. Our kids are dying. Our neighbors are dying. During the last 2 
years, if I may remind my Democratic colleagues, they were in charge. 
They were in charge of the House, they had control of the Senate, they 
had control of the Presidency, and they did nothing to stop this 
fentanyl crisis.
  Late last year, I visited the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's 
Office in Phoenix, Arizona. It is truly revealing. It is one of the 
busiest medical examiner offices in the Nation. In Maricopa County last 
year, fentanyl and its analogues were involved in 60 percent of all the 
drug-related deaths. Once more, there are record amounts of fentanyl 
coming across our southern border into our Arizona communities.
  Did you know that last Thursday, officers at the Arizona Nogales Port 
of Entry seized over 207,000 fentanyl pills and over 16 pounds of 
fentanyl powder just in 1 day. With border officials only able to seize 
5 to 10 percent of all illegal drugs, these numbers are truly 
terrifying. House Republicans are taking action. We are the ones 
introducing this bill. We are the ones getting something done. We are 
introducing the HALT Fentanyl Act.
  Madam Chair, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation, 
to stop this deadly drug crisis and save lives.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Chair, I don't like to disagree with my colleague from Arizona 
who I respect, but she did say that when the Democrats were in the 
majority that we didn't address the issue, and that is not accurate.
  In fact, last Congress we did pass out of the Energy and Commerce 
Committee a bipartisan mental health and substance use treatment 
package, H.R. 7666, which became law as part of the consolidated 
appropriations bill last December, and that bill, H.R. 7666, that came 
out of our committee, when it came to the floor of the House, was 
supported by over 400 Members. Only 20 Members didn't vote for it, and 
it was later signed into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act. That new law includes the MAD Act and the MAiD Act, historic 
pieces of legislation that ensure medical practitioners are prepared to 
identify and treat substance use disorders and increase access to 
medication-assisted treatment, such as buprenorphine.
  H.R. 7666 also reauthorized billions of dollars in public health 
programs that addressed the mental health and substance use crisis, 
including both the substance use prevention treatment and recovery 
services block grant and State opioid response grants.
  Now, I am not suggesting that this is the end all. Obviously, more 
needs to be done, but part of what I think you are hearing from the 
Democratic side of the aisle today is that this legislation on the 
floor doesn't really deal with all these things. It doesn't deal with 
treatment. It doesn't deal with the border. It doesn't deal with law 
enforcement and more resources to address the fentanyl crisis.
  We believe that a law that is going to really make a difference would 
do that, and that is the reason that we are saying that this bill that 
is before us, the HALT Fentanyl Act, really doesn't do anything because 
it just says that it is going to be in schedule I beyond 2024.
  Right now, you already have synthetic fentanyl scheduled in I until 
the end of next year, and we haven't really seen any progress with 
that.
  We would like to see a comprehensive approach that takes into account 
treatment that is a follow up on what we passed in the last Congress.
  Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce).
  Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding.
  Madam Chair, 6 months ago I received an email from Ray Cullen, a 
resident of Franklin County, Pennsylvania, who, along with his wife, 
Deb, had raised their kids in my district, Pennsylvania's 13th 
Congressional District.
  Ray told the story of his son, Zach, who last year was out with a 
bunch of buddies when he was sold cocaine that was laced with fentanyl, 
unfortunately, a deadly poison that claimed Zach's life. Zach didn't 
know that the drugs that he and his friends had purchased were laced 
with this deadly synthetic opioid.
  Because of how lethal the drug is in small quantities, fentanyl has 
become the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 
and 49. It was Franklin County Coroner Jeff Conner who put it so 
bluntly to me. He said: ``Fentanyl is easy to get and it is fast to 
kill.''
  The Cullens reached out to share the memory of their son because they 
wanted to make a difference. They wanted to make sure that the pain 
that they were feeling was not shared by parents anywhere else in 
Pennsylvania or anywhere else in our country.
  Now, on the eve of the HALT Fentanyl Act vote, we in Congress have a 
chance to help prevent these needless deaths by passing the HALT 
Fentanyl Act, legislation to finally classify these deadly fentanyl 
substances as schedule I narcotics.

  Deb and Ray Cullen have traveled and presented their case before the 
Energy and Commerce Subcommittee of Health. Deb and Ray Cullen will be 
here tomorrow. They will be in the gallery as we have a choice to make 
to vote in a bipartisan fashion to halt fentanyl and its deadly cause 
here in the United States.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
California, Mr.  Mike Garcia.
  Mr. MIKE GARCIA of California. Madam Chair, for too long, a lack of 
national leadership has forced law enforcement into navigating this

[[Page H2585]]

fentanyl crisis without the proper tools or a defined mission. The HALT 
Fentanyl Act would provide both the tools and the mission by 
permanently classifying fentanyl analogues as schedule I narcotics. 
This bill, which I have long supported, will mitigate this crisis by 
empowering police to use every tool available to get the traffickers of 
poison off the streets and put them in jail.
  Sell fentanyl, go to jail. Poison kids, go to jail. If you don't want 
to go to jail, don't sell fentanyl and don't poison our kids.
  Right now we are failing as a Nation. We are failing to recognize the 
severity of this crisis, failing to hold China and dealers accountable 
for their role, and we are failing to protect the people who most need 
it, our children.
  We have lost young Americans with bright futures like Daniel Puerta 
from my district who was a year away from graduating when he was 
poisoned by a counterfeit pill sold over Snapchat. For Daniel's memory 
and the memory of countless others, we must act.
  Madam Chair, I urge support of this bill. One last thing, 30 times 
the number of people who died on 9/11 last year died of fentanyl 
poisoning.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks).
  Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS. Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for yielding 
time.
  Madam Chair, I rise today in support of HALT Fentanyl Act introduced 
by my friends and colleagues, Morgan Griffith and  Bob Latta.
  The fentanyl crisis is ravaging our Nation, and there is no question 
this dangerous drug and its analogues should be scheduled. Fentanyl 
accounts for roughly 150 overdose deaths per day, and the number of 
deaths caused by fentanyl and other synthetic opioids is growing 
exponentially each year.
  The HALT Fentanyl Act would permanently schedule fentanyl-related 
substances and provide law enforcement with the tools needed to keep 
these lethal drugs off our streets.
  Should the temporary classwide scheduling expire, drug traffickers 
would be empowered to ramp up their operations without fear or 
repercussions. At our border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection would 
lose the authority to seize these substances, and the amount of drugs 
coming into our country would skyrocket.
  It is hard to imagine the border crisis becoming worse than it 
already is, but should this scheduling expire, I am afraid the crisis 
would escalate even further.
  As a physician and the former director of the Iowa Department of 
Public Health under whose purview substance use disorder and drug 
addiction failed, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle neglect 
to acknowledge a vast majority of people affected by this are not drug 
addicts. One pill can kill.
  Furthermore, news flash: This bill doesn't hamper any legal medical 
use of fentanyl. Fentanyl is not only more deadly than cocaine or 
morphine or heroin, it is significantly easier to produce and can be 
sold for 100 times more than it costs to make. Bad actors will always 
take advantage of bad situations, and this is no exception.
  Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill to 
protect our most vulnerable populations and keep fentanyl and its 
analogues off the street.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. D'Esposito).
  Mr. D'ESPOSITO. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 467, the 
HALT Fentanyl Act of which I am proud to cosponsor. I also find it 
baffling, Madam Chair, that speakers from the other side say that this 
does nothing when, in fact, we are working to correct the wrongs of the 
procriminal, open-border agenda that Democrats have passed throughout 
this country.
  There is not one community across this Nation that has been immune to 
the devastating effects of fentanyl. As an NYPD detective, I have 
witnessed far too many Americans destroyed due to opioid addictions 
stemming from this horrific narcotic, and Congress must act swiftly to 
combat the fentanyl epidemic.
  Madam Chair, I urge all my colleagues to support the HALT Act in 
order to make permanent classwide scheduling order for fentanyl-related 
substances, which is the key to preventing unneeded deaths related to 
fentanyl.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Allen).
  Mr. ALLEN. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 467, the HALT 
Fentanyl Act. I am a proud original cosponsor of this commonsense 
legislation that would permanently reschedule fentanyl-related 
substances as schedule I drugs. Far too often, we are hearing 
devastating stories from families across this great country who have 
lost loved ones to fentanyl-related deaths, and, in many cases, it is 
our young people.
  Only a few milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal, which is why it is 
now the number one cause of death among adults 18 to 49. Deadly 
fentanyl-related substances are being manufactured by China and the 
cartels and pouring across our borders into our cities, communities, 
and neighborhoods.

  We must ensure that our law enforcement and Border Patrol officers 
maintain the authority necessary to seize these drugs. That is why this 
body must take action.
  The HALT Fentanyl Act would supply law enforcement with the tools 
needed to keep this deadly substance off our streets.
  Madam Chair, to put it simply: This bill will save lives. I strongly 
urge a ``yes'' vote on H.R. 467.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Chair, may I inquire as to the time remaining.
  The Acting CHAIR (Mr. D'Esposito). The gentleman from Kentucky has 
5\1/2\ minutes remaining. The gentleman from New Jersey has 8 minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman 
from Florida (Mrs. Cammack).
  Mrs. CAMMACK. Mr. Chairman, today, I rise in strong support of H.R. 
467, the HALT Fentanyl Act. To drive home why this bill is so 
important, I want to emphasize that currently there is no permanent 
scheduling of fentanyl, only a temporary emergency scheduling order.
  That means when, not if, but when this temporary order on fentanyl 
expires, fentanyl-related substances will become street legal.
  Think about this: Over 300 people a day will die today from fentanyl 
poisoning, 300 people died yesterday, and 300 people will die tomorrow 
of fentanyl poisoning.

                              {time}  1830

  If an airliner carrying 300 people crashed every single day, within 
the span of a week we would have declared a national emergency and 
would have begun the work on solutions, but we haven't done that here.
  If we don't pass this bill, when the emergency class-wide scheduling 
order expires, law enforcement will no longer have the authority to 
seize these extremely lethal drugs. Yes, you heard me right, they will 
no longer have the authority.
  As so many of my colleagues have said today, fentanyl is the leading 
cause of death for individuals between the ages of 18 and 49, 
surpassing COVID, cancer, heart disease, and even car accidents. In 
fact, the DEA, Biden's DEA, you-all's DEA, says this is their number 
one priority.
  Every single one of us knows someone who has been affected by 
fentanyl. Every single one of us in this Chamber knows who is 
responsible for the fentanyl pouring into our country, and it is every 
single one of our jobs to act and pass the HALT Fentanyl Act. Let's put 
the politics aside, come together as Americans for our communities, for 
this country.
  Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I just want to correct the record, or at least set the record 
straight, on what the DEA and the Biden administration are saying. I 
heard what my colleague on the committee said, but I want you to 
understand that no one on our side of the aisle, certainly not the 
Biden administration or the DEA, is saying that we should get rid of 
the current law, which says that synthetic fentanyl is on schedule I. 
That is the

[[Page H2586]]

case now. We have extended it many times. As the gentlewoman said, it 
is actually extended until December of 2024.
  What the Biden administration, in conjunction with the DEA, is saying 
is that before you go ahead and permanently extend, that you should 
look at some of the other things that we have talked about on the 
Democratic side of the aisle. In other words, they say, in this task 
force from the administration with the DEA, that there is a real 
possibility that research will find that there are synthetic fentanyl 
substances that might actually help deal with the crisis and reverse an 
overdose in certain circumstances.
  What they recommend is that we have an off-ramp to ensure that 
substances that are deemed to have a potential medical application are 
not improperly classified. If you pass this permanently, then you have 
to pass another law in order to take something off the list.
  Also, they are not recommending that we have mandatory minimum 
incarceration involving synthetic fentanyl unless an offense results in 
serious bodily injury or death. This is what some of my colleagues on 
the Democratic side are saying, that incarceration, mandatory minimum 
sentencing, is not the answer. We know it hasn't been for years with 
other drugs, as well.
  In addition to that, there should be funding to deal with the 
research, funding to deal with treatment, funding for law enforcement 
so they can prevent more fentanyl from coming into the country. None of 
that is included in this bill.
  I just don't want my colleagues on the other side to misrepresent 
what DEA or what the Biden administration are saying. We all understand 
the nature of this crisis. We don't think that this bill is going to do 
anything to change that, because it just basically extends the status 
quo and doesn't do anything for all of these other things that have 
been mentioned on the Democratic side.
  I think it is really important for you to understand where we are 
coming from on this. We don't disagree with putting this on schedule I, 
but we want to see a comprehensive approach, because what we are doing 
now has failed.
  Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Walberg).
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 467, the HALT 
Fentanyl Act.
  A recent poll shows just 16 percent of Americans are satisfied with 
how things are going in the United States.
  Why?
  Washington has largely ignored pressing issues in the past 2 years. 
While the fentanyl epidemic may not grab headlines in the mainstream 
media, it has lost the pulse of mainstream America, few issues are more 
important.
  Illicit fentanyl poisonings are now the number one cause of death 
among Americans aged 18 to 49. Nearly every American knows a friend or 
a relative who has struggled or even overdosed. I do.
  Despite the crisis, Congress has continued to kick the can down the 
road by temporarily extending the class-wide scheduling order. Each 
time, law enforcement is left scrambling as we approach the deadline, 
which would let many of the fentanyl-related substances become legal.
  We must permanently give law enforcement the tools they need to keep 
Americans safe. The HALT Fentanyl Act complements other solutions like 
the recently passed Secure the Border Act, which will help properly 
root out the flow of illicit drugs and limit supply.
  Mr. Chair, I urge the bill's passage, which will represent another 
step toward restoring the voice of the American people in the House.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Pfluger).
  Mr. PFLUGER. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the HALT Fentanyl Act, 
which will help end thousands of deaths from this tragic situation.
  I am speaking on behalf of parents like Joe Warnick and Donna Johnson 
of Odessa, Texas, who lost their son, Jackson, to fentanyl poisoning. I 
am speaking up for thousands of families across the United States.
  How can you oppose this? Literally, how can you oppose this?
  Every day we hear more and more stories of lives ended by fentanyl. 
It is our responsibility to act.
  The HALT Fentanyl Act will help end the fentanyl crisis by cracking 
down on criminals who are trafficking deadly fentanyl across the 
southern border and into our communities. It will ensure law 
enforcement has the tools they need to keep these extremely lethal and 
dangerous drugs off our streets.
  The moms and dads that I have talked to are tired of words. They want 
action, and the HALT Fentanyl Act is the action that we need to take. 
Lives are on the line.
  Mr. Chair, I am very proud of my Republican Conference for proposing 
this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume to 
close.
  The point that I have been trying to make and my colleagues have been 
trying to make on this side of the aisle is that Republicans continue 
to push punitive and partisan policies with regard to the opioid crisis 
rather than real solutions to address the substance abuse crisis, 
strengthen border security, or fix our immigration system.
  The partisan HALT Fentanyl Act would not meaningfully address 
substance abuse. It would simply result in more incarceration.
  This bill takes a one-sided approach by only requiring permanent 
class-wide scheduling of fentanyl-related substances in an attempt to 
incarcerate our way out of a public health crisis.
  By contrast, the Biden administration has put forth an interagency 
proposal, which I have discussed, to permanently schedule synthetic 
fentanyl within schedule I without exacerbating existing sentencing 
disparities and inequities in our criminal justice system, as well as 
creating an off-ramp to remove or reschedule these substances shown to 
have medical or therapeutic value.
  Now, I know that we hear from the other side: What have you done? 
What are you doing?
  Well, the bottom line is that the Biden administration has taken 
aggressive action to combat the overdose epidemic. Congress and the 
administration should be working together on a bipartisan solution to 
address the fentanyl crisis, but the Republicans are threatening a 
default crisis right now that would seriously undermine these efforts.
  Last year, the Biden administration announced its inaugural National 
Drug Control Strategy which expands access to lifesaving interventions, 
like naloxone and buprenorphine, while providing additional resources 
to law enforcement agencies to intercept illegal drugs.
  To support this strategy and address illicit fentanyl, President 
Biden has called on Congress to make a historic investment of $46 
billion in funding for efforts to reduce the supply of illicit fentanyl 
and stop drug trafficking, as well as expand access to treatment and 
prevention to reduce overdose deaths across the country.
  Now, at the same time, Republicans are threatening a default crisis 
unless Democrats go along with their drastic cuts that would seriously 
undermine our ability to combat the fentanyl and opioid crisis.
  According to the administration, the cuts demanded by Republicans 
would force Border Patrol to ax more than 2,000 agents and drastically 
reduce funding for the DEA and the FBI. These things are crucial to 
interdiction and anti-drug-trafficking efforts.
  The Republican proposal, the default on America act, would reduce 
funding for treatment for opioid use disorders resulting in thousands 
more Americans losing access to treatment and recovery. It would also 
threaten to take health insurance away from millions of low-income 
individuals, including those struggling with substance use disorders 
and the opioid epidemic, and it imposes a cruel and unnecessary work 
requirement on Medicaid.
  Now, all we are trying to say on our side of the aisle is in this war 
on drugs, mandatory sentencing, incarcerate everybody, has not worked. 
It didn't

[[Page H2587]]

work for other drugs. It is not going to work for fentanyl.
  At the same time, the Biden administration has put forward a 
proposal, and it has been put into bill form, the STOP Fentanyl Act, 
that looks at all of this and tries to increase treatment, tries to 
increase interdiction and help law enforcement, and tries to do more 
research to see to what extent we can find uses for synthetic fentanyl 
that actually will stop, if you will, or prevent overdoses from killing 
people.
  We are just asking for a comprehensive approach. I haven't heard 
anything from the other side of the aisle that says you are going to do 
anything more than continue with the current law, which says that we 
are going to make synthetic fentanyl part of schedule I, which is 
already the law, at least until the end of next year.
  All we are saying is, let's sit down and actually try to come up with 
something here on a bipartisan basis that is going to make a difference 
for this fentanyl crisis. What we have done in the past hasn't worked. 
If we are going to just reduce funding for all of these things, that is 
certainly not going to work. That is only going to make it worse.
  I guess I am just pleading with my colleagues on the other side of 
the aisle: Rethink this. We have the time now to come up with a 
comprehensive approach that will make a difference here. If you pass 
this partisan bill, it is going to go nowhere in the Senate, it is not 
going to become law, and we will have accomplished nothing.
  Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill, and let's look 
for a comprehensive solution along the line of what the President has 
proposed.
  Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  My friend from New Jersey did say that this law expires at the end of 
the year. That is why we are here today to make scheduling illicit 
fentanyl permanent.
  We have to understand what the status quo is. The status quo 
currently is horrific. Before these illicit fentanyls were scheduled, 
although we couldn't get them permanently scheduled, there were all 
kinds of analogues throughout America. That is why the DEA and 
others recommended that we schedule these, because once you change the 
fentanyl molecule, unless these are scheduled, then it becomes no 
longer illegal. These all appeared in our country, and that is why we 
are reacting to it. They are scheduled now, and what we are moving to 
do is to make it permanent.

  What has happened since they were scheduled?
  They came to me, and they talked about mass incarceration. We have 
heard that today. There have been eight people in prison under this 
law, four dealing with cartels, which I would say absolutely should be 
in prison.
  I asked some of my law enforcement people when I was looking into 
this bill: If you have only arrested eight people, why does it matter?
  That is what they are saying on the other side of the aisle.
  What they said was the only reason we have only arrested eight people 
is because when this was put into place, the analogues--not fentanyl, 
but the analogues, which can be more dangerous--had disappeared from 
the marketplace. They are bringing in fentanyl that is already 
scheduled.
  The problem is, if we treat fentanyl analogues differently than 
fentanyl, they are going to reappear again. That is why we have to put 
them in the same category. If you have fentanyl subject to mandatory 
minimums, but not these analogues, then they are going to reappear.
  We have to pass this bill, we have to move forward, and I recommend 
support of this bill.
  Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1845

  The Acting CHAIR. All time for general debate has expired.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.
  The motion was agreed to.
  Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. 
Griffith) having assumed the chair, Mr. D'Esposito, Acting Chair of the 
Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, reported that 
that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 467) to 
amend the Controlled Substances Act with respect to the scheduling of 
fentanyl-related substances, and for other purposes, had come to no 
resolution thereon.

                          ____________________