[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 43 (Thursday, March 6, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1594-S1595]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           HALT Fentanyl Act

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, last week, I led my colleagues in 
reporting

[[Page S1595]]

a bill that is entitled the ``HALT Fentanyl Act.'' This bill was 
reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
  This is a battle-tested bipartisan bill that passed the House of 
Representatives with a supermajority of votes, including 98 Democrats 
voting in favor of the bill. If you have been involved with this issue 
over the last 3 or 4 or 5 years, you would know that bipartisan 
fentanyl legislation has been hard to come by. But I am pleased to see 
that this bill has seven Democratic cosponsors here in the Senate and 
had nearly half the Democrats in my committee vote in favor of it.
  I want to thank all my Democratic colleagues for working with us on 
such a vital piece of legislation. I think you all know the statistics: 
About 70,000 of the 100,000 people that die of drug overdose are dying 
because of fentanyl.
  The HALT Fentanyl Act does three things. First, it makes permanent 
the class scheduling of fentanyl-related substances. This is the same 
classwide scheduling that occurred during the first Trump 
administration and has been continued nine times by Congress on a 
short-term basis. This legislation would eliminate that from time-to-
time scheduling of fentanyl analogs, and that is why permanent 
legislation is so important.
  Second, the bill confirms the sentencing penalties the Federal courts 
have long applied to fentanyl-related substances. And thirdly, the bill 
creates a streamline registration process for studying schedule I 
controlled substances.
  Classwide scheduling has been a successful policy. It has been a 
success in stopping the creation of fentanyl-related substances that 
would have otherwise killed countless Americans.
  If you don't believe me, I would like to have you listen to Dr. Tim 
Westlake. Dr. Westlake is the inventor of the classwide scheduling 
system the DEA adopted. He came before my committee and testified:

       [T]hese efforts have resulted in shutting down the creation 
     and flow and very existence of new fentanyl related 
     substances into the [United States]. It's why Congress must 
     act to finally make permanent this temporary policy.

  I began by saying that bipartisan fentanyl legislation has been very 
hard to come by. I am proud to lead the HALT Fentanyl Act with Senators 
Heinrich and Cassidy. That is one Democrat and one Republican.
  Our bill has the support of the leading law enforcement 
organizations. These 12 organizations have called on us here in the 
Congress to ``advance this critical legislation without delay or 
modification.''
  Our bill also has the support of an organization called Facing 
Fentanyl. That is a coalition supported by over 200 family groups 
impacted by fentanyl. They ``stand in full support of the HALT Fentanyl 
Act as it is currently written, without amendments.''
  I have also received over 100 individual letters from parents who 
have lost their children to fentanyl poisoning.
  Our bill also has the support of the medical community.
  The HALT Fentanyl Act is truly a bipartisan compromise, bringing 
together stakeholders and Members from across the spectrum.
  During the last 4 years, Senate Democrats couldn't be bothered to 
bring this bill or any other permanent legislation to schedule fentanyl 
to the floor for a vote, and that was the situation even after HALT 
passed the House with 74 Democrats voting in favor and even with the 
Biden administration's coming out in support of the bill--all taking 
place in the last Congress.
  So the time has surely come. This is long overdue legislation, and I 
urge my colleagues to move to and support this bill. If we can't come 
together to pass this battle-tested bipartisan legislation, then we 
will have failed the American people and made the environment for even 
more people to die of drug overdoses and fentanyl poisoning. We owe it 
to the hundreds of thousands of families who have lost loved ones to 
this very poison. We owe it to our constituents. It is time that we 
found the will to act, and now is that time to act.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.