Worsening Fentanyl Crisis

Floor Speech

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Mr. FITZGERALD. Madam Speaker, I rise today to talk about a recent trip to McAllen, Texas, where I had the opportunity to tour the southern border. What stuck out to me most was hearing from border agents about the sheer volume of fentanyl that is being seized right now.

In fact, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that 1,053 pounds of fentanyl was seized at the southwest border in June alone. That is more than the last three Junes combined.

Following my trip, I introduced an amendment at a Judiciary Committee markup to ensure that penalties are maintained for criminals convicted of fentanyl possession. This amendment should have been a slam dunk, but it was not adopted.

I question or challenge my colleagues who voted against this. We must find a way of stopping the flow of fentanyl. However, I suspect because most do not want to confront this issue at the border, that they are not going to address this issue.

In the absence of action, there is going to be no winners on this issue, only families who continue to grapple with the consequences firsthand.

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