Congress Must End the Fentanyl Crisis

Floor Speech

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Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, 64,000 Americans died from fentanyl and its analogs in a recent 12-month period. It is the leading cause of death in the United States for individuals aged 18 to 45. Fentanyl has killed more people aged 18 to 45 than car accidents, than suicide, than COVID. Again, it killed 64,000 Americans in a 12-month period.

I recently spoke to two parents who lost a child to fentanyl.

Congress must act.

What is fentanyl? Fentanyl and fentanyl analogs are synthetic opioids that have a real risk of abuse and dependence. It is an unusually dangerous and an unusually deadly drug, and many of the victims are not even aware they are taking it.

Where are the drugs coming from? This drug is often manufactured in high quantities in China and is pouring across our southern border. And it is getting worse.

Last year, fentanyl seizures across our southern border increased by over 1,000 percent. Border agents captured 588 pounds of this drug. To conceptualize that, that is enough to kill 133 million Americans.

I have been to the southern border, and I have spoken firsthand to the men and women of Border Protection about the increased drugs coming across our southern border.

We must secure our border. We cannot stand by and watch as Americans are killed by fentanyl and its analogs.

We should continue to be focused on limiting the flow of fentanyl coming into our country. We should be raising awareness of the lethal effects of fentanyl. We should be helping local law enforcement and our first responders work to address this crisis.

In 11 days, fentanyl analogs and related substances will no longer be a schedule I drug. The fentanyl analogs schedule I status expires on February 18, in 11 days.

Congress previously kicked the can down the road and temporarily extended fentanyl analogs as a schedule I drug last May, but that expires in 11 days.

If fentanyl analogs are not extended or made permanent soon, law enforcement officers will have a hand tied behind their back from stopping fentanyl from killing Americans.

Yet Speaker Pelosi continues to refuse to bring the HALT Act, critical legislation, to this floor to make scheduling permanent. We need to make scheduling fentanyl analogs permanent.

I call upon my fellow Members of Congress to help us end the fentanyl crisis.

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