Providing for Consideration of H.R. Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of Providing for Consideration of H.R. Mental Health Matters Act; and Providing for Consideration of S. Pava Program Inclusion Act; and for Other Purposes
Floor Speech
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Mrs. CAMMACK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose the previous question so that we can immediately consider H.R. 6184, the HALT Fentanyl Act.
Before I begin, I have to address something that was said just now. I am the wife of a first responder. My husband sees these overdoses every single day.
In my community, in just this year, we have apprehended bricks of fentanyl stamped with border cartels' stamps on them. We know it is coming from the border. We know it is being trafficked across, both in trucks at ports of entry but also illegally. We know this to be a fact, and if we do not secure the border this will continue to happen.
I will say, as the wife of a first responder, someone whose husband has continually responded to these calls and is reviving people who have been poisoned by fentanyl, it is not a matter of if he, himself, overdoses, it is when. And that is going to be a very bad day because I think that Members of this Chamber need to be held responsible for the open border policies that this administration continues to allow. But I digress.
Mr. Speaker, 108,000. That is the number of Americans who died from drug overdoses last year. Of those, more than 80,000 were connected to opioids. The lion's share of those opioid deaths were linked to fentanyl.
Now, it is important that we remember that these numbers are actually people. They are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles. They are people. Not statistics. They are humans. They represent millions of families who will never see their son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister, father ever again. Millions of people whose families have been shattered and feel helpless, broken, and angry as these horrific substances destroyed their communities and their family.
These thousands of victims represent communities crushed by this epidemic, swept away by the flood of lethal substances that are ripping apart the fabric of our society. These thousands of people lost lay bare the denial, the weakness, and the lack of compassion that this administration and my colleagues across the aisle have shown through their ambivalence toward border security, our Nation's security, as literally tons of fentanyl is trucked and walked across the southern border and into our communities.
A few months ago, a mother from my district cried in my office as she talked about her beautiful daughter, Mackenzie, who died from fentanyl poisoning, not overdosing, poisoning, after taking what she thought was a Xanax. She was 28 years old.
Now, unfortunately, Mackenzie's story is not unique. It is not rare. Her mother, Rebecca, is now dedicating her life to saving mothers across the country from the pain that she has endured from a preventable loss and their daughters from Mackenzie's fate.
To my colleagues on the left, you control this Chamber, so it is up to you to decide. How many more Mackenzies have to die before you will take action?
You can pretend that there is no crisis at the border. We see that. That is evidenced in your remarks. But we know that is a lie. You visit any community in this country, and you will see that it has been ravaged by the death and destruction wrought by fentanyl. You cannot deny it. Your constituents know it. The American people know it.
Mr. Speaker, it is time for our colleagues across the aisle to wake up. So I stand here once again, as I did back in March, fighting against the horrors of the opioid epidemic that have a stranglehold on our communities. We once again have an opportunity to take a stand today, not as Republicans or Democrats but as Americans and concerned citizens, for those that have lost their lives, but also for those potentially in the future. The families of those who lost deserve this.
Today is an opportunity to act. Today is an opportunity to put people above politics. I commend my friend, the gentleman from Virginia, for his great work and for sticking with this bill and seeing it across the finish line.
I urge my colleagues, please, think with your hearts, perhaps in vain but with hope, to defeat the previous question so that we can immediately consider this bill, the HALT Fentanyl Act.
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