Fentanyl Epidemic Wreaks Havoc

Floor Speech

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Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Alabama for yielding.

Every year, Mr. Speaker, thousands of Americans lose their lives as a result of fentanyl-related overdoses.

I rise today to bring added attention to the fentanyl crisis, a crisis that has affected every corner of America, including the 17 counties in east Texas that I represent.

Since the introduction of this drug in our Nation almost a decade ago, thousands of kids and teenagers have overdosed on this dangerous substance.

Since 2020, over 3,300 Texans have lost their lives in fentanyl- related overdoses. That is 3,300 too many lives snuffed out before they can fulfill their calling in this life.

Mr. Speaker, before coming to Congress to combat the opioid crisis in Texas, I worked with a small group of other interested parties to help negotiate what became known as the Texas Term Sheet, something that established a settlement structure for opioid-related claims in the State. It worked to ensure that State and local governments, along with regional health districts, could work together to reach global settlements with bad actors and then use that money specifically for activities to combat the expanding causes and effects of opioid addictions. Now, as a Congressman, I continue this fight.

Earlier this year, I introduced legislation that would require the President to impose sanctions on Mexican individuals, such as cartel members and corrupt Mexican officials who are involved with the manufacture, distribution, and transport of illicit fentanyl. It is past time that we hold these individuals personally accountable for their roles in the deaths of thousands of Americans.

Today, I am proud to stand here and express my full support for the HALT Fentanyl Act, which would classify fentanyl-related substances as schedule I narcotics, the most serious and dangerous classification of a drug, and establish a refined process for research on these drugs, ensuring that companies and researchers entrusted with access to these drugs do not abuse this access.

This is a steady and strong step in the right direction, but it is just a small step. There is much more for this Congress to do.

While these measures do not bring back those we have lost, they are a step, as I said, in the right direction to ensure that we do not lose any more lives, any more young lives, any more lives of any age to these lethal drugs.

Let us stand together in this fight. Let us work against this demon of fentanyl.

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