Fentanyl Epidemic Wreaks Havoc

Floor Speech

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Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join my friend, Representative Dale Strong, and many of my Republican colleagues today in full support of the HALT Fentanyl Act.

Last year, the Drug Enforcement Administration seized 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl. This week 30,000 fentanyl pills, enough to kill 1.8 million people, were recovered in Utah during a routine traffic stop.

This deadly drug is pouring across our southern border and wreaking havoc in communities across the country.

Fentanyl is now the number one cause of death for young people aged 18 to 45 and poses more danger to young Americans than COVID, car accidents, and suicide combined.

The Biden administration and open-border Democrats have for 2 years ignored the border security crisis and the surge in drug trafficking. America's misery has become the Democrats' political strategy.

The HALT Fentanyl Act delivers on one of the House Republicans' pledges under our Commitment to America, a Nation that is safe.

The HALT Fentanyl Act will permanently classify fentanyl-related substances into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act and close the criminal code loophole to apply the current minimum sentencing for illicit drugs to fentanyl.

It also empowers law enforcement with the tools needed to keep these dangerous drugs off our streets.

It will support research efforts to understand the effects of fentanyl-related substances on the health of Americans.

The House GOP recently passed Secure the Border Act--the strongest border security legislative package in America's history--to address the border security crisis, increase Border Patrol agents, and to end the flow of deadly fentanyl.

These two landmark pieces of legislation will finally tackle the ever-worsening catastrophe at the border, save American lives from deadly drugs, and support our law enforcement officers who risk their lives to protect and serve our communities.

I urge the Biden administration and my colleagues across the aisle to support these commonsense, innovative solutions to our Nation's most pressing challenges.

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