Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. CAMMACK. Mr. Chairman, today, I rise in strong support of H.R. 467, the HALT Fentanyl Act. To drive home why this bill is so important, I want to emphasize that currently there is no permanent scheduling of fentanyl, only a temporary emergency scheduling order.

That means when, not if, but when this temporary order on fentanyl expires, fentanyl-related substances will become street legal.

Think about this: Over 300 people a day will die today from fentanyl poisoning, 300 people died yesterday, and 300 people will die tomorrow of fentanyl poisoning.

If an airliner carrying 300 people crashed every single day, within the span of a week we would have declared a national emergency and would have begun the work on solutions, but we haven't done that here.

If we don't pass this bill, when the emergency class-wide scheduling order expires, law enforcement will no longer have the authority to seize these extremely lethal drugs. Yes, you heard me right, they will no longer have the authority.

As so many of my colleagues have said today, fentanyl is the leading cause of death for individuals between the ages of 18 and 49, surpassing COVID, cancer, heart disease, and even car accidents. In fact, the DEA, Biden's DEA, you-all's DEA, says this is their number one priority.

Every single one of us knows someone who has been affected by fentanyl. Every single one of us in this Chamber knows who is responsible for the fentanyl pouring into our country, and it is every single one of our jobs to act and pass the HALT Fentanyl Act. Let's put the politics aside, come together as Americans for our communities, for this country.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

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