Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. JOYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 331, the HALT Fentanyl Act.

This bipartisan bill will save lives by providing critical tools for law enforcement to combat the ongoing opioid crisis across our country.

Thousands of Americans continue to die each year from fentanyl overdoses, and Ohio has been particularly hard-hit by the epidemic.

Prior to the temporary rescheduling in 2018, fentanyl-related substances could only be controlled individually, allowing cartel chemists to easily create new uncontrolled compounds. This temporary rescheduling proved to be effective as the number of new compounds since then has significantly declined.

The prevalence of fentanyl-related substances and continued trafficking of dangerous narcotics across our southern border requires strong, decisive action from our Congress.

According to the DEA, there were more than 36 million fentanyl pills and nearly 4,000 pounds of fentanyl powder seized in 2025. This represents over 157 million deadly doses.

As a former prosecutor and a co-chair of the Addiction, Treatment, and Recovery Caucus, I understand the importance of law enforcement aggressively targeting traffickers and making sure that we are addressing societal challenges of addiction.

Each life lost to an overdose is a tragedy. We must declare war on the drugs that are killing our kids in our community.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill and send it to the President's desk.

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