Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. FITZGERALD. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Guthrie and Congressman Griffith for their leadership on this issue.

This is a historic moment, Mr. Speaker. House Republicans are delivering on a promise to stop the flow of deadly fentanyl that, for years, has been flooding our communities and, tragically, tearing families apart.

Today, drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death across the country, and fentanyl-driven overdoses are the leading cause of death for American adults between 18 and 45 years of age. That is because it is cheap to make, easy to transport, and so potent. Just a few milligrams can be lethal.

Addressing the spread of illicit and illegal fentanyl-related substances has been a top priority not only for myself but for many other colleagues in this House. It is hard for me to believe what I am hearing from the minority right now.

One of the first pieces of legislation that we introduced in the 117th Congress was the Stopping Overdoses of Fentanyl Analogues Act. SOFA is the same acronym as an organization started by Lauri Badura of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, Saving Others For Archie. Archie was her son.

Lauri has worked to raise awareness of the dangers of drug addiction throughout Wisconsin following the loss of her son Archie to a fentanyl overdose.

Mr. Speaker, I personally recognize the work of Lauri, as well as Dr. Timothy Westlake of Waukesha, Wisconsin, for spearheading legislation in the Wisconsin State Legislature that culminated in the bill being debated before us today.

Since 2017, they have been working on a permanent solution, and that is scheduling fentanyl as a schedule I item. It is the most important thing that this House of Representatives will do in this Congress.

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