Thank you, Mr. President.
Today is a good day for the Senate and a good day for the American people.
The Senate will soon pass a bill entitled, HALT Fentanyl Act. The House is expected to take the measure up soon and send it to President Trump, who’s waiting with a pen in hand to enact one of his campaign promises.
The HALT Fentanyl Act permanently schedules these deadly substances that have been the main driver of overdose deaths in the United States. No longer does the Drug Enforcement Agency need to play this game of whack-a-mole every time a cartel develops a new fentanyl knock-off.
In other words, today, a fentanyl knock-off might be illegal and then change the chemical make-up of it and it becomes legal. It’s a nightmare for law enforcement.
No longer will Congress be kicking the can down the road with temporary extensions – and we’ve had many over the last several years to keep fentanyl and its analogs as Schedule I.
It also revises policies to research Schedule I substances. These are changes the research community has welcomed.
Drug overdoses in the United States have exploded to the highest levels we’ve ever seen, thanks to fentanyl knock-offs. The Drug Enforcement Agency has called fentanyl and its knock-offs “the deadliest drug threat the United States has ever faced.”
Since 2016, I’ve been raising the alarm on deadly synthetic drugs like fentanyl. As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I held a hearing on these substances and the need to stay ahead of the peddlers of this poison.
Sadly, it’s taken us nine long years to get permanent scheduling of these deadly knock-offs.
Of course, we thank each of the previous Congresses that, on a temporary basis, extended this scheduling of...fentanyl knock-offs.
But the bipartisan HALT Fentanyl Act takes care of this by making it permanent.
Senators Cassidy, Heinrich and Johnson were very instrumental in this effort. Their interest in permanently scheduling fentanyl knock-offs inspired the Senate to move this bill to the floor.
Republican leadership was also crucial in prioritizing this bill for the floor and helping us navigate the floor process.
Credit is also due to our House colleagues, Representative Griffith, Chairman Guthrie and now-retired Chairwoman McMorris Rodgers, who led and championed the HALT Fentanyl Act on the House side.
I’d also like to thank Dr. Tim Westlake, who came up with the temporary scheduling structure that we’ve been using since 2018.
He’s testified before my committee and Congress on numerous occasions. I thank him for his hard work and unflappable dedication.
In the end, this campaign earned the support of nearly every major law enforcement organization, several medical associations and research associations supporting the research components of this bill. And, most importantly, we must say thanks to the countless families organized over a long period of time, across the country, that have lost a loved one to fentanyl poisoning and [never gave] up on this type of legislation to make permanent the scheduling.
I want to thank my Senate staff who helped make this possible, especially Colleen Bloss and Michael Perkins, who spearheaded this effort for me, and all the committee members.
Together, we’ve taken steps to open the doors of research to permanently schedule the deadliest substances the United States has ever faced and to send a clear message that Congress is willing and ready to act.
Together, we’ve taken an important step to live up to our commitment to our constituents and to the loved ones lost—to put them first and to serve them.
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