Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. KUSTER. Madam Chair, I rise today to speak in opposition to H.R. 467, the HALT Fentanyl Act.

The fentanyl crisis has touched every community across our State and country. We need to take serious, bipartisan action to address this epidemic and save lives.

Unfortunately, the legislation on the floor tonight misses the mark.

The HALT Fentanyl Act does not address how these dangerous drugs enter our country, nor does it include any measures to address the underlying demand driving the substance use crisis.

This bill simply preserves the status quo by continuing to schedule fentanyl-related substances as schedule I, which has been the case since 2018, and under current law, will be the case until December of 2024.

Scheduling alone will not change the overdose crisis. We need to broaden our scope.

Madam Chair, I urge this body to instead consider a public health approach to address this crisis. I am leading with Lisa Blunt Rochester and Don Bacon, a bipartisan, alternative bill that would address both the supply of and demand for illicit fentanyl in this country.

Our bill, the STOP Fentanyl Overdoses Act, will enhance fentanyl surveillance through investments in technology, dedicate resources to strengthen law enforcement response, and improve data collection of seized drugs.

The bill will also help reduce the demand for illicit drugs by expanding access to recovery resources, protecting people who administer opioid reversal drugs, and supporting education on the harm of drug misuse.

The STOP Fentanyl Overdoses Act is an alternative to the scheduling- only approach on the floor. An issue this complex requires an equally comprehensive solution.

Fentanyl doesn't care about our politics and neither should our approach to addressing the overdose crisis.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to consider my alternative, bipartisan solution.

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