Testing, Rapid Analysis, and Narcotic Quality Research Act of 2023

Floor Speech

I rise today in support of this bill that I proudly cosponsored. I also thank my colleagues, Representatives Caraveo and Collins, for leading this legislation, as well as Chairman Lucas for his support. I also thank Senators Peter Welch and Ted Cruz over in the other body for their work.

Synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, have taken a terrible toll on communities across this country, including in my own district. Fentanyl is now involved in more deaths of Americans under 50 than any other cause of death.

This epidemic is a horrifying ordeal, and now our communities must deal with various chemicals being added to these drugs to enhance their effects and also make them harder to detect. One chemical that criminals have started to use is a common animal tranquilizer called xylazine. When added to fentanyl, this animal tranquilizer can have terrible side effects, including horrible wounds at the injection site.

These additives are also consequential to our first responders and law enforcement as they deal with these drugs on the street. Drug mixtures usually contain a very small amount of synthetic opioids, which makes it very difficult to detect and hard to identify new variants. Even small amounts of some substances can be dangerous for law enforcement and public health officials to handle.

H.R. 1734 would address these challenges by leveraging the National Institute of Standards and Technology's unique research capabilities to help develop technologies to quickly characterize and safely handle street drugs. For decades, the Nation's measurement laboratory has helped to develop safe and effective drug detection techniques and handling practices. NIST also collects and analyzes drug samples in circulation, and this helps health authorities and law enforcement to better respond to this crisis. This bill would codify and enhance those ongoing efforts. It also adds reporting requirements for NIST and the GAO so that Congress can better understand our Federal capabilities in responding to this crisis.

This is a good example of how we can activate the unique expertise in our government labs to benefit communities across this country. It is also a good example of the bipartisan work that we do in the Science Committee. I thank my colleagues again, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, as Mr. Collins has just remarked, he and Dr. Caraveo took the lead on this legislation. We are grateful and fortunate, indeed, that Dr. Caraveo is here in our body, dedicated to our constituents, but also bringing the expertise that a medical doctor can have to an item like this.

Caraveo).

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Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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