The fentanyl crisis in America is an unnecessary story of anguish and despair, one that elicits pain and stifles hope.
The story of 23-year-old college student Zach Cullen, who was preparing for life beyond college, is one of those stories of anguish. He spent four years delivering pizzas from Papa Johns and was interested in developing a technology company.
Nine days after Cullen’s birthday, his parents got painful news. They were informed by police that their son, the youngest of their three boys, died from fentanyl-related poisoning.
Cullen’s parents later testified before a House Energy and Commerce Committee roundtable demanding change. House Republicans then committed to preventing future tragedies such as Cullen’s. We put pen to paper and worked on a bill to save lives and crack down on the fentanyl crisis: the HALT Fentanyl Act.
In 2023, of the more than 107,000 overdose deaths in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that nearly 70% of those deaths involved a synthetic opioid, such as fentanyl.
Part of the fentanyl crisis is driven by the rise in fentanyl analogs, which are fentanyl-related substances chemically altered to avoid being defined as fentanyl under the U.S. criminal code. This means the penalties for trafficking these substances are not as severe as those for traditional fentanyl. Drug cartels have even attempted to exploit this loophole to get away with trafficking the illicit substance into the country.
A key component of the HALT Fentanyl Act would permanently classify fentanyl analogs as a Schedule I substance. This designation would equip our border patrol agents and law enforcement officials with the power to go after those who traffic fentanyl analogs into the country and throughout our communities.
What makes this legislation even more timely is that the Schedule I designation for fentanyl analogs currently operates on a temporary basis and is set to expire at the end of next month. Failure of Congress to act soon could exacerbate the fentanyl crisis.
It is important to note that this permanent designation does not prevent medical researchers from studying fentanyl analogs. The HALT Fentanyl Act would enable research into the possible medical uses of the roughly 4,800 fentanyl analogs that exist, and the bill would not impede medical providers from using fentanyl in medical practices when necessary.
It’s a win-win piece of legislation, and we wish it could have been law sooner.
Almost two years ago, we passed the HALT Fentanyl Act out of the House. While the bill did garner bipartisan support, 132 House Democrats voted against it. In Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) Senate, Democrats refused to bring it up for a vote.
This week, we are glad to see the House will be voting on the bill once again. House Republicans are ready to make our communities safer and enhance medical research to prevent future poisonings.
This time around, we implore all Democrats to join us in advancing this commonsense bill. They have a chance to join us on legislation that may be one of the first things President Donald Trump signs into law.
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More than 100,000 overdose deaths should have been a wake-up call. Even one is too many. Every single life lost to the fentanyl crisis is more than just a statistic.
We have not given up hope because families such as Cullen’s should not have to experience the heartbreak of losing a child to fentanyl poisoning.
Lisa McClain, Morgan Griffith, and Bob Latta are Republican members of the House.