As the House prepares to vote on a bill intended to prevent fentanyl overdose deaths, lawmakers are weighing what’s driving the surge in synthetic opioids and what’s needed to stop them.
“We have a situation now where the open southern border is a slip of the tongue to allow cartels to drive fentanyl into our communities,” Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, told Fox News. “The consequences are a direct result of the deliberate action to maintain an open border.”
Rep. Dan Crenshaw said drug overdoses are why he “became outspoken in going after the cartels, the source of the fentanyl issue.”
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More than 200,000 Americans have overdosed and died from synthetic opioids like fentanyl since 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“It’s gotten worse over the last few years, so it’s on everybody’s radar,” said Crenshaw, a Texas Republican. “Everybody now has a lot of people in their district, I think, who are overdosing from fentanyl.”
The House on Wednesday afternoon is expected to vote on the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act, which would create tougher penalties for the possession and distribution of fentanyl compounds.
“Hopefully we can pass that so we can say ‘enough is enough,'” Rep. Nathaniel Moran, a Republican, told Fox News.
But Rep. Jim McGovern was skeptical.
Rep. Matt Gaetz said the “open southern border” allows fentanyl to flow freely into the US (Fox News Digital/Jon Michael Raasch)
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“I don’t think the bill that the Republicans brought before us is going to solve this,” the Massachusetts Democrat said. “That’s more of a soundbite than a solution.”
Many lawmakers have introduced their own bills. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s, for example, will increase outreach, put Narcan in schools and increase penalties for illegal online sales.
“We have to be smart,” the Texas Democrat told Fox News. “We must punish the wrongdoers.”
“We have to make sure that we embrace our children and youth and teach them well enough to know what is going to kill them,” he continued. “We need to stop the traffickers in their tracks.”
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee introduced a bill aimed at preventing fentanyl overdose deaths. (Fox News Digital/Jon Michael Raasch)
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Moran’s legislation would economically sanction any individual or entity involved in the fentanyl trade.
The feeling of being in the pocketbook is “what’s going to spur some change,” said Moran, of Texas.
Rep. Mike Gallagher, who heads the Select Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, also said more sanctions were needed, but also pointed a finger at Chinese entities.
Called by Rep. Mike Gallagher called the fentanyl crisis a “reverse opium war” because the precursors to synthetic opioids came from China. (Fox News Digital/Jon Michael Raasch)
“We need to be aggressive in what is effectively a reverse opium war being waged against the United States,” the Wisconsin Republican told Fox News. He said that his committee aims to “expose that the chemicals are mainly from China.”
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“You have an unholy alliance between Chinese entities and drug trafficking organizations that results in the deaths of 80,000 Americans every year,” Gallagher said. “It’s absolutely terrifying.”
Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a California Democrat who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, said increased border security would help slow the flow of synthetic opioids.
“We need to break up the entities that make fentanyl and then get it across the border,” Gomez said. “We need to make sure we have more resources at the port of entry where 90% of fentanyl comes in.”
On the other hand, McGovern wants to focus on the problem at home.
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“We need more interventions. We need more mental health counselors,” he told Fox News. “It’s not just about the ban, but we definitely need to increase the funds for that.”
“This is a solvable problem,” McGovern said.
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