Bilirakis Speaks on the House Floor about the Faces of Fentanyl

Washington, DC: Saddened by the overdose epidemic that is worsening throughout the nation, Congressman Bilirakis took to the House Floor late last night to spur much needed Congressional action as deaths involving synthetic opioids continue to skyrocket.

"In Pasco County, 193 people have died from overdose since January. The vast majority of these cases involved fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances. I have also received hundreds of heartbreaking stories from constituents whose families have been devastated by addiction. One constituent, MaryAnne, said this: "I lost my adult son in June of 2021 to a fentanyl overdose. The system failed me in every single way. With open borders, enough fentanyl came pouring into our country's southern border to kill 70% of our population. My son is sadly one of those statistics." Parents like MaryAnne are the faces of the fentanyl crisis. The tragedies these families have experienced are the reason why we must fight back.The first step is to secure our border," said Congressman Bilirakis. "We must also hold China accountable for its continued role in this crisis."

The U.S. Justice Department testified in September that Mexican criminal drug networks are mass-producing illicit fentanyl and fentanyl-laced fake pills, using chemicals sourced largely from China, and are distributing these pills through U.S. criminal networks. These fake pills are designed to appear nearly identical to legitimate prescriptions such as OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, Adderall, Xanax and other medicines. Criminal drug networks are selling these pills through social media, e-commerce, the dark web, and existing distribution networks. As a result, these deadly fake pills are widely available.

"If we've learned anything from the pandemic it's that we should be very skeptical of China," noted Bilirakis. "The Trump Administration was very tough on China and on border security. But since, we've seen a relaxing of these policies. As a result, we're seeing a surge of trafficking and subsequent overdoses in communities like mine. We must crack down on China and secure our southern border.We must also permanently place all fentanyl-related substances into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act and give law enforcement the tools it needs to seize these deadly substances as soon as they are found and thus keep them off our streets. To achieve that goal, I support the HALT Fentanyl Act authored by my colleagues, Representatives Latta and Griffith, which will permanently classify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I and save countless lives."

The HALT Fentanyl Act also simplifies the registration process for certain Schedule I substances to ensure researchers have the ability to conduct studies on these substances. The emergency class-wide scheduling order for fentanyl-related substances is set to expire on February 18, 2022. "There are likely to be deadly consequences if Congress allows this order to expire or continue to kick the can down the road with temporary extensions.The time to act is now!" warned Bilirakis.