Bill to Combat Opioid Crisis Passes House with Schmidt’s Support

WASHINGTON, DC: Congressman Derek Schmidt (KS-02) released the following statement after the House today passed H.R. 27, the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act. This legislation would permanently make fentanyl-related substances (FRS) a schedule I drug, ensuring law enforcement has the tools it needs to keep these harmful substances off the streets and out of communities in Kansas and across the country.

“As Kansas’ top law enforcement official for more than a decade, I saw firsthand the devastation that fentanyl wreaks on our communities,” Congressman Schmidt said. “Today’s passage of the HALT Fentanyl Act is a strong step toward crippling drug peddlers’ ability to mass manufacture and distribute these deadly substances. This legislation will be a meaningful step in our fight against the opioid crisis and I encourage my Senate colleagues to swiftly pass it.”

BACKGROUND

H.R. 27, originally introduced by Congressmen Morgan Griffith (VA-09) and Bob Latta (OH-05), would permanently classify FRS (fentanyl analogues) as schedule I drugs. In 2018, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a temporary scheduling order for FRS, which was subsequently extended by Congress several times, with a current expiration date of March 31. Without congressional action, this designation will expire, making many FRS street-legal and stripping law enforcement – including Customs and Border Protection – of their ability to seize these deadly drugs.

In 2023, more than 107,000 people died of drug overdoses. Nearly 75,000 of those deaths were from synthetic opioids, which are largely comprised of illicit fentanyl or FRS. Illicit fentanyl poisoning accounted for 77% of adolescent overdose deaths in 2021 and is now the number one cause of death for Americans aged 18-49.

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