WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Vern Buchanan praised the U.S. House passage of legislation to crack down on the scourge of deadly fentanyl and provide law enforcement with the tools they need to keep these deadly drugs off our streets. The House-passed bill closely mirrors Buchanan’s Federal Initiative to Guarantee Health by Targeting (FIGHT) Fentanyl Act (H.R. 920), which would make permanent the expiring classification of fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs.
“The number of overdose deaths across our country every year due to illegal fentanyl-related substances is tragic and deeply alarming,” said Buchanan. “These deadly drugs are destroying lives and families not only in our backyard in Southwest Florida, but across the country. I’m pleased to see the House take action with the HALT Fentanyl Act to crack down on these dangerous drugs and keep them out of our communities.”
Buchanan’s Federal Initiative to Guarantee Health by Targeting (FIGHT) Fentanyl Act is cosponsored by Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH).
Since 2018, fentanyl-related substances have been classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as a Schedule I substance to allow federal law enforcement authorities to bring criminal actions against individuals who manufacture, distribute or handle fentanyl-related substances. This temporary classification is set to expire on March 31, 2025.
Adding a drug to Schedule I gives law enforcement broader authority to crack down on its production, distribution and possession by imposing harsher criminal penalties and enhancing federal jurisdiction. It also enables law enforcement officers to use stronger enforcement tools like wiretaps, asset seizures and conspiracy charges to dismantle trafficking networks.
The House passed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of (HALT) Fentanyl Act (H.R. 27), which, like Buchanan’s bill, permanently schedules fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs. Buchanan is an original cosponsor of the HALT Fentanyl Act. In addition to the permanent scheduling of fentanyl-related substances, the HALT Fentanyl Act also subjects illegal distributors to mandatory minimum sentences.
Fentanyl is a synthetic drug similar to heroin, but 50 times more powerful. These drugs are often manufactured in foreign countries like China and trafficked across the southern border. In fact, fentanyl seizures by Customs and Border Patrol have exploded by more than 400 percent since fiscal year 2019. A lethal dose of fentanyl is just 2 milligrams, and it is often laced into other drugs, causing accidental overdoses and killing users very quickly.
Florida is leading the nation in fentanyl seizures. Florida law enforcement participated in 2,089 fentanyl seizure operations in 2023 according to data from the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program, more than any other state.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that over 107,000 Americans died from a drug overdose in 2023, with nearly 75,000 deaths attributable to fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances.
Buchanan has long championed raising awareness of America’s fentanyl crisis and taking forceful steps to address it. He has introduced the FIGHT Fentanyl Act since 2021, when fentanyl overdoses began to skyrocket as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, he secured $2 million to increase grants to prevent prescription drug and opioid overdoses. In 2019, Buchanan’s Fentanyl Sanctions Act was signed into law as part of the annual defense spending package. It imposed economic penalties on China-based drug manufacturers that knowingly send synthetic opioids to drug traffickers and criminal operations.
