In 2020, Oklahoma lost 136 of our own to overdose deaths due to fentanyl – a nearly 152 percent increase from the previous year. Back in March of 2021, there were 750 fentanyl pills seized during a traffic stop in Oklahoma City. This August, the Tulsa Police Department made the largest fentanyl bust in Tulsa police history. Officers recovered more than 5,200 grams of fentanyl in powder and pills, which is approximately enough for 2.5 million lethal doses. This dangerous drug has found its way into our Oklahoma communities, and Congress must take a hands-on approach to combat it.
House Republicans, including my colleagues on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, have introduced legislation to protect our communities from this dangerous substance. I am proud to cosponsor the HALT Fentanyl Act to permanently classify fentanyl analogues as “schedule 1,” meaning it is a drug deemed as having no medical use, a high potential for abuse, and a lack of accepted safety. I am also a cosponsor of the Fentanyl Trafficker Elimination Act. This legislation will hold fentanyl smugglers accountable for their role in the U.S. opioid epidemic through increased criminal penalties.
Finally, we must secure our southern border. Drug cartels are taking advantage of President Biden’s open border policies and it is costing lives. Many of these fentanyl analogues are coming from China, an adversary taking advantage of the obvious crisis at our border.
Drug overdose is blind to age, race, socioeconomic status, and geographic location. Take a moment this week to check up on friends and neighbors and remember to look out for one another. Too many lives have already been cut short.
