Gus Bilirakis: “I thank the chairwoman for yielding. Madam Speaker, the United States remains in the grip of an overdose pandemic…”

“I thank the chairwoman for yielding. Madam Speaker, the United States remains in the grip of an overdose pandemic, unfortunately. I rise today in support of the Extending Temporary Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act. Madam Speaker, 3 years ago, DEA temporarily scheduled fentanyl analogues as controlled substances to crack down on China and drug traffickers smuggling fentanyl across the southern border. Last year, Congress passed the temporary extension that continued to criminalize fentanyl analogues until May 6 of this year. Previously, drug traffickers could slightly change the molecules in the drug, so the formula was not technically considered fentanyl and was not prohibited, although it was still potent, leading to a lethal game of whack-a-mole. Madam Speaker, locally, we have seen that fentanyl has been a major problem, even with the scheduling in place. Pasco County, in my district, has already had 48 people die from overdoses since January of this year, and many communities throughout the country are experiencing the same overdose increases as the pandemic has only exacerbated the mental health and addiction crisis in our country. Madam Speaker, if this scheduling ban expires, we expect far more fentanyl to flood our streets and many more lives to be tragically lost. We cannot allow this to happen.…”