Frank Pallone: “I just want to correct the record, or at least set the record straight, on what the DEA and the Biden administration are…”

“I just want to correct the record, or at least set the record straight, on what the DEA and the Biden administration are saying. I heard what my colleague on the committee said, but I want you to understand that no one on our side of the aisle, certainly not the Biden administration or the DEA, is saying that we should get rid of the current law, which says that synthetic fentanyl is on schedule I. That is the case now. We have extended it many times. As the gentlewoman said, it is actually extended until December of 2024. What the Biden administration, in conjunction with the DEA, is saying is that before you go ahead and permanently extend, that you should look at some of the other things that we have talked about on the Democratic side of the aisle. In other words, they say, in this task force from the administration with the DEA, that there is a real possibility that research will find that there are synthetic fentanyl substances that might actually help deal with the crisis and reverse an overdose in certain circumstances. What they recommend is that we have an off-ramp to ensure that substances that are deemed to have a potential medical application are not improperly classified. If you pass this permanently, then you have to pass another law in order to take something off the list.…”