On the recordJune 15, 2018
I appreciate all those who have put so much work into this, especially Mr. Katko of New York who has been relentless in his battle to stop illegal fentanyls from coming in and killing. I rise today in support of H.R. 2851, the Stop the Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogues, also known as the SITSA Act of 2017. Now, this legislation will give law enforcement officials additional tools to get and keep synthetic drugs such as fentanyl off our streets in America. On February 28, during our first of four legislative hearings on the opioid crisis, we focused on finding ways to protect our communities and the people who live in them and equip law enforcement with the necessary tools to fight this deadly opioid epidemic that kills more people than traffic accidents in America. During that hearing, the chief of police from Syracuse, New York, Frank Fowler, talked about how synthetic drugs tore apart his community. His call for this legislation rings as true now as it did then. After that hearing, we held a roundtable to hear from families who had been directly impacted by this deadly crisis. Seated across that table from me was Michael Gray. He bravely shared his family's story, hoping that their loss would help spur Congress to modernize Federal laws. He gave me a picture of his daughter, Amanda, and he gave me a new one yesterday when I met with him and Amanda's brother. This is Amanda Gray.…





